Muscle Growth
Introduction
With the introduction of such modern conveniences such as the automobile, remote control,
and
even the electric toothbrush people are relying on technology to do everything for them.
With a
generation growing up in todays society physical tasks have almost become obsolete.
Tasks such
as even going shopping and going out to visit a friend can be done from the comfort of
your own
computer. With this sedentary lifestyle, muscular size will almost be unnecessary,
except for the
athlete who wants to succeed in sports. To the non-athlete, there will be no reason to
leave the
house because everything that you need will be at your fingertips, you will not have to
get up and
do anything. Any type of exercise is good for the body and muscles. Muscle growth is
essential if
you want to look better, feel better, and perform everyday tasks such as walking to the
car, and
getting out of bed easier. A person who is in shape will also sleep better then an out
of shape
person, and feel more revitalized in the morning.
Muscles account for approximently 35% of the body weight in women, and about 45% of the
body weight in men. With over 600 muscles covering the human skeleton muscles give the
body
bulk and form. Then human body contains millions of muscle fibres whose coordinated
contraction cause the whole muscle to contract.
Muscles are the foundation on which our bodies are built. Without muscles our bodies
could not
perform the simplest tasks such as opening our eyes, talking, breathing and even the
pumping of
our heart or the most difficult tasks, such as running the hurdles in a track and field
event..
Muscles are also important to maintain balance and posture.
Description of Muscles
In the body there are several types of muscles that control different functions in the
body, one of
these types being skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle is the most evident in the human body
due to it
having the most mass the other types of muscles and that it lies directly under the skin
attached to
the skeleton by tendons and ligaments.
Skeletal muscles are divided into three structural units, the entire muscle, the muscle
bundle, and
the muscle fiber (cell). Each muscle fiber is divided into two types of fiber structure,
fusiform and
pennate, with the pennate being broken up into three basic structures. These structures
being the
unipennate, bipennate, and multipennate.
Notice the longditudinal grain of the
fusiform muscles (left) compared the
pennate muscles. (below)
Striated muscle tissue (above) is associated with the muscles related to the skeleton
and
movement. Striated muscle tissue is the muscle tissue located directly under the skin and
are the
muscles that are the most visible.
There are two types muscles in skeletal muscles, these are fast twitch and slow twitch
muscles.
Fast twitch muscles have a fast form of myosin ATP and are very good of delivering
calcium to
the muscle cell. Slow twitch muscles have a slow form of myosin ATP and are not very
good at
delivering calcium to the muscle cell. Fast twitch muscle fibers reach peak tension more
then
twice as fast as slow twitch muscles, making them more explosive muscles which would be
more
desirable for athletes such as sprinters.
Notice the dark slow twitch fibers and the light slow
twitch fibers magnified. The fast twitch fibers tire
more easily then the lighter slow twitch fibers.
Causes of Muscle Growth
Muscles growth (hypertrophy) takes place in the muscle fiber themselves. When a muscle
grows
there is not a increase in the amount of muscle fibers, since this is set at birth, but
rather an
increase in the size of those muscle fibers, and an increase in the amount of connective
tissue in
the muscle. Muscle fibers are enlarged through resistant training, or regular activity
by
stimulating the amount of the contractile proteins, actin and myosin. What this does is
make more
cross bridges available to do more work.
Muscle fibers with no apparent resistant training
Muscle fibers with considerably more resistant
training
The stimulus that tells the muscle to grow is a result of two things, the shortening of
the muscle
against a resistance and the intensity of the contraction. For growth process to start a
point must
be made in your workout where the exercised muscle is working near maximal capacity
against a
resistance, and the relative intensity of the exercise is very high. When performed just
right, a
highly intense resistant exercise disrupts cell wall and cellular microfilaments, which
begins the
growth process.
A: General Adaptation Syndrome (G.A.S)
The way our muscles respond to training is the same way that any other stimulus response
mechanism in our body responds to a stressor. This mechanism is called the General
Adaptation
Syndrome.
