Fun and Fitness: Growing muscle
A couple of weeks ago I discussed the plateaus and challenges that many of us face when trying to lose weight, but what about the people who are trying to GAIN weight?
Generally speaking, putting on muscle and size comes down to lifting heavy weights and eating lots and lots of food. Most of us succeed at putting on weight, but many of us succumb to dreadful plateaus. Let's go over some very important points about muscle growth and how our bodies do so.
Remember way back when you picked up your first weight. It was heavy — damn heavy. You continued picking up that same weight for the next few weeks and something changed. It became noticeably lighter. Soon enough it became too light and you had to get a heavier weight in order to get that challenging feeling again. What you were experiencing in your first several weeks of working out was neural adaptations. Your body was learning to lift heavier weight. Your nervous system was learning this new stimulus of weight resistance that you were putting your body through. In turn, your brain was teaching your body to get stronger in order to adapt to these new demands you were putting on it.
For all of you who wondered why you weren't seeing many physical changes within your first several weeks of training, you now have your answer. Our bodies develop neural adaptations and get stronger quite rapidly in the starting stages of resistance training.
These adaptations generally last about six-to-eight weeks. It isn't until after this timeframe that the body really begins to go through physical changes of growth. As our bodies gradually get stronger and grow, we face inevitable plateaus. Let's face it, the body has to start hitting a peak somewhere. As our bodies adapt to exercises, they become more efficient. As our bodies become more efficient, they don't have to work to accomplish exercises that may have been very challenging in the beginning. Without this “challenge” the body has nothing to respond to. The “challenge” is the stimuli that our muscles respond to and grow.
It is important to shock our bodies in different ways. Different exercises and variations in programs can provide new adaptations for the body to conquer. New stimuli provide new adaptations which provide more potential for the body to hypertrophy (muscle growth).
However, it's important to note that people shouldn't change up program regimes too often and too drastically. There comes a right time when such changes should come into play.
For further instruction on this, be sure to talk to your fitness centre staff, or feel free to contact any of Fitness 101's friendly staff. In the meantime, remember what I've talked about the next time you get antsy for results. Good things come to those who wait.
Generally speaking, putting on muscle and size comes down to lifting heavy weights and eating lots and lots of food. Most of us succeed at putting on weight, but many of us succumb to dreadful plateaus. Let's go over some very important points about muscle growth and how our bodies do so.
Remember way back when you picked up your first weight. It was heavy — damn heavy. You continued picking up that same weight for the next few weeks and something changed. It became noticeably lighter. Soon enough it became too light and you had to get a heavier weight in order to get that challenging feeling again. What you were experiencing in your first several weeks of working out was neural adaptations. Your body was learning to lift heavier weight. Your nervous system was learning this new stimulus of weight resistance that you were putting your body through. In turn, your brain was teaching your body to get stronger in order to adapt to these new demands you were putting on it.
For all of you who wondered why you weren't seeing many physical changes within your first several weeks of training, you now have your answer. Our bodies develop neural adaptations and get stronger quite rapidly in the starting stages of resistance training.
These adaptations generally last about six-to-eight weeks. It isn't until after this timeframe that the body really begins to go through physical changes of growth. As our bodies gradually get stronger and grow, we face inevitable plateaus. Let's face it, the body has to start hitting a peak somewhere. As our bodies adapt to exercises, they become more efficient. As our bodies become more efficient, they don't have to work to accomplish exercises that may have been very challenging in the beginning. Without this “challenge” the body has nothing to respond to. The “challenge” is the stimuli that our muscles respond to and grow.
It is important to shock our bodies in different ways. Different exercises and variations in programs can provide new adaptations for the body to conquer. New stimuli provide new adaptations which provide more potential for the body to hypertrophy (muscle growth).
However, it's important to note that people shouldn't change up program regimes too often and too drastically. There comes a right time when such changes should come into play.
For further instruction on this, be sure to talk to your fitness centre staff, or feel free to contact any of Fitness 101's friendly staff. In the meantime, remember what I've talked about the next time you get antsy for results. Good things come to those who wait.
