Muscle size increases when a person continually challenges the muscles to deal with higher levels of resistance or weight. This process is known as muscle hypertrophy.
Muscle hypertrophy occurs when the fibers of the muscles sustain damage or injury. The body repairs damaged fibers by fusing them, which increases the mass and size of the muscles.
Certain hormones, including testosterone, human growth hormone, and insulin growth factor, also play a role in muscle growth and repair.
These hormones work by:
- Improving how the body processes proteins.
- Inhibiting the breakdown of protein.
- Activating satellite cells, which are a type of stem cell that plays a role in muscle development.
- Stimulating anabolic hormones, which promote muscle growth and protein synthesis.
- Enhancing tissue growth.
Strength and resistance training can help the body:
- Release growth hormone from the pituitary gland.
- Stimulate testosterone release.
- Improve the sensitivity of the muscles to testosterone.
- Building muscle through exercise.
- Rest and muscle growth.
Rest plays an integral part in building muscle. By not letting each of the muscle groups rest, a person will reduce their ability to repair. Insufficient rest also slows fitness progression and increases the risk of injury.
According to MOVE!, an exercise initiative from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, people should not carry out strength training on the same muscle group on 2 consecutive days.
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People build muscle at different rates depending on their age, and genetics, but muscle development significantly increases if exercise is:
- Consistent.
- Challenging.
- Long-term.
People also achieve the best results when they follow exercise with enough rest.
The best type of exercise to build muscle is strength training, although activity can also provide benefits.
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Rest and muscle growth.
Rest plays an integral part in building muscle. By not letting each of the muscle groups rest, a person will reduce their ability to repair. Insufficient rest also slows fitness progression and increases the risk of injury.
According to MOVE!, an exercise initiative from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, people should not carry out strength training on the same muscle group on 2 consecutive days.
Getting enough sleep is also important for the process of muscle growth. The researchers behind a 2011 study, trusted source, hypothesize that sleep debt decreases protein synthesis, contributes to the loss of muscle mass, and inhibits muscle recovery. However, many further studies are necessary to confirm the link.
A 2019 study, Trusted, Source, found no direct correlation between sleep and muscle gain. However, the study authors do suggest that sleep deprivation can increase the amount of cortisol that circulates in the body after exercise. Cortisol is a stress hormone.
Reducing stress may help a person build muscle in a trusted source, as the hormones that the body releases during periods of stress have a negative effect on muscle development.
Reducing stress may help a person build muscle in a trusted source, as the hormones that the body releases during periods of stress have a negative effect on muscle development.
- People build muscle at different rates depending on their age, and genetics, but muscle development significantly increases if exercise is:
- Consistent.
- Challenging.
- Long-term.
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Examples of strength training activities include:
- Lifting free weights.
- Using stationary weight machines,
- Resistance band activities,
- Body weight exercises, such as push-ups and squats.
- Strength training classes that incorporate some or all of the above activities.
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