Muscle
Muscle tissue is primarily composed of water and protein,
and contains amino acids, essential fatty acids, sugars, and
various other substances needed to facilitate the actions
of the muscle, whatever they may be. Muscle tissue uses the
movement of actin against myosin to create contraction. In
skeletal muscles such as biceps, and most of the muscles you
will be working as a part of your weight training programme,
these contractions are stimulated by electrical impulses transmitted
by the nerves, in particular motoneurons.
The contraction of muscles accounts for a large proportion
of the bodies energy consumption. Muscle cells contain adenosine
triphosphate molecules, or ATP, which release the energy needed
to power the contractions, and which make use of creatine
phosphate, a naturally occuring organic acid and also one
of the most popular and proven bodybuilding supplements. They
also contain sugar in the form of glycogen, which can be rapidly
converted to glucose when the muscles need a quick hit of
energy, such as when performing intensive tasks like weightlifting.
Glycogen too is a popular bodybuilding supplement.
When you lift weights, what you are actually trying to do
is damage the muscle tissue slightly, creating what is called
microtrauma, tiny tears in the muscle fibre. When the body
heals this damage, it will regenerate the muscle tissue bigger
and stronger than before. This is the essence of bodybuilding.
Note that the body does not create more muscle fibres, but
rather the muscle cells themselves increase in size.
In order to efficiently build muscle then, you are looking
at a weightlifting programme that enables you to create the
microtrauma necessary to stimulate new muscle growth, without
over-damaging the muscle tissue, which would be counterproductive
because a) the muscle does not grow stronger the more you
damage it on one session and b) the muscle would not have
time to regenerate fully before your next workout, leading
to decreased performance and sub-optimal results.
An efficient body building routine then basically involves
a number of different types of lifts to work on all the different
muscle groups, performed in a certain amount of sets and repetitions.
The number of sets and reps should be just enough to allow
you to warm up and then build up to your maximum effort in
the shortest amount of time. You do not need to stay in the
gym all day to build muscle quickly and efficiently, you just
need to work smart and concentrate, and put in the effort
when it really counts. It is also important to observe what
is known in bodybuilding circles as good form. This means
working only the muscles you are concentrating on at a particular
time, and not involving other muscle groups to make the lift
easier.
For example, you might use your abdominal muscles to help
you lift a dumbbell, but this will not provide anywhere near
as good results as if you performed the same lift using just
the muscles in your arm. Performing exercises correctly is
crucially important, which is why you can work out for less
than an hour a day and build muscles bigger and faster than
a person who spends all afternoon in the gym. It is about
working smart as well as hard.
Muscles also need time to recover after a workout. Most
of the regeneration of muscle tissue happens while you are
asleep, so you should get plenty of rest. And you will need
to supply your muscles with appropriate nutrition, which means
carbohydrates, quality protein and essential acids, as well
as vitamins and plenty of water. Meal replacement products
such as shakes or bars are a convenient way to get all the
nutrients your body needs in one package.
The strength of a muscle is dependent on three factors:
physiological strength, neurological strength and mechanical
strength. We have already established that you need to push
your muscles to their fullest in order to stimulate a transformation
response and build bigger muscle mass. This confirms then
that you can only push your muscles to the limit if you are
performing lifts correctly (mechanical strength), and that
your limits will increase as your muscle grows (physiological
strength). The third aspect then is in your mind. You have
to stay focussed and believe that you can perform that last
burning rep if you are actually going to achieve your goal
of building muscle fast.
Muscle is at the heart of everything we do (literally in
the case of cardiac muscle). An average adult is between 40-50%
pure muscle tissue, so it is not hard to see how increasing
the performance and efficiency of your muscles can not only
improve your body, but your whole life.
Muscle
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