How does lifting weights build muscle? 6 points that can help you understand muscle hypertrophy better.
When it comes to fitness, there’s no need to overthink things. In fact, weight training can help you tone and sculpt your body in a way that’s incredibly effective.
With proper technique and a little bit of patience, you can quickly see results. In fact, weight training is one of the best exercises for overall health and well-being.
This article discusses and explains
- How weight training builds muscle.
- The importance of weight training for athletes: Why it is so important for athletes.
- How weight training can help improve your physical activity and fitness.
- Types of weight training available: The three main types of weight training.
- The benefits of weight training: Improvements in strength, power, muscular endurance, and fat loss.
- Tips on how to do a good amount of weight training: One common mistake people make.
Weight training not only builds muscle. But there are a variety of reasons to include weight training in your routine. Weight training can help you work on your overall fitness, body composition, and strength.
Additionally, for women, weight training can also help you tone your body and improve your hourglass figure. Along with preventing and slowing down bone loss due to osteoporosis. So if you’re looking to take your muscle strength and definition up a notch, weight training is your answer!
How does weight training build muscle?
Weight training provides the muscles with resistance, this resistance puts stress on the muscle when we perform repetitions of the exercise. As the number of repetitions, the total number of sets, and the load used to perform the exercises increase, the muscle fiber experiences minute tears on them.
These micro tears or microtrauma of the muscle fibers when supplied with enough calories, adequate protein, as well as enough rest and recovery get healed and grow bigger and stronger in return to combat further damage to it.
The importance of weight training for athletes: Why it is so important for athletes
- Lower the risk of injury: Weight training significantly lowers the rate of chronic injuries due to overloads, over and underuse of certain muscle and muscle groups as well as their imbalances, etc.
- Builds strength: Weight training builds a higher amount of strength compared to any other form of training
- Builds and maintains muscle mass: Weight training builds and maintains muscle mass by constantly breaking and rebuilding muscle fibers.
- Improves athletic performance: From power generation to explosiveness to improved muscle and brain coordination, everything improves due to strength training.
- Improves neuromuscular activation: 1) brain and muscle coordination improves 2) Activation of the agonist muscle group improves 3) Activation of the antagonist muscle group decreases 3) Firing rate of the muscle improves 4) Body learns the movements pattern better.
- Improves body composition: Body fat drops and muscle mass improves leading to better physique development
How weight training can help improve your physical activity and fitness
Weight training helps improve your physical activity and fitness by making you stronger and more able to resist fatigue. This can help you become more active and improve your overall health.
For example, if you’re not physically active, adding weight training to your routine can help you become more active and burn more calories.
Weight training also helps maintain muscle mass, which can reduce the risk of developing obesity or other chronic diseases.
In addition, weight training will make you Look and feel better. Weight training also helps improve flexibility and balance, which are important factors for overall health.
If you are looking to improve your physical activity and fitness, weight training may be a good option for you!
Types of weight training available:
There are mainly, three main types of weight training
- Bodybuilding aka hypertrophy-focused training
Bodybuilding or hypertrophy training is a type of training wherein you train with moderately heavy to lightweight training and focus on doing more high volume-based training – like more reps, more sets, higher training frequencies, and using the lesser resting time between sets.
This kind of focused training in the hypertrophy-based rep range (ideally 8-12 reps) is called bodybuilding training. This training is mostly done by bodybuilders as well as the general population looking to maximize their muscle mass.
- Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a type of sport that involves the deadlift, bench press, and squat. These three exercises are all performed with weighted barbells, and they are used to build muscle and strength.
Powerlifting can be very challenging, but it is also very rewarding. It can help you improve your overall fitness level and physique, and it can also give you an appreciation for the strength and discipline that it takes to achieve great things in life.
- Circuit based training
Circuit weight training is a type of exercise that uses circuits, or sets, of different exercises with short rests in between. This type of exercise can be intense and challenging, but it also offers many benefits, such as improved muscle strength and endurance, better coordination and balance, and increased cardiovascular fitness.
The benefits of weight training include Improvements in strength, power, muscular endurance, and fat loss
Weight training has been shown to produce a wide range of health benefits, including improvements in strength, power, muscular endurance, and fat loss.
Slight heavy-weight training can help you gain more strength, power, and explosiveness. Thus boosting your athletic abilities.
Moderate and lightweight training can help you build a good amount of muscle mass, along with improving your muscular endurance.
These benefits are due to the numerous micro-trauma that weight training causes to the muscles.
Each micro-trauma results in the release of growth hormones and other muscle-building hormones, which induces anabolic responses in the body. Added muscle burns extra calories. This means that weight training can help you build muscle and lose fat.
Tips on how to do a good amount of weight training. And some common mistakes people make that you could avoid.
