- For the body to build muscle, the muscles have to be exposed to some type of progressive muscle overload or resistance. Muscle hypertrophy, or muscle building, results when muscle fibers are broken down by weight training or some other form of progressive muscle overload and then repaired by the body. It is this repair process, which includes mending of the broken or torn muscle fibers as well as an actual thickening and growth in their size, that results in muscle being built. The ongoing breakdown and repair of muscle tissue is the process whereby muscles grow bigger and stronger over time. The training, or muscle overload phase, provides the spark that sets the muscle building process into action.
- Muscle hypertrophy, or building, occurs after muscle tissue has been broken down by weight training and/or some type of progressive overload that stimulates tearing of the muscle fibers. The body then responds by healing and rebuilding the injured muscle tissue fibers, a process that results in the repaired muscle fibers growing back bigger and stronger. This very important component of muscle building occurs in the immediate aftermath of a workout. The actual physical activity that results in muscle tissue breakdown does not actually build muscle; rather, it serves to stimulate the muscle building process by creating the muscle damage that ultimately results in muscle tissue being repaired, strengthened, and made to increase in size.
- In order for new muscle mass to be created, the body has to have a steady supply of energy (calories) available to fuel muscle growth. Muscle mass cannot be created unless caloric levels are high enough to support and fuel muscle growth. As a general rule of thumb, individuals trying to build muscle mass need to consume more calories than they burn on a daily basis to provide the extra calories needed to fuel muscle growth. Building muscle is a metabolic process that requires not only a concerted training regimen to stimulate muscle growth but also an abundance of fuel (caloric intake) to fuel that growth.
