How do muscles grow?

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How do muscles grow?
How do muscles grow?
Anonim

If you want to build up quickly, you need to scientifically study how global and local muscle growth occurs. The growth processes of muscle tissue have been studied by scientists for quite a long time. They have not yet revealed all the secrets of these processes, but we have something to tell about how muscles grow. We will begin our conversation today with three basic axioms:

  • Basic movements are used.
  • The correct nutrition program is being used.
  • The body gets the time it needs to recover.

The relationship between muscle growth and the central nervous system

Schematic representation of the brain
Schematic representation of the brain

These principles are by no means new, but without adhering to them, you will not be able to gain mass. Today there is a lot of talk about the genetic endowment of an athlete, and one should agree with this, since this factor also has a certain effect on weight gain.

However, it should be said about such a concept as neurophysiology. This is a very important link in the chain of actions and processes that can turn a lean guy into a pumped-up athlete. Thus, we can say with full responsibility that a certain potential is hidden in each of us, which the brain helps to unlock.

All processes that take place in the body are activated by the brain. This also applies to the production of proteins in muscle tissue. And these signals are transmitted through the nervous system. When you decide to build muscle and come to the gym, starting to exercise, the nervous system starts all the processes. It is she who determines how the body will react to the load.

In turn, the main criterion for muscle growth is the body's ability to adapt. It is thanks to this that people are able to survive in the changing conditions of the external environment. If you apply this to bodybuilding, then the body will gradually adapt to any load and therefore you need to change it. This is a very important fact and without it it will be difficult for you to understand how muscles grow.

To gain weight, you must shock your body in every class. In this case, the shock must be strong enough for the body to begin to adapt to it. For this, builders use various methods, but now we are talking about how muscles grow. It should also be noted that gradually the rate of mass gain begins to slow down, no matter how powerful the shock is.

Muscle growth factors

Training on athletic rings
Training on athletic rings

We have just met about the relationship between the processes of muscle growth and the central nervous system, and now it is necessary to talk about the factors that trigger the processes of muscle growth.

Muscle fibers

Muscular tissue diagram
Muscular tissue diagram

Our muscle tissue is made up of two types of fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch fibers. There are serious differences between them, and first of all, this is the fact that the volume of fibers of the first type can never reach the same indicator of the second type. In turn, the volume of cells (each cell is a fiber) depends on the sarcoplasm, or rather its amount, which fills the entire volume between the myofibrils.

By the way, sarcoplasm contains glycogen, protein globular structures and salts. You should be aware that glycogen is used to provide energy to the muscles and can be increased through training. Also, when talking about how muscles grow, it is necessary to remember the fascia. This is a kind of packaging for fibers. Each person has different fascia stiffness and this also affects the rate of mass gain. When it is very stiff, fiber growth will be slowed down. Concluding the conversation about fibers, we recall their main parameters affecting the growth of muscles: thickness, type, number of fibers and sarcoplasm, fascia stiffness.

Hyperplasia and hypertrophy

Hypertrophied muscle tissue
Hypertrophied muscle tissue

During training, we inflict microdamage on muscle tissue. Actually, this is exactly what the essence of bodybuilding comes down to. The more the tissues are injured, the more pronounced the muscle growth will subsequently be. After the body has restored all damage, the mechanisms of hyperplasia and hypertrophy are triggered.

Hypertrophy involves an increase in the size of muscle fibers, and hyperplasia, in turn, is a process of increasing the number of cells (fibers). It is quite obvious that increasing the number of fibers is more effective in promoting mass gain compared to growing just one cell.

As a result, we can say that we first of all need to start the mechanism of hyperplasia, since the effect of this will be higher, and you will be able to gain more mass. Scientists have determined that the main role in the body in the activation of hyperplasia belongs to growth hormone and IGF. Well, the most effective will be the activation of hypertrophy and hyperplasia. To do this, it is necessary to alternate between two types of training. You can change your training program every month, working in turn to increase the size of each fiber and increase the number of cells.

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