Muscle building

What you should know about muscles
and training

Content

Muscle building: what are our muscles made of?
But why does the muscle get thicker in the first place?
High protein diet
Important aspects of muscle building
Which food supplements make sense?
Other Important Factors for the Trainers

What's it about?

If you spend a lot of time on the subject of strength training or practise it, then it is obvious to find out about the structure and functioning of the muscles. The skeletal muscles, which are responsible for movement, are particularly important. Thick arms and an attractive butt - in this blog article we explain what you should pay attention to in your training.

Muscle building: what are our muscles made of?

Anatomy of the muscle

1. anatomy of the muscle

The idea that a muscle is just one big lump is quickly disproved on closer examination of the musculature. A muscle is made up of a wide variety of small structures and consists of 20% protein. There is both striated muscle and smooth muscle. While striated muscle includes skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle, smooth muscle is found more in hollow organs.

The entire muscle is surrounded by connective tissue, the so-called epimysium. The perimysium (also connective tissue) combines a large number of muscle fibres into a muscle fibre bundle. Several muscle fibre bundles together form a muscle.

Individual muscle fibres are sheathed by the endomysium. A muscle fibre is composed of hundreds of so-called myofibrils. These myofibrils make active muscle contraction (shortening) of the muscles possible. The sarcomere plays a very important role. The myofibrils are made up of sarcomeres, which contain the proteins actin and myosin.

Briefly summarised: Muscle tissue is composed of muscle bundles. In these muscle bundles, muscle fibre is lined up with muscle fibre, which in turn are composed of myofibrils. The smallest functional unit of the myofibril is the sarcomere. During a muscle contraction, the two elements actin and myosin of the sarcomere slip into each other and the muscle shortens. At this point, this is only a section of muscle contraction and does not include all the processes of it.

2. what are the types of muscle fibres?

A basic distinction is made between type I and type II muscle fibres. Type I muscle fibres are slow twitch (slow twich). The muscle contraction of these fibres is slow. They are reddish in colour and have a high content of myoglobin. Myoglobin is responsible for transporting oxygen within a muscle. The metabolism of type I fibres is oxidative, which leads to a very slow fatigue of these muscles.

Type II muscle fibres are differentiated into type IIA and type IIB fibres. Type IIA muscle fibres are fast-twitch fibres with a pink colour. These type IIA fibres are a mixture of type I and type II fibres.

The myoglobin content of type IIA fibres is relatively high and metabolism is partly oxidative and partly glycolytic (anaerobic energy production from glucose). This results in an average fatigue rate.

Type IIB fibres are the fastest twitching muscle fibres. They have a white colour, a low myoglobin content and the metabolism takes place glycolytically. Accordingly, the muscle fatigues quickly.

3. how does a muscle contraction occur?

To shed light on this topic, it is important to know what a motor unit is. A motor unit is an alpha motoneuron (nerve cell) and all the muscle fibres that are innervated (excited) by this alpha motoneuron. The muscle fibres are excited via an extension of this motoneuron, the axon. This axon can split very frequently, so that a large number of muscle fibres are reached. If an alpha motoneuron innervates many muscle fibres, which means that the motor unit is large, the less fine the movements are. For example, if the alpha motoneuron innervates only a few muscle fibres, the movements are much finer and more precise than if the motor unit is large. For example, the motor units in the muscles of the fingers or the eyes are relatively small, so that fine motor movements are possible. It is only possible to activate either all the muscle fibres of a motor unit or none at all. Accordingly, the alpha motor neuron determines whether the associated muscle fibres are activated and consequently contract. The muscle contraction then results in a shortening of the sarcomeres. In a myofibril, hundreds of sarcomeres are connected in series. A small shortening in each sarcomere causes a significant muscle contraction.

How does muscle growth, so-called hypertrophy, occur?

Many people do hypertrophy training with a fitness plan to build muscle. There are two types of muscle hypertrophy.

But why does the muscle get thicker in the first place?

Muscles adapt due to muscle loads that exceed the muscle's original performance level. This happens, for example, during hypertrophy training.

This overload causes microtrauma, i.e. smaller microfilament tears in the muscles. As a result, a growth stimulus occurs, which ensures that protein structures are built up, so that muscles are built up. To put it more simply: after the training load, the body not only restores the original performance level through regeneration processes, but the performance level of the stressed muscles is also increased. Consequently, new muscle tissue is built up. This process is called supercompensation.

