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The body has about 650 muscles
that take up approximately one half of your entire body weight.
These muscles are continuously working to keep
us alive and moving. Some muscles we consciously
control while others move involuntarily.
Muscle
is an elastic type of material, which rapidly responds to any
form of increased activity requiring it. There are three different
types of muscles in the body, Skeletal
muscle that we will concentrate on here, Cardiac
muscle and Smooth muscle. Skeletal
muscle is in a constant state of being toned or tightened.
We need this muscle for any movement we make
from running to getting out of the car.
If you want to
know what your muscles will be like after a certain
training technique, look to the sports who train that way. If
you want to have large well-defined muscle groups,
go towards the weight training and weight
lifting techniques. If you don't want large muscles
but want endurance capabilities, then focus on a runner's training
technique.
When you start
weight training, your muscles
will start to grow after approximately 2 months depending on your
dedication and genetic make-up. Your muscle size
increases because there is an increase in your muscle
fibres, you don’t actually grow more muscle cells.
You will start
to see changes in your body as your training develops. Large muscles
will start to develop first, such as your chest and back muscles,
as these tend to grow faster.
The triceps are
usually a great motivator when you first begin training. This
is because they are not used very much, so from a little work
they firm quite quickly. This will be very noticeable in women
as this is a common fat storage area.
The muscle will
decrease however when you stop training it. Also, if you continue
to eat at the same rate as you did before when you were training
the living muscle, a layer of fat will develop over the tissue.
Don't worry though, it is easy to regain what you once had.
Muscle strength
does tend to reduce as we get older for a few reasons, one of
these is reduced activity. If we keep active though and maintain
muscle strength into our older years, this will promote health
and allow us to remain independent, as we will still be able to
move around and be quite agile.
bigger muscles
There is great debate on how much protein is necessary for increased
muscle and performance but many body builders believe that increasing
your protein intake will increase your body muscle mass and in
turn increase strength. It is generally believed though that by
taking a good supply of carbohydrates and then consuming approximately
1.5 -2.0 grams of protein per lb of body weight per day will be
enough to promote muscle growth and development.
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