How Honing a Skill Is Like Building Muscle
The Cycle of Building Strength, Power, and Endurance
Knowing that you’re getting better at something is a fulfilling experience. Some people go deep into a subject, while others learn new and different skills to become a polymath.
Similarly, there’s a sense of accomplishment from training your body. You start feeling and looking good. People notice that you’re more active and getting fit.
In both skill and muscle training, a lot of people fail prematurely and give up. I’ve noticed that people fail, get burnt out, or lose interest for several reasons.
One reason is that people don’t see the cyclical nature of growth. Whether it’s learning how to code or working on your lower body so that you can leg press double your body weight, growth happens as a result of ongoing cycles.
The science of muscle growth
Muscle growth happens when you subject your body to a higher load of stress. When your muscles go through increased tension, your fibers get damaged, and your body releases cytokines to repair and strengthen the damaged muscle groups.
Our body quickly adapts to new loads. To keep your muscle growth going, you have to progressively overload your muscle groups with an…
