Muscle Alchemy

There are over 600 muscles in the human body.

They make up 1/3 to 1/2 of our body weight and, along with connective tissue, connect us, hold us together, and help us move.

And regardless of whether bodybuilding is your hobby, you should always pay attention to your muscles.

Because how you treat your muscles every day determines whether they atrophy or grow.

Suppose you are standing in front of a door and are ready to open it.

Your brain and muscles are perfectly prepared to achieve this goal.

First, the brain sends a signal to the motor neurons in the arm.

When they receive this message, they fire, causing the muscles to contract and relax, pulling on the bones in your arm to create the desired movement.

The bigger the task, the bigger the brain signal and the more motor units the brain collects to complete the task.

But what if the door was made of solid iron?

At this point, your arm muscles alone can't create enough tension to open your arm, so your brain turns to other muscles for help.

Step in, tense your abdomen, tense your back, and use enough force to tear it apart.

Your nervous system simply used resources you already had, other muscles, to meet the demand.

While all this is happening, your muscle fibers are undergoing another type of cellular change.

If you put it under stress, it will suffer microscopic damage, which is a good thing in this context.

In response, damaged cells release inflammatory molecules called cytokines, which activate the immune system to repair the damage.

This is when the muscle building magic happens.

The more damage there is to muscle tissue, the more the body has to repair.

The resulting cycle of damage and repair eventually causes the muscles to become bigger and stronger as they adapt to higher and higher demands.

Since our bodies are already adapted to most daily activities, these generally do not generate enough stress to stimulate new muscle growth.

Therefore, to build new muscle, a process called hypertrophy, our cells must be exposed to ever-higher stress.

If you don't continue to apply constant resistance to your muscles, they will shrink, a process known as muscle atrophy.

On the other hand, when muscles are exposed to high tension, especially during muscle lengthening, also called stretching contractions, conditions are created that are effective for new growth.

But muscle growth requires more than just activity.

Without proper nutrition, hormones, and rest, the body cannot repair damaged muscle fibers.

Protein in our diet maintains muscle mass by providing new tissue building blocks in the form of amino acids.

Adequate protein intake and intake of natural hormones such as insulin-like growth factors and testosterone help put the body into a state of tissue repair and growth.

This important repair process occurs primarily when we are at rest, especially when we are sleeping at night.

Gender and age influence this repair mechanism.

That's why younger men with more testosterone are better at building muscle.

Genetic factors also play a role in your ability to build muscle.

Some people have a stronger immune response to muscle damage and are better able to repair and replace damaged muscle fibers, increasing their chances of building muscle.

The body responds to the demands you place on it.

Training your muscles, eating right, resting, and repeating it creates the conditions for your muscles to grow as big and strong as possible.

It is with muscles as it is with life:

Meaningful growth requires challenge and stress.

Thank you for stopping by, hope you had a nice read. I look forward to seeing you back again