You Rest Between Muscle Building Sessions

In an earlier article we concluded that muscles must be worked to failure if an adequate hypertrophic response is to occur. Whether this involves one or more sets is irrelevant as in either scenario the muscles must be worked to failure and beyond. This causes significant microscopic damage to the muscle tissues and it is during the period of recovery that protein synthesis undertakes the repair process that results in bigger muscle fibers.But how long does this process take and when is it safe to expose those same muscles to further intensive exercise? Scientific studies suggest that muscle fiber degradation takes approximately five to seven days to repair and recover. Any further exposure of the affected muscle to intensive activity will interfere with the recovery process and actually prevent it from achieving maximum growth. However, using the muscle to assist in exercising other body parts or even taking part in low intensity aerobic exercise will not prevent recovery.It follows therefore that each muscle group should be trained intensively only once each week in order to allow full recovery. This can be achieved by incorportating a split training regime that allows you to work out several times each week but still exercise each muscle group intensively only once every seven days.Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Advice to learn more about the issues covered in this article.

The Importance Of Sets In Your Muscle Building Program

In an earlier article we looked at how repetitions contribute to the muscle building process, but is the position regarding sets just as clear cut? Unfortunately, the answer to this is no as some experts feel one set to failure is sufficient, whereas others argue that multiple sets are needed to ensure maximum muscle gains.
Research to date suggests that, when using six to eight repetitions to failure at 75-80% 1RM, there is little significant difference between training with single and multiple sets in terms of increasing either strength or muscle size. Any small differences that have been recorded indicate that a single set completed to failure encourages strength gains but subsequent sets have a slightly greater impact on muscle size. What is clear is that the law of diminishing returns applies, so you have to question if the marginal improvements in size justify the extra time and effort expended.
Like everything else in life, bodybuilding does not remain static and several cutting edge experts have redefined the boundaries of achievement. Increasingly, serious athletes are using methods that extend the set beyond the point of failure. This involves forcing the muscle to perform more work despite having experienced failure in the previous rep. In practice, you perform one last forced repetition with the help of a training partner.
This obviously calls for great commitment and high motivation but the rewards include better mass gains thanks to the greater muscular overload. Such intensive training places additional importance on the need to lift with sound technique and to incorporate sufficient recovery time into your muscle building program.
You can find out more about building muscle by visiting the site listed below.
Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Advice to learn more about the issues covered in this article.

The Role Of Repetitions In Your Muscle Building Program

Repetitions are the basic building blocks of any strength or muscle building program but it is something that many lifters take for granted. How often do you see people at the gym speed through their reps, breathe haphazardly or fail to complete each rep correctly from a technical perspective? There is much more to the simple rep than meets the eye.

The first thing to note is that a repetition consists of three elements - namely lower, pause and lift. The speed at which this is achieved depends on the desired outcome, but to maximize muscle growth a slow, controlled tempo is required. The process should never be rushed, jerky or bouncy but instead should be controlled and smooth.
The second consideration relates to how many reps need to be performed. Once again, this depends on what you hope to achieve but you can use the following as a basic rule of thumb:

1. A single repetition maximum (1RM) increases muscle strength.

2. A six to eight repetition maximum increases muscle size.

3. A higher number of repetitions will have more effect on muscle endurance and little impact on size or strength.
Your aim therefore should be to complete six to eight reps of a load equivalent to 75-80% of your 1RM. This will maximize your muscle building potential, provided you complete each lift with perfect form in a smooth controlled manner.
You can find out more about building muscle by visiting the site listed below.
Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Advice to learn more about the issues covered in this article.

What Causes Muscle Growth?

In order for muscles to grow, three things are required:
1. Stimulus - exercise is needed to make the muscles work, use energy and cause microscopic damage to the fibers.
2. Nutrition - after intense exercise the muscles need to replenish their stores of fuel.
3. Rest - it is during the rest or recovery phase that the muscles repair the microscopic damage and grow.

Muscle size increases due to hypertrophic adaptation and an increase in the cross section area of individual muscle fibers. Intensive exercise impacts more on the strength influencing fast twitch type II fibers, therefore the increase in muscle size is accompanied by greater strength.
This will deplete the muscle's energy stores and cause microscopic damage to the muscle tissue. During recovery, these stores of glycogen and phosphocreatine will replenish from carbohydrates and creatine ingested as food or supplements. Amino acids supplied in the diet will trigger the protein synthesis that repairs the damaged muscle and lead to the creation of bigger muscle fibers.
To achieve continuous improvement you will need to keep reaching for higher levels of training intensity otherwise the improvement process will grind to a halt. Fortunately, this is relatively easy to plan for provided certain basic principles and rules are clearly followed. Subsequent articles in this series will examine these principles in detail.
In the meantime you can find out more about building muscle by visiting the site listed below.
Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Advice to learn more about the issues covered in this article.

Can Growth Hormone Boosters Enhance Muscle Growth?

Many experts feel that supplementation with growth hormones offers exciting possibilities to adult bodybuilders, especially those aged over thirty. They should not be taken by anyone aged under twenty. In the past growth hormone was available only in injectable form but recent years have seen the development of HGH precursors and more advanced delivery systems. The most popular means of taking growth hormone boosters today include sub-lingual spray, homeopathic pills and capsules containing HGH secretagogues.

That's all very well, but do these supplements have any place in bodybuilding? To answer this, we'll need to look first at what growth hormones actually do.

Human Growth Hormone is responsible for the regulation of insulin, protein synthesis, transportation of amino acids across cell membranes and fat metabolism. Clearly, these are processes that are of relevance to serious bodybuilders. Users have reported higher energy levels, enhanced libido and greater cardiac output. In addition, superior immune function, lowering of blood pressure and improved cholesterol levels have been documented. Add in other potential benefits like improved sleep, shorter recovery times, quicker regeneration of damaged muscles and you can begin to understand why some experts are excited by the possibilities offered to bodybuilders.

No adverse side effects have been reported when used as directed but persons aged under twenty should not use growth hormone boosters without consulting a health care professional familiar with HGH therapy.

You can find out more about these and other bodybuilding supplements by visiting the site listed below.

Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Growth Hormones to learn more about the issues covered in this article.

The Role Of L-Glutamine In Building Muscle

L-glutamine remains the supplement of choice for many bodybuilders. It is a free form amino acid that can be found naturally in beans, meat, fish, poultry and dairy products. It is also an important component of protein powders and is one of the twenty non-essential amino acids found in the body.

It is widespread throughout the body and plays an important role in protein metabolism. From a bodybuilder's perspective, glutamine's strength is its ability to reduce the amount of muscle deterioration that occurs as a result of intense physical workouts. Failure to replace the high levels of glutamine consumed during intense exercise could result in greater susceptibility to illness due to a weakening of the immune system. In addition, glutamine stolen from the muscles to maintain the immune system must be replaced to keep those muscles building.

Bodybuilders can benefit from taking 10 grams of l-glutamine each day, preferably taken post-workout to enhance its recuperative effects. As a nutrient that occurs naturally in the body glutamine is safe to take although ingesting excessive amounts could cause an upset stomach.

You can find out more about l-glutamine and other useful bodybuilding supplements by visiting the site listed below.

Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Glutamine Supplements to learn more about the issues covered in this article.