Do Muscles have to Burn to Grow?

All of the 639 muscles in the human body can be trained.

This is basically correct for almost all muscles. However, it is not possible to train every single muscle because there is an interaction of many different muscles with certain movements. Ultimately, it is a question of momentum. In principle, a distinction is made between muscles that can be controlled at will and those that are primarily involuntarily active. A good example is an eyelid or eyelid muscle. You can train it arbitrarily by closing and opening your eyes a few times. But when there is an external stimulus, the muscle reacts completely involuntarily and the lid closes. The situation is similar to organs. The heart or intestine consists of so-called smooth muscles. This works involuntarily as long as you live. However, these muscles can also be trained indirectly. For example, when you exercise, the heartbeat increases and the heart muscle is actively stimulated beyond its normal work routine. No matter where the stimulus comes from, usage trains the muscles.

Muscles consume more energy than other body structures.

That’s absolutely right. Muscles are directly connected to the bloodstream compared to adipose tissue. This means that you continuously consume energy because muscles have to be kept warm. However, this energy consumption is not as high as some think. The body needs about 100 kilo-calories a day to keep one kilogram of musculature warm. This energy can easily be provided by consuming a medium-sized orange.

Nevertheless, it is worthwhile in the long term to build up muscles, because those who do sports also live healthier overall. To lose one kilogram of body fat, a man weighing 80 kilograms would have to burn or consume about 9000 kilo-calories by running 15 hours at a time.

Muscles only grow when you use them.

It is correct. From birth to adulthood, the muscle mass of every healthy person increases about thirty times. It has been proven that the quality of the muscle varies with not only the general growth but also with its use. With the so-called hypertrophy training, the muscle fibers become thicker. With this type of training, muscles should be loaded with up to 85 percent of their maximum performance.

Earlier, it was believed that the number of muscle cells was fixed from birth and was genetically controlled. In a more recent theory, however, it seems possible to increase the number of muscle fibers. Such enlargement of the tissues is called hyperplasia. This happens especially with eccentric loads which means the muscle is shortened and at the same time stretched against the resistance. This happens, for example, when running downhill where instead of accelerating, braking or controlling momentum and maintaining balance is done primarily. During this eccentric training, muscle fibers are injured or destroyed. When this happens, a lot of new muscle fibers are formed.

Muscles grow during training breaks.

It is absolutely correct. Training is only a means to break the muscle fibers. The adaptation and regeneration of the muscles always happen during the breaks. The breaking and regeneration of the muscles is the basic requirement for improved muscle growth. For this reason, you should plan 48 to 72 hours for regeneration after intensive training.

Muscles can only grow with a high-protein diet.

That is absolutely right because, as already explained, greater protein storage occurs only in an exhausted muscle. If the body has no protein, then none can be stored. The essential amino acids are particularly important for muscles. These are not made by the body itself and should, therefore, be consumed daily. The more you train, the more essential amino acids you require and you have to increase the supply by consuming more protein. It is important to take them relatively quickly after training, ie within 30 minutes after training. It is even better if the muscle is provided with some protein beforehand like in the form of egg or dairy products.

Everyone gets sore muscles after overexerted training.

It is not necessarily right. Sore muscles are a normal physical reaction and not a disease and therefore not dangerous. Sore muscles develop in response to minimal damage to muscle tissue. What you feel 18 to 25 hours after training is an inflammatory reaction in the body. This healing mechanism of the body starts working when muscles are overused. Even professionals get sore muscles if they have not prepared certain muscles sufficiently for the stress. You can have sore muscles, but you don’t have to because you can prepare the muscles for extreme workout through pre-workout.