Muscle Growth Principles and Training Goals

 Muscle Growth Principles and Training Goals

This article starts with a common phenomenon. There are always people on a certain music who say, "I never believe in muscle rest or over-training. They are all shit, and they are all excuses made by the weak. The belief of the strong is Yebati, it's over."

So there are two types of people AB and AB following the trend, one cycle superimposed and one cycle endless practice, never resting. As a result, people in category A grew a little flesh, which had no effect, and they thought it was right; people in category B suffered from muscle strain, muscle weakness, and became weaker as they practiced, and they thought their views were nonsense. Of course, the ABs here are all novice groups, so they will blindly follow the trend without making judgments. This is understandable, after all, people are confused when they enter an unfamiliar field.

So to change another example, experiment A proved that [continuous training of arm muscles for a period of time can indeed hypertrophy], experiment B proved that [a muscle needs to be fully rested and recovered before muscle hypertrophy], both experiments are correct, the difference is that The test groups were different.

However, people often like simple and direct things, and they will instinctively reject complicated and cumbersome principles.

For example, conclusions, many high-traffic popular science articles are actually conclusions, do you think their conclusions are wrong? For a specific group of subjects, yes. But there is a right and wrong in everything. As a science popularizer, if you don’t explain things clearly and only post conclusions, you have no professionalism. You can’t say that it’s the fault of people’s over-interpretation. As a science popularizer, you should expect this. Sometimes, although It is much better to be wordy and talk more than to simply post the conclusion directly. Unless you write articles with a purpose, after all, high-traffic articles bring high returns, as long as the high returns are good, why bother so much.

Let's get to the point, this article will fundamentally solve several problems.

1. How Muscle Grows

2. Popularization of Motor Units and Neurons

3. Aesthetics of shape

Emmm... I know that these things have been written badly, but the phenomenon I personally observed, in fact, many people still don't understand these things. And the innovation of science popularization is to integrate writing materials with brand-new logical expressions . Even if you know this knowledge before, but if you look at it horizontally, it looks like a mountain and a side becomes a peak. Follow my logic, let's look at it again from a different perspective, and there will definitely be new insights.

1. Muscle composition

Let’s take a look at this picture first. This muscle belly (examination, not abdominal muscle) is your muscle. There are tendons on both sides. This is how the movement is formed by moving the joints. The above is a macro explanation.

Zooming in a bit, the muscle belly is covered with a layer of epimysium , and there are muscle bundles separated;

There is also the perimuscular membrane outside the muscle bundle , on which capillaries are attached to supply oxygen and blood;

Further inside, there are muscle fibers, and the muscle fibers are also wrapped with a layer of membrane- endomysium ,

Take it apart again, there is a key substance inside, myofibrils , which is the key to building muscles.

To increase muscle, what is increased is the thickness of myofibrils . Strictly speaking, the generation of force during human movement comes from the interaction between actin and myosin in the sarcomere, and the sarcomere is between the two Z lines. It is the smallest functional shortening unit .

Another thing worth mentioning is muscle satellite cells , which are attached to the surface of muscle fibers. When muscle fibers are damaged, muscle satellite cells can proliferate and differentiate (this is very important, keep in mind, and will be used later), and participate in the repair of muscle fibers. Here The muscle fiber is the purple firecracker.

2. Popularization of Motor Units and Neurons

2.1 Motor units and size principles

An α neuron controls a motor unit (that is, one or more bundles of muscle fibers). The number of muscle fibers controlled by each neuron is different, and the motor units are also different. The motor units of the human body follow the principle of size . As the load increases, the load here is the weight, the external force, and how much force the muscles need to generate to balance it, so the motor unit is also divided into low threshold units and high threshold units.

When we do resistance exercise, when we do 1-5RM load, the nervous system will recruit high-threshold units, and when we do 15-20RM, we will recruit low-threshold units. To put it bluntly, the body knows that the weight is not so large, so it will not use so many muscle fibers.

As mentioned in the previous article, the types of muscle fibers are type I, type IIA and type IIB, that is, slow muscle, fast muscle, and extremely fast muscle. From a practical point of view, every kind of load has to be done in regular training. Why? Because muscle contraction also follows the [Law of Nothing], you need to contract and contract together, and if you don’t contract, you don’t contract. However, if you want to grow muscles, you need to It is still 【weight】.

I hope readers don't over-interpret this point. Many Xiaobai's heavy weights are either not big weights at all, or they are exaggerated to the point of being injured. We will talk about this later.

Closer to home, there is another very important point about motor units-in light-load training, motor units are recruited one by one, that is, you do 15-20RM or even no RM at all, just do dozens of times, Then your muscle fibers are not fully trained.

