Skeletal muscle is one of three types of muscles in the body. The tendon attaches these muscles with bones to move as a result of contraction. Now let’s know about build muscle mass. Muscle mass is the measure of the weight of muscle in our bodies. Skeletal muscle is a series of parallel cylindrical fibers. So, it is the size and number of muscle fibers present in our muscle tissues.
Muscle Hypertrophy Pocess Of Increasing Muscle
Muscle hypertrophy is a physiological process of increasing muscle mass. It refers to an increase in the size and power of muscle. When you work out for a longer period the muscle fibers sustain damage and injury. The satellite cells outside the muscle fibers fuse to repair trauma and injury. Thus increasing the muscle mass. One thing you need to understand is that all muscles of the body do not show hypertrophy like muscles of the back. They only strengthen but do not increase in size. On the other hand, the bicep triceps, and many more muscles show hypertrophy.
Building muscle is something that everyone can do but it is not a day or night task. It takes time, proper training, and healthy eating with consumption of protein.
Everyone wants to look handsome and improve their physique. If you have strong muscles it will boost your self-confidence, maintain your general health, and make you look more handsome.
In this article, we will try to discuss each and everything that you need to know to build muscle. It will help you to build your muscles more quickly and effectively.
Hormones Responsible For Muscle Building
The muscle-building process is carried out by various factors including hormones. Hormones which are responsible for strengthening and muscle building are:
- Testosterone
- Growth hormone (GH)
- Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)
These hormones inhibit the breakdown of protein, activate stem cells, stimulate anabolic hormones, and improve tissue growth.
Point to be noted:
Men lose their 4% to 5% of their muscle mass per decade after 30. It is because the muscle-building hormone testosterone begins to drop slowly after age 40. This thing may vary in all persons. But you can slow this process of natural decline by maintaining your muscle health.
Tips For How To Build Muscle
Building muscle is naturally quite a big task for you, it is not that easy. You need to be consistent. Here are some tips that will help you to improve your muscle building.
Take Sufficient Protein
When we are talking about nutrients eating sufficient protein is on top priority. Protein is an important element in building muscle volume and strength. Proteins are broken down into amino acids. These essential amino acids are not produced in the body on their own. They play an important role in many processes of the body like tissue repair and growth.
Based on research the recommended protein intake is 0.72 grams per pound of body weight per day.
Example
If your body weight is 100 pounds
100 pounds × 0.72 grams/pound = 72 grams of protein per day
Sources Of Proteins
Include a variety of protein sources in your diet like:
- Lean meat
- Fish
- Eggs
- Dairy products
- Legumes
- Tofu
- Tempeh
- Legumes
Calories Intake
Increasing calorie intake will help you to increase muscle volume. You need to know your basal metabolic rate and daily calorie intake. To support muscle strength without excess fat gain, you should intake about 300 to 500 calories per day. Calorie intake varies from person to person. You need to monitor how your body responds and then adjust calorie intake accordingly. These calories will help you to repair your damaged tissue after a hard workout.
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is very important after and before working out. Dehydration causes a slowing down of protein production and increases its breakdown. In this way the chances of injury are high. So, drink plenty of fresh water to keep yourself hydrated and maintain your performance during workout sessions. Try to drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water per day.
Isolation And Compound Exercises
In isolation exercises one muscle group works at a time and in compound exercises many muscle groups work together. Isolation exercises help you to build your weak muscles and are more effective than compound exercises. While compound exercises involve whole-body workouts in less time. These are less effective than isolation exercises.
Rest And Recovery
Rest and recovery are absolutely important factors when we are talking about muscle building. For each muscle group to recover completely, you must allow 48 hours of rest between each session.
When you do hard exercise small injuries occur in your muscle fibers. Rest and recovery allow your muscles to regrow and repair. This will increase their volume and strength.
Prevent yourself from overtraining. Don’t do hard exercises daily. This thing causes fatigue and injury to muscle fibers.
Rest and recovery period also maintain hormonal balance and is a key to mental peace and well-being.
Proper Sleep
After exercise or workout session you need to sleep at least 8 to 9 hours. This will give your muscles time to recover from fatigue and injury. If you don’t get proper sleep then your muscles will remain in a state of sustained contraction and cause serious problems like muscle fiber injury. Proper sleep with sufficient intake of protein makes the hypertrophy process more effective.
Patience And Consistency
Consistency and patience are required in every work. You don’t get your desired result within a night. You need to be consistent and put in your all efforts. Don’t discourage yourself when you don’t see any change. Within a few hours, changes are only visible on the cellular level like protein synthesis in muscles. But changes that you can see in the mirror of your bedroom require at least a few weeks or months.
Fitness Apps
Download a fitness app to track your exercise and diet routine. These apps will help you to enhance your results. Here are some fitness apps you can download easily.
Exercise For Muscle Building
If you want to increase the power of your muscles you should focus on high resistance and low repetition. But if you want to increase you should focus on low resistance and high repetition. Resistive exercises are a very important factor for muscle hypertrophy.
Where To Get Help For Build Muscle
- Doctor
- Qualified gym instructor
- Physiotherapist
- Dietitian
- Personal trainer
