Find out why strength training can help you gain more muscle mass than traditional bodybuilding advice. Only dry practice from experienced athletes. Today, the most popular theory of muscle growth is the hypothesis of microtrauma to muscle tissue. It is based on the assumption that microdamages inflicted on it during training are a stimulant for muscle tissue growth. After that, the body removes all these damages, which actually leads to growth.
The fact that the tissues have received enough damage is evidenced by kompatura (muscle pain). All athletes are constantly faced with this phenomenon, and often it is soreness for them that is an indicator of the effectiveness of training. Thus, it can be assumed that athletes who exercise for five years or more and constantly experience muscle pain should have severely hypertrophied muscles. But in practice, everything is different and this can only indicate that this theory has certain errors.
Of course, any theory can be criticized, but this is done solely to find the truth. As an example, consider briefly the theory of energy growth. It implies that muscle growth activates a decrease in tissue ATP concentration. However, this is only possible with refusal training. Almost all bodybuilders use this technique, but not everyone has powerful muscles.
It often appears that each person's muscle growth is described by different theories. And, say, genetically gifted athletes do grow from any stress. Perhaps this is due to the fact that there is no exact theory of muscle growth yet.
Principles of strength theory of muscle growth
This theory is based on two principles:
- Activates the processes of muscle growth, increasing strength indicators.
- Weight gain is an adaptive factor in increasing strength performance.
Scientists have established precisely that the cross-section of muscles is directly proportional to their strength index. As a result, it can be argued that with an increase in strength, mass gain also occurs. Note that strength indicators are most often associated with the transverse dimensions of muscle fibers. However, it may be more correct to say that the transverse dimensions of muscle fibers are the result of changes in strength.
From a physiological point of view, the ratio of the number of motor units to the total area of the working muscle is used as a correlator of muscle strength. Simply put, a motor unit can be called the proportion of fibers involved in the performance of work. When you do any exercise, not all muscle fibers are involved.
To understand why strength indicators should be associated with motor units, it is necessary to consider an example of the use of AAS. As you know, anabolic steroids promote the recruitment of more muscle fibers. Steroids begin to work quickly enough, and after taking the pill before starting the session, the athlete will feel an increase in strength during training.
But you must admit that a couple of hours before the start of the exercise, the muscles could not grow, but the strength increased. This is what suggests that power indicators are associated with the number of working motor units. At the same time, when using ACC, athletes progress faster, which may become additional proof of the correctness of the strength theory of muscle growth.
The relationship between strength and muscle growth
The smaller the number of fibers takes part in the performance of the work, the lower the athlete's strength indicators will be and vice versa. As your strength increases, additional fibers were added to the work, and the athlete was able to increase the density of the motor units.
If you compare two people with equal conditions, then their strength indicators will differ. This is due to the fact that strength also depends on the number of fibers, which is genetically predetermined. Let's say one athlete has a thousand fibers and another two thousand in the same muscle group. These are genetic differences that have nothing to do with training.
Thus, the more fibers you have in your muscles from birth, the more power potential you have. It should also be noted. That the power indicators depend on the type of fibers and the slow ones are significantly inferior in this indicator to the fast ones. This can be explained by their size and biochemical nature.
If you use the maximum number of fibers in the work, then the mechanisms of muscle growth are activated. Actually, this is what leads to tissue hypertrophy. If we talk about this process in more detail, then at a certain moment the body is no longer able to adapt to the load by connecting new motor units, since all the fibers are already working. As a result, it is necessary to create new motor units, and, consequently, fibers.
As an example, consider novice athletes. You should be aware that the first few months, athletes grow quite quickly and the load is constantly progressing. This suggests that they manage to gradually involve more and more motor elements in the work, after which there is an increase in their number, or, in other words, muscle growth. Thus, the main task of the training should not be the maximum traumatization of tissues, but the involvement of new motor units in the work.
Based on the strength theory of muscle growth, the XXXL program was created. Its task is to activate additional motor elements. Of course, time is needed to test the program, and thanks to the results obtained, it will be possible to draw a final conclusion about the validity of the strength theory of muscle growth. The XXXL program lasts 16 weeks. Also note that you should start using it only if you have at least one year of training experience.
For the basic principles of gaining lean muscle mass, see this video:
