Explain why glucose is needed for the contraction of skeletal muscle.
Skeletal muscle use glucose in glycolysis to generate ATP, the energy currency of the cell. ATP binds the myosin head in skeletal muscle to displace actin (a protein bound as part of the muscle contraction cycle). ATP is hydrolysed to ADP + Pi to reset this cycle. ATP is also used to actively transport Ca2+ back into sarcoplasmic reticulum.
