muscle development: Constancy
It is the key to any physical activity and any goal in life, but it does fit an artificial state, even more so in development. It is better to do a job well done for many weeks, even 80 or 90%, than the typical attempt of the inconsistent or newbie, who go to the gym and do things 100% for a month or two, you create expectations too high that they are not fulfilled and, in the end, he falls into discouragement and abandons. However, in the first case, a constant person, even if he does not do things 100%, but if around 80 or 90%, accumulating many weeks doing things well, will achieve better results. Muscle development cannot be exempt from this rule, “perseverance equals success.”
muscle development: Food
It is essential in any muscle development workout. There are three nutrients with plastic capacity: caloric intake: proteins, hydrates and fat, to which vitamins and minerals must be added, and fibre. As for proteins, commonly in muscle development, you work between 1.5 to 2 grams per body kilogram per day; you have to double this amount in carbohydrates.
A muscle grows by subjecting it to stress through training and providing it with nutrients to obtain, mainly, the amino acids that protein contains to rebuild itself. Today, everyone has a lot of knowledge about protein and little about carbohydrates. The body’s priority is to survive, and uses protein as an energy source, preventing it from reaching where it should, the muscle).
On many occasions, carbohydrates are believed to be fattening; the most significant flaw seen in hypertrophy diets is a shallow carbohydrate content. Therefore, protein is used as an energy source, not reaching the muscle, which is where it should be. Usually, increasing the intake of carbohydrates is solved; the maxim is never to work catabolic, that is, in the muscle destruction phase. Therefore, post-training food is essential and complying with the gastric emptying rule: eat every two and a half or three hours, never before, because we would not assimilate it, but neither leave more than this time.
muscle development: Rest
Scientifically, it is proven that muscle grows in the rest phase, which is when it is fed after training stress. Within the recovery phase, it is also crucial to rest at night, especially the first phase of sleep, which is the deep phase, in which the body’s natural hormonal stimulation occurs (endogenous production). Finally, we must not forget the rest, both between series and series, and between exercise and exercise during training, because to recruit the maximum of fibres, we need to move the weight and, above all, in basic exercises, we need an optimal muscle recovery.
It is advisable to rest in the warm-up series for between one and three minutes and the vital series between two and five minutes. Likewise, we will ensure that the workouts last between 75 and 90 minutes to avoid the loss of physical performance.
Somatomedin C, also known as IGF 1 or insulin-like growth factor 1, is an insulin-like hormone. This chemical substance stimulates the development of the human body’s tissues and, likewise, inhibits the breakdown of muscles. Therefore, it is perfect for promoting muscle hypertrophy.
Unlike testosterone, cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is a catabolic hormone that damages muscles by extracting the proteins stored in them and transforming them into glucose. This hormone, which centuries ago ensured our survival, today is responsible for slowing down the growth of muscle mass. Try, as far as possible, to avoid stress to promote muscle hypertrophy.
What is the difference between hypertrophy and hyperplasia?
Hypertrophy involves developing the cross-section of the muscle fibre, which acquires volume without creating new cells. In contrast, hyperplasia involves an increase in the number of muscle fibres. Using the latter to gain muscle mass is quite controversial.
Hyperplasia describes a process during which organs and tissues grow thanks to the multiplication of cells. In muscle building, this phenomenon occurs as soon as the body fails to provide enough oxygen to the cells, which leads to cell division. However, sufficient evidence has not yet been done to understand its effects on humans fully.
