How do Muscles Grow?

Is it possible to build a house without knowing anything of carpentry? Of course, you can’t. As they say, knowledge is power, and to be able complete any task well, you should have, at the very least, some basic knowledge of the task at hand. Your new mantra should be “Work smart; not hard.”. Yet, even as thousands of bodybuilding devotees flock to gyms all over the country everyday, trying to build muscle and lose fat, they all ignore this simple mantra. Ask any of these gym rats “How do muscles grow?” You won’t get a satisfactory answer, just a blank stare. Bodybuilding isn’t an art, it’s a science. You don’t need to complete a Ph.D. in biology to build big, strong muscles and reduce body fat but a basic idea of the muscle building process will help you to efficiently meet your muscle building goals.
So then how do muscles grow?

Well, the process of muscle growth is complex and involves a large number of biological steps. All you need as a bodybuilder is an understanding of the basic concepts of muscle growth. So, how do muscles grow? Let’s take a look at the science behind the art. Let us find out. Keep this in mind as you train: Keeping you alive and healthy is the single most important function of every process and action that goes on within your body. In fact, according to Mother Nature, we have just one purpose: to reproduce and pass on our DNA. Yep, that’s all there is to it.

So exactly how do muscles grow? The human body as we know it is the result of millions of years of evolution, and to be able to ensure survival, it has created natural alarm systems that sound as a response to stress. Think about how you feel hungry if you don't eat, how you feel thirsty if you don't drink, how you feel pain when something hurts you, and how you tan when you are exposed to the sun; these are all instances of the natural alarms going off. The process of muscle growth should also be thought of in the same way. In scientific terms, the muscle building process is called hypertrophy. At the gym, you stress your muscles by lifting weights when you work out. With every repetition you perform, your muscle comes closer to failure, which is the point when your muscles will “give out,” and you won’t be able to do any more repetitions, however hard you try. As your muscles reach the point of failure, these reps create what are known as “micro-tears,” which are deeper and deeper inroads into the muscle fiber. What this actually means is that you’re inflicting damage on the muscle fibers and breaking them down. As a reaction to this damage, the body will repair the muscles and recruit moer muscle fibers. The repair process starts when the stress ceases, or when you stop working out. Since the body’s ultimate aim is to keep you alive and healthy, it will rebuild itself bigger and stronger to be able to protect itself against the same threat in the future. This recovery period takes place between workouts and it is vital that you allow enough time for this process to occur. During this recovery phase such factors as proper nutrition, rest, sleep habits and stree reduction can all play a positive role in your fitness gains. Research shows that your recovery period of 48 hours between training is minimal with 72 to 96 hours being a good general rule to follow.

Resistance training causes micro-tears, and the body’s natural evolutionary response is to repair the damaged tissue, which leads to increased size and strength. For success in muscle building, this concept is essential to grasp, even though it may seem simple. Muscle building happens in the same way that the body forms calluses on the skin when it is overused. Like a callus on the hands, muscles are like calluses for the body, and grow more and more with constant use.

Finally, how do muscles grow? For the process of muscle building to kick in, your body must perceive the weight you lift in the gym as a threat to survival, as a result of which it will initiate a process of adaptation designed to help it cope with this stress. Let me stress this one more time: Your workout must be perceived as a threat to the body’s ability to survive and cope. his is exactly the reason why an easygoing attitude in the gym will not get you any results. The body will only perceive a threat when your workout is high in intensity.