The phases of muscle building

Training stimulus
Reduction in performance
Regeneration and adaptation
Supercompensation

Many strength athletes ask themselves the question, how can I build muscle quickly and should I train every day?
Generally speaking, building muscle is a long-term project rather than a short-term one.
One of the most renowned fitness coaches in the world is Lale McDonald. According to him, it is possible for men to build around 250g of muscle per week in the first year of strength training. Women, on the other hand, are assumed to gain half that amount of muscle.
According to the famous American nutritionist Alan Aragon, the muscle building rate for men is as follows:

Men

Women

One of the reasons for the difference between men and women when it comes to building muscle is the hormone testosterone, which is largely responsible for building muscle. Due to the lower production of testosterone, it is not possible for women to build up the same amount of muscle as men.

From training stimulus to adaptation

The adaptation of the muscles after strength training does not take place immediately after the training. The regeneration of the micro-traumas of the musculature can take a few days. Basically, supercompensation goes on for 3-8 days. To achieve success in strength training you do not have to train every day. As described before, muscles are built up during recovery. So it is really important to give your body the rest it needs. As a rule of thumb, 3-4 training sessions per week are very good for muscle building.

High protein diet

An extremely important factor for muscle building is nutrition. During a training phase, you have to take great care to eat enough nutrients to build muscle mass. A protein-rich diet is essential for this. You can create a nutrition plan for this, or have one created for you.

If you decide to build muscle with your own nutrition plan, be sure to consume sufficient micro and macronutrients. There are numerous instructions and tutorials on the internet. The most crucial macronutrient for building muscle is protein. Fitness nutrition is often equated with protein-rich food, which is not entirely unfounded. At this point we would like to briefly clarify how much protein an athlete really needs.

A person who does no sport has a protein requirement of approx. 0.8 g protein per kilogram body weight per day. Expressed in figures, this means that a 70-kilogram adult with no sporting activity has a protein requirement of 56 g per day. However, an active sportsman/athlete has an increased protein requirement, which has been shown in various studies.

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With a sports workload of 1-3 hours per week, there is a protein requirement of 0.9-1.1 g per kilogram of body weight. Even a slight increase in sporting activities results in a noticeable increase in protein requirements. The protein requirement increases to 1.2-1.4 g protein per kilogram of body weight for competitive athletes in endurance sports (jogging, cycling, swimming). This occurs, among other things, due to the increased use of amino acids (mainly branched-chain amino acids) for energy production during long endurance exertion.

When doing endurance sports for several hours, up to 10% of the required energy can be provided by amino acids. In order to counteract a load-induced reduction in muscle mass, it is also necessary for endurance athletes to consume protein-rich food. In this case, the intake of the branched-chain amino acids valine, leucine and isoleucine is particularly important. The protein requirement is different for strength training. A competitive fitness athlete (bodybuilder, crossfit athlete, boxer) needs 1.7-1.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. For athletes in power sports, the protein requirement is greatly increased by the use of amino acids for regeneration and the formation of muscle tissue. Meeting the existing protein requirement is the necessary prerequisite for building up the body's skeletal muscles. It is therefore not surprising that many athletes cover their protein needs with supplements such as protein shakes made from vegan or whey protein powders.

Important aspects of muscle building

3-4 x training per week
Observe regeneration phases
Breaks also during training
Protein-rich & healthy diet

Sore muscles

The inevitable side effect of extensive strength training is muscle soreness, which is so unpopular among athletes. Sore muscles often occur after a hard or unaccustomed workout, for example after a long break from sports.
What can be done about sore muscles? And can you train with sore muscles? These and many other questions are answered below.

What is muscle soreness?

For a long time, the production of lactic acid in the muscle during exercise was seen as the cause of muscle soreness. However, many athletes know that muscle soreness is often more severe during strength training than during endurance training.

However, much more lactic acid is produced during an endurance exercise than during a strength training session. Various studies have shown that muscle soreness is caused by micro-filament tears in the muscles. Consequently, cell water can penetrate the muscle fibres through the micro tears in the muscles and so-called oedema develops. A stretching pressure in the muscle fibres is the result, which is popularly known as muscle soreness.

