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Want to Increase Muscle Mass or Muscle Strength or Maybe Both?
Then, you need to know what muscle hypertrophy or translated muscle growth is. Our muscles experience this adaptation due to continuous exposure to progressively overloaded forms of resistance training, which significantly increases muscle fiber size.
There are two types of muscle hypertrophy:
Myofibrillar, which is an increase in myofibrils. Proteins are synthesized, and the density of filaments increases. This type of hypertrophy is mainly associated with athletes or powerlifters who aim to increase strength and speed.
Sarcoplasmic, which is an increase in muscle glycogen storage. The compactness of the filaments in the muscle fibers decreases while the surface area of the muscle fibers increases without a noticeable increase in muscle strength. This type of hypertrophy is typical of bodybuilders who aim to increase muscle mass.
These two types of muscle growth are impossible to separate. By choosing specific exercises and the number of repetitions of those exercises, you can influence one more than the other, but they will always match. You don't need to study this too much if you're a beginner and exercising or doing some physical activity for reasons like feeling better, losing weight, and improving your overall health. But if you plan to become a professional athlete or bodybuilder or train for a specific sport, you must have a specific training program. I recommend finding a licensed professional or a gym with a trainer who will introduce you to all the information.
How to Build Muscle and Increase Size?
To increase muscle mass, you need to stress your muscles. Your muscles must experience mechanical damage and metabolic fatigue with various physical exercises. It's incredible how the body adapts. Our body recognizes these damages and responds by repairing and increasing muscle fibers—stimulation followed by repair. Next time, it does the same: stimulation, fixing, and again. That's how it works.
When you exercise, your body does many other things, from activating the immune and hormonal response to releasing various hormones, including growth hormone and testosterone. Of course, we will write more about this in future articles. You can read about the essential benefits of exercise for mental health.
Weight training is best for muscle growth. Depending on your fitness goals, different types of strength training are available. You can choose to focus on specific muscle groups.
For example, bodybuilders train to increase muscle mass and usually perform moderate-intensity exercises with short rest intervals. Powerlifters, who train for strength, perform high-intensity exercises with more extended rest periods between sets.
If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.
How Often Do I Need to Train With Weights for Muscle Hypertrophy?
The answer to this question depends not only on your goal but also on your physical abilities. Researchers suggest that the training frequency based on training level for beginners and intermediates should be 2-3 days per week. Researchers suggest that the training frequency for advanced training is 4-5 days per week. Training with heavy weights no more than three times a week allows you to have one day of rest between each workout so that your body can recover and rebuild muscle tissue for the next workout.
It is not recommended to train more than 4 times a week with heavy weights because your body will not have enough time to recover, which is how you risk injury, fatigue, and giving up on your goal. Likewise, train a different body part daily to rest other muscle groups and avoid overtraining. Building muscle will require strength training over several weeks and months. By gradually increasing the resistance over time, the muscles will grow. However, it takes consistent training and a healthy lifestyle for months to see the first significant results.
Tips to Support the Muscle Growth Process
Building muscle requires a consistent routine involving all major muscle groups. More significant compound movements are effective, such as deadlifts, squats, pull-ups, and push-ups.
Progressively increasing the resistance over time is necessary. If you work with the same weight for a long time, your body will get used to it. You need to challenge the muscles and encourage hypertrophy.
Eat more because food is the only fuel for our body, food rich in all macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Here, we can mention the most essential nutrient, protein. I published all tested high-quality protein food supplements in the Workshop category, where you can easily get them and start building your fit body.
Drink enough water. Water is the source and engine of all life. I use this quality
1.5 L portable bottle (ad link), which makes it easier to know how much I drink per day. I've written the importance of water and the recommended daily intake suggested by researchers.
Get enough sleep, and more importantly, get enough quality sleep. We will dedicate an article about quality sleep very soon, and for now, you can look at these Top 15 Proven Tips to Sleep Better at Night.
Why is Protein so Important in Building Muscle?
Protein is one of the most essential links in building your muscles, and we have already written about it. Read more about proteins and how much it should be taken daily. Feel free to use our workout protein calculator to calculate your daily protein intake easily.
Summary
Muscle hypertrophy is the process of muscle growth. There is no shortcut or miracle trick for this process other than challenging and constant work. Training is necessary, and strength or weight training contributes the most to muscle growth. The key is to keep working to build strength and muscle to the best of your ability. Eat enough healthy food and buy a good bed to sleep well. And, of course, it's essential to enjoy your growth journey!
This post is for informational and educational purposes only. This post should not be taken as therapy advice or used as a substitute for such. You should always speak with your therapist before implementing this information. Thank you!
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