What Causes Muscle Growth?

Written by Rick Mitchell


In order for muscles to grow, three things are required:

1. Stimulus - exercise is needed to makerepparttar muscles work, use energy and cause microscopic damage torepparttar 112988 fibers.

2. Nutrition - after intense exerciserepparttar 112989 muscles need to replenish their stores of fuel.

3. Rest - it is duringrepparttar 112990 rest or recovery phase thatrepparttar 112991 muscles repairrepparttar 112992 microscopic damage and grow.

Muscle size increases due to hypertrophic adaptation and an increase inrepparttar 112993 cross section area of individual muscle fibers. Intensive exercise impacts more onrepparttar 112994 strength influencing fast twitch type II fibers, thereforerepparttar 112995 increase in muscle size is accompanied by greater strength.

This will depleterepparttar 112996 muscle's energy stores and cause microscopic damage torepparttar 112997 muscle tissue. During recovery, these stores of glycogen and phosphocreatine will replenish from carbohydrates and creatine ingested as food or supplements. Amino acids supplied inrepparttar 112998 diet will triggerrepparttar 112999 protein synthesis that repairsrepparttar 113000 damaged muscle and lead torepparttar 113001 creation of bigger muscle fibers.

How Long Should You Rest Between Muscle Building Sessions?

Written by Rick Mitchell


In an earlier article we concluded that muscles must be worked to failure if an adequate hypertrophic response is to occur. Whether this involves one or more sets is irrelevant as in either scenariorepparttar muscles must be worked to failure and beyond. This causes significant microscopic damage torepparttar 112987 muscle tissues and it is duringrepparttar 112988 period of recovery that protein synthesis undertakesrepparttar 112989 repair process that results in bigger muscle fibers.

But how long does this process take and when is it safe to expose those same muscles to further intensive exercise? Scientific studies suggest that muscle fiber degradation takes approximately five to seven days

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