There is a specific science behind how your muscles actually grow and thanks to Dr. Robert Libertine, a sports medicine specialist, I'm going to share the abridged version of his "The Science Of How Muscle's Grow" book with you.
Dr. Libertine says "Muscle growth comes about because of hypertrophy or hyperplasia."
Hypertrophy is an increase in the size of the muscle due to an increase in the size of the muscle fibers, while hyperplasia is an increase in the number of muscle fibers.
Hypertrophy comes in two forms, sarcomere hypertrophy, an increase in the size of the contractile portion of the muscle; and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, an increase in the non-contractile portion of the muscle."
Sarcomere hypertrophy involves a smaller increase in the diameter of the muscle, but muscle density increases. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy shows an increase in muscle diameter and a decrease in density. All hypertrophy will involve both processes; the ratio is dependent on training intensity and frequency.
"The process of muscle growth is not known for sure, but most theories are based on the idea that lifting breaks down the muscle, and growth results from over-compensating to protect the body from future stress. The human body breaks down and rebuilds all of the muscles every 15 to 30 days. Lifting speeds up the process due to an increased need for fuel. Rebuilding peaks 24 to 36 hours after training and continues at increased rates for as much as 72 hours."
Dr. Libertine later goes on to say that lifting weights is a stress, and to counteract the stress and as part of the super compensation, hormones are released. Growth hormone, insulin, insulin-like growth factor, testosterone and cortisol are the hormones released after or during weight training.
Cortisol breaks carbohydrates down for fuel. Growth hormone, insulin, and insulin-like growth factor work together to inhibit the breakdown of muscle by increasing nutrient flow into the muscle. Growth hormone is released in greater amounts following exercise and controls the release of insulin-like growth factor, which is the primary anabolic hormone. Testosterone stimulates the nervous system to send stronger signals and signals the muscle to rebuild.
Dr. Libertine closes his article by saying research has shown that in order to increase muscle mass, stress must be put on the body, leading to increased hormone release, and increased flow of nutrients into the muscle, and with rest, muscles will grow. The key here is that you actually have to have the nutrients in your body when the muscles and hormones begin to kick-up and demand a higher flow of nutrients as stated above. That's where diet comes into play. You will train a muscle for an hour in the gym and then you must feed the body for the next 24 to 72 hours so that when all the systems explained above are stimulated, you actually have nutrients to deliver to the muscle fibers. If you do not feed the muscles or provide the requisite 24 to 72 hours recovery then the muscles have not had the fuel nor the time to repair and grow larger. So yes kids, you can over-train!
Now that doesn't mean you have to lift a house to make your muscles grow but you do need to use more then the 5lb weights! Heavy training on a regular basis will make you feel solid whereas someone who trains for the pump with light weights will feel soft. If you are interested in improving performance, than strive for sarcomere hypertrophy. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is only beneficial if an increase in body weight is more important than an improvement in performance.
Eating or supplementing the right nutrients and having the right supplements will help you reach your goals faster, so when your done in the gym come on by the store and let us help you put on that muscle you've been looking for!
Till next time!
Mikie
