>> Muscle power is [apparently] proportional to cross-section area, not 
>> volume.
> 
> I guess that makes sense if you assume each cell in the muscle fibre can 
> only exert a certain force, a chain of them can still only exert that 
> same force no matter how long it is.  It's having more fibres in 
> parallel that help to increase the force.

Precisely.

Also of note is that [apparently] if all the fibers were to contract 
simultaneously, the muscle would be ripped from the bone (assuming 
there's any load on it). Apparently the fibers are actually programmed 
to twitch a few at a time, so that they have time to recover between 
contractions, while the muscle as a whole maintains constant force.

You know how when you try to lift something too heavy and you start 
shaking? That's apparently because there aren't enough fibers fiting at 
once...

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