This is also the reason why muscle soreness does not appear in the muscle at the time of injury, but with a time delay of several hours. Most athletes complain that muscle soreness causes the greatest pain after a period of 24-36 hours after exercise.
The reason for this is that the maximum amount of cell water flows into the muscle fibre during this period and the stretching pressure is accordingly greatest. Inflammations in the injured muscles also play a role in the development of muscle soreness.

What helps against sore muscles?

So far, there is little evidence for a sensible therapy of muscle soreness. Positive effects of cold applications or massages could not be proven.
It certainly makes sense to immobilise the affected muscles during muscle regeneration. High force loads with muscle soreness should be avoided. During the course of muscle soreness, you should take it easy as much as possible and immobilise the affected muscles.

You should avoid intensive training with muscle soreness. This is not always the most pleasant option for a die-hard athlete, but if the micro-tears in the muscles are to heal completely, it is advisable to give your muscles a short break. In addition, you can act on the sore muscles with heat to loosen the muscles and stimulate the circulation. This can accelerate the elimination of the oedema.

Protein and amino acids for sore muscles

However, it is certain that the injured tissue that causes the muscle soreness must then be regenerated. For this purpose, the body's own free amino acids are first used, which are only available to a limited extent.
In order to continue to offer the body the possibility of complete regeneration, enough protein should be ingested after hypertrophy training or endurance training. This can be achieved through a protein-rich diet or also through dietary supplements such as protein powders. Here, a high content of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) is crucial, as they are mainly used for building new muscle tissue.

The rapid availability of amino acids in the muscles is of particular importance here. The regeneration of the injured tissue in the muscles, which causes the muscle soreness, can thus be quickly supported by the amino acids. This provides the musculature with the necessary conditions for recovery and regeneration. The hypertrophy training stimulates the muscles to adapt beyond their original performance level (supercompensation) so that no more muscle soreness will occur in the future when the same amount of stress is applied. Muscle soreness is not a nice thing to have, but it is a logical consequence of a high load on the muscles.

Which food supplements make sense?

Everyone knows them: Dietary supplements or supplements as they are also called. Which supplements really make sense for muscle building training?

As already discussed, it is enormously important to supply the body with sufficient protein if you want to build muscle, as the body needs it to build muscle tissue.

Other Important Factors for the Trainers

Age 1

Age plays a major role in muscle building. Muscle building is strongly influenced by the hormone testosterone. This is most abundant in men after puberty. From the age of 25, the body gradually produces less testosterone until it is only present in small amounts at an older age and muscle building is correspondingly more difficult.

However, studies clearly show that strength training also has positive effects on the health and subjective quality of life of senior citizens. Strength training counteracts the decline of the musculature, the so-called sarcopenia. Furthermore, strength training increases bone mass and bone density in older athletes.

2. gender

It is strongly dependent on gender how much and how quickly muscles can be built up. The female sex produces more oestrogen than testosterone. For this reason, muscle building is slower in women than in men. The maximum achievable muscle mass is also significantly lower in women than in men.

3. genes

A sprinter does not become a bodybuilder, that's a fact. Genetics is very important for athletic success. For example, every person has in their disposition which muscle fibre types they have more of. If you have more fast-twitch muscle fibres (fast twitch) by nature, you are more likely to have the disposition to be able to perform fast muscle contractions and a high increase in muscle mass is achievable.
However, if you have a lot of slow-twitch muscle fibres by nature, it will be difficult to build up a lot of muscle mass. This predisposition is better suited to long-term endurance exercise.

Anabolic steroids

Great caution is advised with doping agents such as anabolic steroids. They promise rapid muscle growth with less training than usual. But what is often not taken into account are the side effects. For this reason, we would like to clearly advise against taking anabolic steroids or other anabolic steroids. Our health is our most valuable asset and it must not be carelessly endangered by such substances.

Side effects of anabolic steroids include:

Impairment of the cardiovascular system
Liver damage
Obstructing the growth of adolescents
Cardiac hyperthrophy and capillarisation

How do anabolic steroids work?

Anabolic steroids target protein synthesis, the body's own protein build-up. This is increased, while the breakdown of the body's own protein is weakened. In combination with strength training, muscle tissue can be built up quickly. However, this advantage is out of all proportion to the side effects of anabolic steroids and their danger to health.