The working mechanism of the human body is "don't activate if you don't need it", so when you practice light weight, the motor units are raised one by one and stimulated one by one, so obviously you can't train in place. (Don't over-interpret it, the body of a novice can't feel the real RM at all, I will talk about this later, let's figure out the principle first]

2.2. Hormone and endocrine

Before and after muscles generate strength, the endocrine system will release hormones, such as testosterone, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor...by transmitting signals to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, thereby producing protein, and then reorganizing protein.

Then according to the [muscle genetic mechanism of growth] in the nucleus, after about one hour of training, the concentration of anabolic hormones in the blood will naturally increase, and as the concentration rises, it can help send signals to the whole body to rebuild and repair human tissues. Growth hormone is Needless to say, it is used for growth, and the role of insulin-like growth factor and testosterone is to stimulate a group of satellite cells that can promote muscle growth.

2.3. Nutritional supplements

Protein synthesis, after resistance training (assuming it's in place). Then in order to synthesize protein, you have to rely on diet. In order to synthesize protein, amino acid molecules are transported out of the cell membrane into the muscles. After training, the body’s intake of amino acid molecules increases, which makes it easier for amino acid molecules to assist in the synthesis of proteins.

The degree of synthesis depends on the number of available amino acid molecules and the timeliness of intake of amino acid molecules, the regularity of hormone regulation, mechanical stress and the timely replenishment of cellular water.

In layman's terms, available amino acid molecules mean that the composition of amino acid molecules needs to be reasonable, and the amino acid molecular composition of animal protein is more reasonable than that of plant protein, with higher biological value, and the sooner it is ingested after training, the better , At the same time, you must also consume carbohydrates, otherwise the hormone regulation will be irregular (insulin is not high enough), and the most important thing is to drink water.

2.4. Muscle contraction form

Muscle contraction forms, as many people know, can be roughly divided into three contraction forms,

Concentric contraction: the process of shortening (the process of pushing and lifting)

Eccentric contraction: the process of elongation (the process of putting down forcefully)

Isometric contraction: stagnation in the shortening process (put it halfway down and stop)

Note that what is mentioned here is the main contraction form with strong applicability. In fact, there are super isometric contraction, isokinetic contraction and isotonic contraction, which are not the main contraction forms. If you want to know more, you can refer to Exercise Physiology, which is available in any edition, and it is very comprehensive.

As for the popular peak contraction in the fitness circle, that is, the muscle belly is contracted to the limit, and when it reaches the peak, it is called peak contraction. It's okay to call it that way, and it's reasonable. As for peak extrusion, it is purely metaphysics, extrusion does not work, and does not have any real benefits.

Which form of contraction is better? There are constant quarrels in various circles. No matter what, most of the mainstream views of academic and practical experience believe that muscle work itself is a process of centripetal eccentricity, and isometric contraction is often caused by synergistic muscles. , For example, if you practice biceps curls, then the forearm muscles are doing isometric contraction. Muscles like the erector spinae and abdominal muscles will play a fixed role in training most compound movements, and they will perform isometric contraction all the year round. Therefore, even if many people do not practice the erector spinae and abdominal muscles, they will grow accordingly.

Then, based on the above theories, the following conclusions can be drawn:

1. The first step in muscle growth is training, which is resistance training. And it is necessary to recruit high-threshold motor units to ensure that the overall muscle fibers are stimulated to generate strength. The muscles continue to be stimulated in this way, and they will continue to adapt and become larger. The stimulation of the muscles refers to the "weight load". In the field of natural fitness, if the muscles want to grow, they can only rely on the continuous increase of weight . (If you want to rely on pure small weight to gain muscle, you can wash and sleep)

2. After resisting resistance, the next step is to stimulate the release of hormones (testosterone, insulin-like growth factor), and then enhance the mechanical strength of metabolism. When muscles are damaged, the immune system is activated and inflammation occurs. It is normal for muscles to be sore within two or three days after training of inflammation.

3. After inflammation occurs, muscle satellite cells are activated and redifferentiated. These satellite cells are neither muscle cells nor other specific types of cells, but they all have the potential to become muscle cells, usually in a quiescent state, and only when the muscle is damaged, they will proliferate and differentiate, integrate into muscle fibers, and become Part of a muscle cell. (There is also a kind of microscopic talent that actually depends on whether you have enough satellite cells. If you have enough, you can increase and differentiate more).

4. There is no one best form of contraction, and they must cooperate with each other to ensure that the training is in place.

All in all, there are many factors that affect the growth of muscle. I remember what I said in the last article. A single detail is not important, and ten add up to form a whole. Therefore, training and nutrition need to be in place to achieve maximum muscle growth. , Nutrition is not discussed in this series, only the basics of training.

In fact, we can already know from the above theories that training must be in place, but most of the phenomenon is that many people's training is soy sauce. Either it is just sweating casually and exercising; or it is blind practice and blind practice. There is also Xiaobai who follows the trend. I practice chest today and see which equipment is more comfortable to practice. I personally think that everyone is like this, but I don’t know that some veterans seem to be practicing blindly, but they are actually targeted. The door is clear.

