| The sheer number of articles, opinions, magazines and | | | | but rather the size increases. As you work out, your |
| experts on fitness and muscle growth makes the | | | | muscles are subjected to microtrauma, where small |
| field of weight lifting appear more like the practice of | | | | tears appear in the muscle tissue. These tears signal |
| medicine in the 16th century than a concrete science. | | | | what are called the 'satellite cells' on the surface of |
| Every day new theories, approaches and miracle | | | | your muscle to activate and multiply and go to the |
| workouts appear, contradicting each other and | | | | damaged sites where they fuse with the existing |
| proclaiming that they have the truth, and that by | | | | muscle fiber, helping them regenerate. |
| following their advice you will achieve the body of | | | | While the satellite cells are multiplying and fusing with |
| your dreams. Clearly, some of them are on the right | | | | the damaged areas, your immune system kicks in |
| track and some are not, but how to tell the | | | | with a complex series of reactions that ultimately |
| difference between them all? The answer lies in | | | | lead to inflammation meant to contain and repair the |
| understanding the basics of the biological process of | | | | damage as well as clean up the area of waste |
| muscle growth. Once you know some key principles, | | | | products. This process if key not only to the health |
| you will be better equipped to evaluate whether a | | | | of the muscle, but its growth, as numerous |
| new exercise routine is based on sound physical | | | | hormones and cytokines are released which stimulate |
| principles-or completely bogus. | | | | muscle hypertrophy. Among these are hormones like |
| The most basic principle to understand is that your | | | | insulin-like growth factor (IGF), fibroblast growth |
| muscles adapt to whatever stress they are | | | | factor (FGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). |
| subjected to. If you spend all day on the couch, then | | | | Growth hormone (GH) is also released, and is key to |
| you will be in possession of a fine set of muscles | | | | promoting satellite cell division and the release of IGF. |
| equipped for couch sitting. If you jog forty minutes | | | | What is important to understand is that this entire |
| each day, than your body will adapt to that. If you | | | | process (microtrauma resulting in the complex |
| always follow the same number of reps and sets and | | | | interaction of satellite cells, the immune system, |
| routine when weight lifting, then your body will adapt | | | | growth factors and hormones) is dependent not only |
| to that too. And once you've adapted, your system | | | | on exercise, but also receiving the appropriate |
| will stop growing, and simply rest at this new plateau, | | | | amount of rest and nutrition to optimize the healing |
| having achieved the bare minimum required to | | | | process. Muscular hypertrophy occurs when the |
| function at that level. Therefore the basic idea is that | | | | muscle heals itself, not when you are working out. |
| if you want growth, you need to continuously | | | | Furthermore, your muscles will only adapt as much as |
| overload your system. | | | | they need to, resulting in a 'plateau' effect if you |
| The result of progressively overloading your muscles | | | | don't change things up and challenge them in new |
| is called muscular hypertrophy, and that is the | | | | ways. This is why it is a good idea to switch up your |
| increase in muscle mass and cross-sectional area. | | | | exercise routines like they do in P90X, and always |
| Note that the number of muscle cells does not | | | | keep your body guessing as to what comes next. |
| increase ( a phenomenon called muscular hyperplasia), | | | | |