If a muscle is given a stimulus (stressor) that it is not accustomed to it will respond
by going
through three stages. The first of these stages is called the alarm stage. The alarm
stage occurs
immediately after a very intense stimulation, muscle cells are disrupted, and later on
muscle
soreness is felt. This happens because the muscle that is being trained is not
accustomed to this
stimulus and is slightly injured trying to respond to it.
The second stage is the resistant stage, this is where muscle hypertrophy takes place.
The muscle
responds to the damage by rebuilding and restoring the muscle tissue.
In the third stage the muscle not only has repaired the damaged muscle, but will now add
new
muscle proteins to avoid having the muscle slightly injured like it was in the alarm
stage. This
addition of muscle proteins will cause the muscle to become bigger and stronger in order
to be
able to properly handle that type of stress again.
Another factor in muscle growth is genetics. Genetically, men have the potential to have
more
muscle growth then women because of the higher testosterone levels that they have.
Another
genetics factor in muscle growth is what body type you have. An ecotmorph, will have a
very
high metabolic, and may have a very hard time gaining weight, whether it be muscle or
fat, and an
endomorph will not have as hard of a time gaining muscle mass, but must be very careful
because
of a low metabolic rate, will also gain fat very easily. The "ideal" body type for
muscle growth is
the mesomorph body type. Mesomorphs are generally athletically skilled, and there body
type has
a predominance of muscle, bone and connective tissue.
"Artificial" Muscle Growth
One way which muscle growth is achieved more rapidly then just by resistant training, is
with the
aid of artificial growth hormones, most notably, anabolic steroids.
Steroids are compounds that resemble the natural male hormone testosterone. Testosterone
has
an anabolic effect in the body, and is produced naturally in the body, but only a small
portion of
the testerone produced naturally are used for the anabolic (muscle growth) effect, but
rather for
the androgenic (male sexual characteristics) effect. Steroids are constructed
synthetically to
maximize the anabolic effect, and to minimize the androgenic effect.
Steroids are taken mainly for the person who wants the quick results of muscle growth,
and to
increase athletic performance. Steroids cause many negative side effects in the body,
which
include: increased aggressiveness, increased acne, development of facial in women,
development
of gynecomastia (breast like tissue) in males, just to name a few. Steroids use is most
prolific in
sports such as bodybuilding and professional football. Even though these sports have
their own
testing programs very few athletes are ever caught using steroids, or other growth
hormones. It
is estimated that approximently 90% of players in the NFL, and approximently 99%-100% of
professional body builders take anabolic steroids, or some other type of anabolic
hormone. These
growth hormones are taken to gain excess muscle size and strength in order to gain the
competitive edge on their opponent.
An example of steroid us in a female professional
builder, notice the bulking muscles which cannot be
achieved naturally by females due to a lack of
naturally occurring testosterone in their bodies.
Effects of Aging on the Muscles
Though muscle atrophy (reduction) does take place due to a lack of exercise, another
factor that
contributes to atrophy is the factor of age. Between the ages of 24 to 80 males tend to
lose 40%
of their skeletal muscle mass. Although some older males may continue to be physically
active,
the skeletal muscle atrophy will not be as significant, but it will still take place.
Muscle strength can be relatively maintained up through 50 years of age. After that time
a 15%
loss in strength per decade occurs between the ages of 50 and 70. From the ages of 70 to
80
years of age, a 30% loss in strength occurs per decade. Due to this muscle and strength
loss there
is a decreased ability to partake in physical activity, and as a result, more atrophy
takes place.
This type of muscle and strength can have negative effects on an individual because a
decline in
strength in the lower part of the body may result in falls and hip fractures. A decrease
of muscular
strength in the upper body increases the risk in accidents in activities such as cooking,
and
cleaning, which require pushing and pulling motions.
Resistance training can also help a great deal in the fight to stay young. Older men
show a greater
strength and muscle increase after a resistant training program then do that of younger
males.
