# why is my cat so strong with little muscles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 13, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-cat-so-strong-with-little-muscles/194927 "2003-08-13T15:50:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-cat-so-strong-with-little-muscles/194927/21 "2003-08-14T02:42:28Z")
I always feel sorry for cats named Fluffy… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-cat-so-strong-with-little-muscles/194927/22 "2003-08-14T06:13:54Z")
Feel the tendon/muscle on the back of your cat, going from their buttocks to their (backwards) knee - it is VERY tight. One of my cat’s is so tight he walks on his tip toes since he can’t exent his hind legs all the way. This muscle is also at the very back of the knee, maximizing the “lever” (type 3?) - very small contractions on the back of the knee bone swings the foot in a huge arc. I think this is why cats are able to jump so high - it’s not necessarily raw strength, but very tight muscles that can fire very rapidly, generating a lot of acceleration which allows them to overcome gravity. ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-cat-so-strong-with-little-muscles/194927/23 "2004-03-21T06:14:09Z")
This quote come from this link: [http://staff.washington.edu/griffin/hypertrophy.txt](http://staff.washington.edu/griffin/hypertrophy.txt) "Bosco (1982a) cautions against the indiscriminate use of resistance training that typifies much of the ‘cross training’ prescribed with weights and circuits by Western personal trainers and coaches. He emphasizes that, although heavy resistance training serves as a powerful stimulus for the development and hypertrophy of both ST and FT fibres, the invaluable role played by FT development can be impaired by the accompanying growth of ST fibres, because the latter appear to provoke a damping effect on FT contraction during fast movement. This is due to the fact that, during high speed shortening of muscle, the sliding velocity of ST fibres can be too slow and therefore, may exert a significant damping effect on the overall muscle contraction. He concludes that the central role played by the storage and release of elastic energy by the connective tissues of the muscle complex should never be ignored in sport specific training programmes." My question is just about the last sentence. In what way does this elastic engergy work and how do you improve it? I don’t think these tissues contract, do they? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-cat-so-strong-with-little-muscles/194927/24 "2004-03-21T08:32:52Z")
> [@drhess](#): > > I always feel sorry for cats named Fluffy… > > 😉 We had a cat named Fluffy. She wasn’t very smart, but she was a good kitty. I think that cats named Fluffy tend to be very well-loved, and get to be quite spoiled. In case you’re wondering, my daughter named that cat when she (my daughter, not the cat) was a pre-schooler. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-cat-so-strong-with-little-muscles/194927/25 "2004-03-21T15:37:11Z")
I used to have a Bengal. Aren’t they fun? I had to give him up, and let me tell you, that was a horrible, horrible day. (He’s being spoiled by other people in Mississippi now. I’d never have taken him to a pound, he went to a rescue org.) He COULD jump, but he was too lazy to. He used to hook his claws into things and pull himself up. Bengals have muscles all right. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-cat-so-strong-with-little-muscles/194927/26 "2004-03-21T18:08:29Z")
> [@Bob55](#): > > This muscle is also at the very back of the knee, maximizing the “lever” (type 3?) - very small contractions on the back of the knee bone swings the foot in a huge arc. I think this is why cats are able to jump so high - it’s not necessarily raw strength, but very tight muscles that can fire very rapidly, generating a lot of acceleration which allows them to overcome gravity. I can see this be true. After all, I don’t think I can recall any occasion where I’ve seen cats jump high in motion: they usually stand still, lean back, and then… ZOOM! ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-cat-so-strong-with-little-muscles/194927/27 "2004-03-21T20:04:14Z")
> [@drhess](#): > > This quote come from this link: > [http://staff.washington.edu/griffin/hypertrophy.txt](http://staff.washington.edu/griffin/hypertrophy.txt) > "Bosco (1982a) cautions against the indiscriminate use of resistance > training that typifies much of the ‘cross training’ prescribed with weights > and circuits by Western personal trainers and coaches. He emphasizes that, > although heavy resistance training serves as a powerful stimulus for the > development and hypertrophy of both ST and FT fibres, the invaluable role > played by FT development can be impaired by the accompanying growth of ST > fibres, because the latter appear to provoke a damping effect on FT > contraction during fast movement. > > This is due to the fact that, during high speed shortening of muscle, the > sliding velocity of ST fibres can be too slow and therefore, may exert a > significant damping effect on the overall muscle contraction. He concludes > that the central role played by the storage and release of elastic energy > by the connective tissues of the muscle complex should never be ignored in > sport specific training programmes." > > My question is just about the last sentence. In what way does this elastic engergy work and how do you improve it? I don’t think these tissues contract, do they? This guy hasn’t ever worked with sprinters, has he? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-cat-so-strong-with-little-muscles/194927.md?page=1)