2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
Like any complex mechanism, the muscles of our body require care and attention, and how you treat them, their growth or decay depends. Jeffrey Siegel explains how the right combination of sleep, nutrition and exercise makes our muscles strong and plump, using fun and easy-to-understand illustrations.
For example, you are standing in front of a door and you are about to open it by pulling the handle. Your brain and muscles are perfectly tuned in order for you to successfully accomplish this task. First, the brain sends a signal to motoneurons. When the message reaches its target, they light up, causing the muscles to contract and relax. Muscles control the arm bone and force it to perform the movement we need. The more serious the challenge, the stronger the signal is sent out by the brain and the more motor units are put into action to help you achieve what you want.
But what if the door is made entirely of metal? In this case, the muscles in the arm are not able to provide enough tension so that you can pull with enough force to open the door. Therefore, the brain will start sending signals asking for help to other muscles. You push your feet, pull your stomach in, and strain your back. You can now generate enough energy to pull the handle and open the door.
Your nervous system has just used the resources you had (multiple muscle groups) to meet the need to open the door.
While all this was happening, your muscle fibers underwent a different kind of cellular change. Under the influence of stress, they received microscopic damage, which in this case causes positive changes. Damaged cells produce inflammatory molecules called cytokines. They activate the immune system to repair these tissues. This is the magic of building muscle.
The more damage to the muscle tissue, the more the body needs to make an effort to repair itself. As a result, the cycle of damage and repair makes the muscles bigger and stronger.
Once your body gets used to the daily activities, such loads no longer provide the necessary amount of stress to stimulate muscle growth. To do this, our cells must be subjected to stronger loads than those to which they are already accustomed. If the muscles are not subjected to regular stress, they will shrink. This process is also known as muscle atrophy.
However, muscles need more than just physical activity to grow. Without proper nutrition, hormones, and rest, your body can never repair damaged cells. Protein in the diet helps maintain muscle mass by providing the building blocks for new tissue in the form of amino acids.
The right amount of protein, together with the hormones our body produces (insulin-like growth factor and testosterone), helps put the body into a mode of muscle repair and growth. This process usually occurs during rest, especially at night during sleep. The effectiveness of recovery is influenced by gender and age. This is why young men with high testosterone levels gain muscle faster.
Genetic factors also matter. Some people develop a stronger immune response, which helps them repair damaged muscle fibers faster, increasing their potential to build new muscle.
If you provide your body with regular exercise, eat right, and get good rest, you create conditions in which your muscles become as big and stronger as possible.
Muscles are the same as life: full growth requires new challenges.;)
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