physiology of training

Muscle hypertrophy

Before talking about training methods to increase muscle development, let's try to define two different concepts, hypertrophy and hyperplasia.

Muscle hypertrophy: increase in muscle volume due to the increase in volume of its component elements (fibers, myofibrils, connective tissue, sarcomeres, contractile proteins, etc.).

Muscle hyperplasia: increase in muscle volume due to the numerical increase of the cells that compose it. Examples of physiological hyperplasia are the proliferation of the glandular epithelium of the breast during puberty and regeneration of the liver after extensive liver damage

APLASIA: Decrease in muscle volume following a decrease in the number of cells that make it up.

ATROPHY: Decrease in muscle volume following the decrease in the volume of individual cells

Until recently it was thought that in human muscle hyperplasia was not possible, in fact recent studies confirm the contrary hypothesis. The concept has yet to be clarified and in any case, even if it were possible, hyperplasia would have a minimal relevance in muscle growth. To learn more: satellite cells and muscle hyperplasia

TRANSITIONAL MUSCULAR HYPERTROPHY:

muscle edema (fluid accumulation) caused by damage to the myofibrils and perimuscular connective tissue;

water retention, for example due to the use of creatine

Chronic MUSCULAR HYPERTROPHY:

increase in volume (hypertrophy) and number of muscle cells (hyperplasia), thanks to the hormonal stimulus and the increased supply and retention of oxygen and nutrients.

Muscle hypertrophy is the result of a:

increase in myofibrils (both in volume

be it number) *

development of muscle wraps

(connective tissue)

increased vascularization

increase in the number of fibers (hyperplasia)

argument, this, still a lot

discussed (see dedicated article).

FORCE AND HYPERTROPHY

Muscle strength depends mainly on the capacity of nervous recruitment of motor units, the ability to coordinate contraction and relaxation of agonist and antagonist muscles, the initial length of the muscle and its transverse section. So getting a muscular hypertrophy also means, but not necessarily, increasing one's strength.

By carefully rereading the definition of muscular hypertrophy we realize that to stimulate it at the highest levels it is necessary to increase the volume of all the elements that make up the muscle. Physiology tells us that every constituent of muscle fiber responds differently to a specific training stimulus.

There are some elements that are better suited to high loads raised for a reduced number of repetitions and others that respond better to resistance training. For example, the white fibers are stimulated maximally using about 6 repetitions with a load equal to 80-85% of the ceiling while the red fibers are stimulated with works of about 12-15 repetitions at 65-70% of the ceiling.

The white fibers increase more in volume and more quickly than the red fibers, however in case the training program is interrupted they quickly atrophy as opposed to the red ones that maintain their hypertrophy for a long time.

In addition to the red and white fibers there are intermediate fibers which can be specialized and made more similar to one or the other type through appropriate training. Inside the muscle there are also other elements such as capillaries and mitochondria which increase in volume and number following moderate-intensity training (> 15 repetitions with loads <60% of the ceiling).

CONCLUSIONS: the optimal stimulus for muscular hypertrophy is given by jobs with loads from 70 to 85% of the ceiling for 6-12 repetitions. However, considering the importance of the complete development of all the components of the muscle, it is often useful to vary the training routine both in terms of volume and intensity of exercises.

REMEMBER THAT: multi-joint exercises create an anaerobic environment throughout the body, which improves the level of hypertrophy and general physical strength.

The exercises for the legs, especially the compound ones (dead legs, squats, leg presses, lunges, etc.) are a powerful stimulus for hypertrophy of the whole body. People with a very developed upper part compared to the lower limbs are in fact very common. In contrast, subjects with powerful legs in most cases have an excellent level of hypertrophy even in the upper part of the body.

Lactic acid promotes the increase of muscle mass thanks to the powerful stimulus on the secretion of anabolic hormones. For this reason it is good to keep the intensity of the training high, avoiding too long recovery times.

A diet aimed at the maximum development of muscular hypertrophy must be rich, but not too rich, in protein foods. The ideal amount of protein to be taken daily is around 1.5-2.0 grams per kg of body weight (healthy weight). Once this threshold is exceeded the benefits do not increase, on the contrary there are a whole series of reasons why the high-protein diet becomes even counterproductive.

CAUSES OF MUSCULAR AND NOT HYPERTROPHY:

  1. Increased functional demand (hypertrophy of cardiac and skeletal muscle)
  2. Accumulation of substances (lipids in the liver [ hepatomegaly ]; others in different cells)
  3. Hormonal stimulation (uterine muscular hypertrophy during pregnancy and hyperplasia of the uterine mucosa during the cycle)
  4. Increased nutrition (increased adipose tissue)
  5. Stimulation of biological defenses (hyperplasia of lymphoid organs, for example lymph nodes)
Hypertrophy Basic Solutions - TUT and other considerations