Resistant training can also reverse the effects of osteoporosis in older women, by
building more
muscle mass around the bones, and making the bones stronger, and less susseptial to
breakage.
Muscles and Self Esteem
Weight training and the desire of muscle growth is no longer set aside just for the elite
athletes.
Weight training is being done by many people, from older people trying to stay young, and
for
younger people for the sake of looking good. Muscle growth is desirable because it gives
people
who have a pudgy look the look of a more lean and athletic person, rather then the look
of a
couch potato. Weight training will not only help someone to look better, but they will
also feel
better, give them more energy, and allow them to eat more due to the increased speed of
their
metabolism. With an increased metabolism they will burn more fat while sedentary, then
will a
person with a slow metabolism. They will also more likely be more attractive to the
opposite sex,
and will be more confident with themselves.
Starting an Muscle Growth Program
After a muscle growth program your body will feel better, regardless if it your first
time in a
muscle growth program or you have been training for a while. Even though you may feel
sore
your first time training, or after a extended break from training, you will probably find
that this is
a good sore in a way that you know you are doing something good for your body.
Keeping Track of Progress
Keeping track of progress can be done in many different ways during weight training, but
is a
good idea in order to see what type of muscle and strength gains that are being made.
Progress can be plotted by actually taking the measurements of your muscles and recording
the
differences every week or every couple of weeks. Another way that progress can be
measured is
by keeping some sort of journal which has your workout in it, along with how much weight
that
you are lifting for each exercise, this way you can monitor the strength gains that you
are having.
Avoiding the "Plateau" Effect
After weight training, the first few months you may notice a drastic increase in your
lifts, but after
that you may start to "plateau". What happens when you plateau is that the gains in
strength that
you have been achieving seem to level off, and strength gains seem to stop. This can be
a
discouraging factor in many young weight trainers and may lead them to give it up because
they
think that it isn't doing any good. If this happens don't be alarmed, it is very common
among
weight trainers. What is happening is your muscles are not getting the "alarming" effect
that they
received when you first started working out, your muscles have adjusted to that routine
and now
have built almost a resistant against. Many people feel that when this happens that more
weight
must be added in order to achieve more strength gain, but this is not true. By altering
your
workout your muscles will get "confused" and the alarming effect will occur in your
muscles
causing muscle and strength gains to occur once again..
Equipment
When weight training, it is recommended that proper equipment be used before starting a
training
program. Proper equipment would include proper shoes to cushion the feet and prevent any
foot
soreness and to dampen the pressure put on the arches of your feet by the increased
weight placed
on your body while lifting the weights. Another piece of equipment recommended, but not
essential would be a pair of workout gloves. Workout gloves protect the hands when
gripping
the weight and may prevent a callus buildup on the hands. One piece of equipment that
is
strongly recommended would be the weight belt. The weight belt is a thin leather belt
which is
very wide and is worn around the waist in order to protect the lower back. Due to the
strain that
some weight training exercises can put on the lower back the belt is highly recommended.
Cool Down
It is recommended to adequately cool down after a training program in order prevent, or
reduce
muscle soreness. During a weight training program you should properly stretch the
muscles being
worked in order to keep them loose. Stretching should also be done directly after a
workout
because the muscles are still warm and can be stretched more easily. This will also
increase
flexibility which can be very advantageous in preventing injuries such as muscle sprains
and
strains.
A Conclusion to Muscle Growth
A muscle growth program can be beneficial to everybody, from the young athlete wanting
to
succeed in sports, to the older man trying to help stay and feel young. The benefits of
muscle
growth are too high to be passed out by anybody who has any sort of ambition of feeling
better
about themselves, looking better, and having more energy for everyday tasks. You will
find that
once you start weight training, and muscle and strength growths are noticed that it will
almost
become addicting and the desire for bigger and better results will become greater and
greater. I
would recommend muscle growth to anybody, and anyone who disagrees should give it a try,
just
for a little while, and after the results of improved strength and muscle size are
noticed weight
training will become a part of their life.
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