Coupled with the rise of short videos, few people have the patience to do science popularization, explanation and teaching, all kinds of pure experience shared in the video, recommended actions, etc. It's all about [fast], you understand it this way, Lu You said that "kungfu lies outside poetry". Think about why the author’s state of mind and thoughts should be figured out in just a few lines of ancient poems when you were in school. The short one-minute video seems to be the essence.

But how much knowledge is behind it (I am not exaggerating here that the fitness content posted by those short video communicators is the essence, there are indeed a lot of unconscionable content, which is purely misleading, but there is nothing wrong with the fitness content that most people say , the public's cognition is fundamental].

Pulling away, back to the topic

Now for the soy sauce crowd, I propose the [five whatever] standard

1) All training objectives and training methods do not match

2) Those who blindly apply plans without a reasonable examination of their talents and foundations

3) Anyone who has not formulated a training plan and training goals for at least three weeks

4) Anyone who has not fully examined their own strengths and weaknesses and arranged the number and intensity of action groups in a targeted manner

5) Any training without warm-up arrangement or transition group

The above are not aimed at anyone, they all belong to soy sauce training

For the people who think it’s troublesome, I advise you to think twice—if you want to practice well and train scientifically, then don’t think it’s troublesome. You need to read the theory, practice the training, make a plan, improve your cognition, and your ability to screen information To enhance.

You know the truth, you just find it troublesome and lazy! If you are diligent, don't think I am long-winded, just follow me step by step.

3. Aesthetics of shape

Space is limited, this article ends with a popularization of body aesthetics, as well as my personal understanding.

Let’s talk about girls first. One point is that the predecessors have said it again and again, and the future generations will forget what should be forgotten, or choose not to read or believe it. Believe it or not, girls practice fitness, they really can’t do this

This is indeed too hardcore, and the general public cannot accept it. Regarding this point, I only want to say the conclusion. King Kong Barbie has to pay a certain price. Because women have much less anabolic hormones and testosterone than men, and the number of natural muscle fibers is also much smaller, especially fast muscle fibers, so in natural In the field of fitness, women do not practice exaggerated King Kong Barbie body.

And outstanding strength athletes have proven that highly developed muscles do not make them less feminine, but more attractive. 

they still need long-term training, diet, movement and posture correction. You have to give up a lot of things to achieve it, and for ordinary female lovers, there is no need to worry about it.

How to improve the ratio of pear-shaped body or apple-shaped body, you first brush off the fat and then see if the ratio is caused by the fat distribution. You can judge for yourself which embryo type you prefer, although it is not very accurate, but it is similar, and many [counterattack traffic posts] have proved to the public that any embryo type can get a good figure.

There is another point about women, which can be regarded as an absolute talent-breast. According to common sense, 2/3 of breast tissue is fat, as long as it is an individual, losing fat will lose breasts, but some people will not lose breasts after losing fat. There is no way, it’s like some people lose fat but don’t lose face, but in most cases, they don’t lose it at all. Although everyone’s fat distribution is different, the working principle follows the overall reduction.

When you lose almost all the meat on your stomach and legs, it's time to lose other parts. And most girls have basically never lost fat below 15%, so I won’t talk about it here. I have also seen pictures used by supplement manufacturers to market supplements are pictures of beautiful women with big breasts, and the marketing of fat-reducing meal replacement products are all P pictures. A fat man and a naturally thin man are forced to P together to create fat loss success. illusion.

There are also some girls who are not in good health who show their buttocks (actually their pelvis is tilted forward). Of course, there is no ambiguity. I just share the phenomenon I have seen. If you understand it, you will naturally understand it. Still believers let it go.

In fact, regardless of gender, without the action of anabolic exogenous sex hormones, you will not have overdeveloped muscles. Men will not show pictures. The majority of men know it in their hearts, but I personally suggest that you shut up and practice with your hands closed. my own. There is no need to "sour" those lovers who use technology. Whether to use it or not is a personal choice. We eat instant noodles without seasoning, which shows that we know how to control it moderately, but we can't despise those who put seasoning.

In addition to charging fees, the masters in the bodybuilding circle have to ask their apprentices repeatedly whether they want to take the career path. If you want to go, it is your personal choice and you need to pay the corresponding price.

Mass fitness and fitness enthusiasts also need to measure themselves, the so-called not forgetting the original intention. If the original intention is only for health, then sweating is very suitable for you. You don’t have to stick to the form of fitness. It can be street fitness, running, crossfit, gymnastics, basketball and football.

As long as you are exercising, it is good for your health. If the original intention is, I want to be in good shape, I want to become stronger, the aesthetic standard may change with the training time and knowledge reserve in the later stage, but if I keep going, there is still a lot to learn...