How Do Muscles Grow ?

Muscle growth is a complex process of increasing the mass of muscle fiber and the surrounding tissues, requiring both physical training, adequate nutrition, and proper sleep. It is often believed that muscle growth occurs during sleep when the body mobilizes reserves for recovery - including by increasing the level of production of somatropin (growth hormone).

In order to understand that the muscles are growing, just listen to the signals of your body. Firstly, the processes of healing and subsequent increase in muscle are closely associated with the appearance of characteristic muscle pain. Despite the fact that this pain is often explained by increased production of lactic acid, recent scientific studies refute this - the pain appears due to a number of factors.

Secondly, an increase in body weight against the background of an increase in strength also clearly indicates that the muscles are successfully growing. However, note that this rule requires regular weight gain, with which you pump muscles - the launch of growth processes implies a new level of stress for the muscles. Another type of load can be such stress, which indicates the benefits of alternating sports.

What makes muscles grow?

We all know that physical activity makes muscles grow. However, from the point of view of anatomy, this is not entirely accurate, since the muscles themselves practically do not grow, and only the volume and density of myofascial increase. It is also important that even the best strength exercises are completely useless without adequate nutrition (both in terms of protein and total calorie content).

How do muscles grow? Few facts:

• Regular hypertrophy strength training
• Increasing the calories intake by 10-15%
• Consuming enough protein
• Ample recovery time

Anatomy and physiology of muscle growth

From a scientific point of view, it is more correct to speak not about muscle growth, but about an increase in their volume - that is, about muscle hypertrophy. Most scientists are inclined to believe that the amount of muscle fiber itself remains virtually unchanged throughout life and is set genetically. Physical training really makes the fibers stronger but does not lead to an increase in their number.

Visual muscle growth and its pumping through exercises is primarily an increase in sarcoplasm (the nutrient fluid surrounding the muscle fibers), glycogen depot muscles, and the growth of connective tissue. In fact, the athlete’s body begins to use and nourish existing muscle fibers more and more effectively.

Due to what muscles grow:

• Strength training 2-3 times a week
• Multi-joint exercises
• Adequate muscle glycogen
• Creatine

How long does it take for muscle to grow?

Scientific research suggests that muscle growth begins about 3-4 hours after strength training, and ends after 36-48 hours, depending on the muscle group. That is why it makes no sense to pump the same muscle group more often than once every two to three days, and the ideal training frequency for weight gain in beginners is 3 workouts per week.

In this case, immediately after training, the beginner's body needs both easily digestible proteins to stop catabolic processes in the muscles, and carbohydrates in an amount of at least 100-150 g (30-40 g immediately after training, the rest within 2-3 hours). The period when the body prefers to send the energy of food to the muscles is called a metabolic or carbohydrate window.

Best Exercises for Muscle Growth

The most effective on muscle growth and glycogen synthesis is the so-called "basic training", which triggers the processes of hypertrophy. Such training consists of performing multi-joint exercises involving several large muscle groups at once. Exercises should be performed in 5-7 repetitions with a heavy working weight - and this requires perfect knowledge of technology.

Such strength training provokes microdamage to muscle tissue, the subsequent recovery of which leads to muscle growth. In addition, basic hypertrophy training has a positive effect on the body's production of a number of hormones necessary for muscle growth - primarily testosterone and growth hormone. Recall that these same hormones affect fat burning and rendering relief.

What is hypertrophy?

Muscle hypertrophy is an increase in the body’s muscle mass due to the growth of certain groups of skeletal muscles. It is hypertrophy that means muscle growth and is the main goal in bodybuilding since without an increase in muscles it is impossible to increase their strength or increase their volume. Hypertrophy training strategy - basic exercises and large working weights.

In turn, muscle hypertrophy is divided into two types - myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. The first is achieved by increasing the volume of muscle fiber cells (while the actual number of cells remains virtually unchanged), the second - by increasing the nutrient fluid surrounding this fiber. In simple words, the first affects strength, the second affects muscle volume.

Carbohydrates - The Main Nutrition for Muscles

On the one hand, heavy strength training using multi-joint exercises trigger various physiological processes in the body, leading to an increase in the strength of muscle fibers. On the other hand, without a sufficient supply of energy in the form of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins (in this order), there simply will not be any muscle growth.

Carbohydrates are necessary for the body to build up glycogen reserves (the main source of energy for muscles), and fats for the synthesis of testosterone and other important hormones. Separately, we note that the nutrition and training strategy for muscle growth largely depends on the type of physique of the athlete. People who are naturally thin need enhanced nutrition, while endomorphs prone to fullness can do harm.

Features of sports metabolism

The main difference between the metabolism of athletes and the metabolism of an unsportsmanlike person is the ability to more efficiently use carbohydrates and regulate insulin levels in the blood. In simple words, the body of athletes prefers to process carbohydrates that come with food into glycogen and send them to the muscles, rather than to fat stores.

Regular “muscle pumping” gradually increases metabolism, requiring a significant increase in caloric intake and forcing the athlete to eat more. It is also interesting that modern scientists believe that there are no genetic lucky ones, and everyone can become the owner of sports metabolism after several years of appropriate nutrition and training.

Despite the fact that muscle growth is not such a difficult physiological process, it is achieved exclusively with the right combination of factors such as regular strength training, increased calorie intake, and adequate rest. For muscle growth, most beginners need only 3 workouts per week - otherwise they will be overtrained. Needless to say, that with the help of anabolic steroids that result could be achieved way faster combined with training and nutrition.