What makes muscles grow?
Muscle growth is a fairly simple concept initially. The little details then come in to play to encourage that growth even more but it all comes down to the basics.
Muscle growth first starts with a breakdown of the muscle fibers. This is the part that happens IN the gym. However the Repair is the important part of the actual muscle growing. This part happens OUT of the gym with the proper NUTRITION.
Here's a simple breakdown.
When you are in the gym lifting those weights (however heavy or light- lots of reps or a little) the muscle growth starts with the tearing of muscle fibers. I repeat- The muscle growth starts with TEARING the fibers! You know that point in your reps where your body starts to hurt and in turn your brain screams at you "this is too heavy put it down" THAT is when the magic happens. When it starts to do the real work on those fibers. You've heard it said "when it starts hurting that's when you start counting", well that concept ties in to the fact that you have to push yourself, Mind and Body, to this point to even get to the point of why you picked up that weight to begin with! A good way to explore this concept firsthand is test yourself with a drop set. A drop set is when you lift your normal weight for your set, then proceed to the next weight down and repeat the set. It quickly shows how to maximize your limits beyond your inclination to stop. Getting to this point is also referred to as Muscle Fatigue or Failure.
If you can train your brain to ignore those signals and push past the discomfort you will have successfully started down the right path of true muscle growth. ALSO while not wasting your time. Instead Maximize it!
Other factors do come in to account while you are in the gym such as FORM, Reps (heavily debated though), and Sets. But this is about the BASIC concept of muscle growth so we will move on to the Repair part of the process.
Proper Repair and Recovery are what FEED your muscle and aid it in repairing all those torn fibers. Thus in turn, the muscle repairs itself with MORE than what it began with. Repeat this enough times and you can get to your goal.
Muscle likes protein. It's what it "eats". Think about it this way; You don't feed a houseplant a steak, it has no use for it, that's not what it eats to grow. Same concept with your muscles , your body, your brain, and the PROPER nutrients they each need. OK Stay with me here. I'll try to make this simple.
Muscle fibers are repaired using Protein and Healthy Fats. The body uses Carbs to make this process happen. Carbs are it's energy source. They fuel the 'body machine' repairing the muscle using the 'ingredients' Protein and Healthy Fats. Again this is a very BASIC version of what happens but it always goes back to basics so lets not ignore these. Your muscles love a good blend of Vitamins and Amino Acids too so it is important to eat the right form of the Basic 3 Protein, Carbohydrates, Healthy Fats.
The nutrition amounts of each of these vary with every person and should be studied to find the right balance to meet your needs and goals, Much like picking a program to start, there is an active person inside us all, You just have to find what works best for you while not ignoring the basic principals. I hope this helped put the basics of muscle growth in a simple explanation.
You are now on your path to some serious GAINS!
Elizabeth Sullivan
www.lafieslifttoo.com
