Theory & Practice: Athlete’s Muscles

I often hear long discussions about muscles, fibers, and their functions. And I can’t help but wonder – are people talking about doing something, or are they just talking about anatomy?

If your goal is to study anatomy or satisfy a scientific curiosity, then exploring muscles, tissues, and fibers makes perfect sense. But if you are an athlete or a coach, that kind of knowledge, while interesting, will not make you better at your craft. Curiosity is natural, but practical application is what truly matters.

Types of ‘Knowing’

In sport and training, there are things we need to know and things we simply want to know. It is human nature to collect information. Yet, not all information serves a practical purpose.

Knowing which muscle fiber is fast-twitch or slow-twitch, or how a specific muscle contracts, will not improve your running, throwing, or lifting. Those details belong to anatomy textbooks, not to athletic performance.

When you train, what matters is knowing what to do and how to do it. The skill of movement is learned through precise action, not through dissecting anatomical parts. Collecting information can be harmless, but it can also become a trap. It can keep you from seeing the big picture – the hierarchy that governs movement.

Ego VS Body

Whether we like it or not, the body already “knows.” It knows what to do and how to do it. Problems start when the mind tries to interfere – when we attempt to consciously control every muscle, every fiber, every movement in space and time.

This tendency is worsened by poor or incorrect instruction. Most people either have no guidance or follow misleading advice about how to move. As a result, they get lost in unnecessary details.

While you’re busy thinking about which muscles should “fire,” your body has already done the job. Neural and mechanical processes operate far faster than conscious thought. The more you think about muscles, the more you slow yourself down.

To move efficiently, focus only on the action that drives the task. If you want to run, focus on pulling your foot up to change support. The rest happens naturally – provided you’ve worked on your running skill enough for it to become automatic.

The ‘Big Picture’ Hierarchy

Movement begins not inside the body, but outside it – in our environment. The human body does not move in isolation. Every motion is a response to natural forces, and the dominant one is gravity.

Gravity holds everything together. It gives us bodyweight. Without gravity, there is no weight. Without weight, there is no movement. Even a small change in gravity – like on the Moon – completely alters how we move. Running becomes hopping. Balance becomes something else entirely.

Dr. Nicholas Romanov, founder of the Pose Method, demonstrates how our active muscle efforts are useless without the presence of body weight. How do you use your muscles when running? Have you ever been told to “fire your glutes”? In this video, watch how your muscles can be rendered useless when you can’t apply your body weight.

The Purpose of Muscles

All muscles are equally important. None exist for a single sport or a single purpose. We should not divide the body into “running muscles,” “cycling muscles,” or “lifting muscles.” That kind of thinking reflects a misunderstanding of how the human system operates.

Every muscle, tendon, and ligament works in synchronization. Together, they form a complex, intelligent network that allows movement. Allows is the key word. Muscles do not create movement – they make it possible.

Without bodyweight, the same network still exists, but movement either changes dramatically or disappears altogether.

In essence, muscles support the body. They do not initiate movement. Gravity does. Muscles respond to it, organize around it, and serve it. The better we understand this relationship, the closer we get to mastering athletic movement.

As far as movement is concerned, our muscles mean little without our bodyweight. Muscles do not create or initiate movement. Muscles play the supporting role.