If you are looking to improve your fitness level and build muscle, weight training is a great way to go. However, it is important to do the right amount of weight training for your own individual body composition and goals.
The following tips will help you get started and make sure that you are doing the right amount of weight training:
1. Start out by doing light weights and increasing the resistance over time as your muscles become stronger.
2. Make sure to vary the type of weight you use so that you don’t get bored or injured.
3. Avoid using too much weight at once, especially if you are new to weight training. Start with smaller weights and increase them gradually over time.
4. Listen to your body and don’t strain yourself unnecessarily. If something hurts, stop immediately and take a break.
5. Don’t overdo it, and push yourself beyond your limits.
6. Work hard, but don’t work too hard.
7. Keep in mind that you should be working out to improve your health and fitness and not just for the sake of building muscles.
8. You don’t have to do the same workout routine each and every day to improve your health and fitness.
9. You should eat right, but not too much.
10. Never skip a workout or go on a long period of time without working out.
11. Don’t make excuses for not working out.
12. Don’t use steroids or drugs to improve your fitness and health.
13. You should focus on increasing the number of calories you eat rather than decreasing them, as this can lead to muscle loss and weight gain.
14. If you do use steroids or drugs, be sure to consult with your doctor as it can prove fatal if done without medical supervision.
15. You should exercise as often as you can prioritizing it in your schedule.
FAQs
How does lifting weights build muscle?
Weight training provides the muscles with resistance, this resistance puts stress on the muscle when we perform repetitions of the exercise. As the number of repetitions, the total number of sets, and the load used to perform the exercises increase, the muscle fiber experiences minute tears on them.
These micro tears or microtrauma of the muscle fibers when supplied with enough calories, adequate protein, as well as enough rest and recovery get healed and grow bigger and stronger in return to combat further damage to it.
Can you build muscle just by lifting weights?
Yes, you can build muscle just by lifting weights but the rate of muscle gain as well as the amount of muscle you can build will be very less compared to lifting weights and supporting it with eating a high-protein diet with adequate calories along with enough rest and recovery.
How long does it take to build muscle when weight training?
Ideally, your body starts building muscle and gaining strength only after 2-4 weeks, that is only after the neurological adaptations due to weight training have happened. So in short your body starts building muscle from the 4th week onward.
Should I lift heavy or light to gain muscle?
If your goal is to build the maximum muscle mass – Then your best bet would be to train from a range of weights that are either moderately heavy or either moderately light or a combination of both. Thus enabling you to allow only 8-20 repetitions per set.
How do I know if I’m gaining muscle or fat?
Look out for these signs to know If you are gain muscle:
1) You have a better physical structure
2) Your clothes fit better
3) Your muscles appear bigger
4) You are stronger than before
5) Your performance in the gym as well as on the game field has improved
6) People start complimenting you more on your appearance
7) Your body is more firm and taut
And to know if you are gaining body fat, look for the opposite of these signs
Is it better to lift heavy or light?
It depends upon your goals and preferences:
If your goal is to gain the maximum strength that you can – Then your best bet would be to train with heavy weights or weights that allow only 1-6 repetitions.
If your goal is to build the maximum muscle mass that you can – Then your best bet would be to train from a range of weights that are either moderately heavy or either moderately light or a combination of both. Thus enabling you to allow only 8-20 repetitions per set.
What happens to your body when you start lifting weights?
Step 1) Neurologic Adaptations start due to strength training:
a) The activation of the prime mover muscles sometimes called the agonist muscles improves.
b) The activation of the opposing mover muscles sometimes called the antagonist muscles decreases.
c) The muscle firing rate improves
d) Coordination between muscle and brain improves
e) The body learns the movement patterns
f) The body learns how to rigidly hold itself under an external load
Step 2) Strength starts to improve
Step 3) Muscle mass starts to increase in size.
How many reps should I do to build muscle?
Ideally, the 8-12 rep range is said to be the best to build muscle as it falls in between the strength-building rep range as well as the muscular endurance phase.
Constantly doing low-rep training requires training with much heavier weights, which comes with disadvantages: like higher chances of injury, and high CNS fatigue. Lengthened time duration of the workouts as it takes more time to recover between sets.
Whereas constantly training with high rep training is not productive for strength gains, and power generation as well as it can be sub-optimal for muscle hypertrophy. Also, training with high reps is extremely uncomfortable, and painful due to lactic acid build-up, as well as using it for compound exercises can make you uneasy, and sick and it may wind you up.
Therefore trying to train with the moderate rep range is best for both size and strength gains.
Should I lift or do cardio first?
Ideally, it is recommended to do your strength-based training first, compared to cardio because, 1) strength-based workouts don’t burn up your energy stores much compared to cardio. 2) Cardio training can fatigue your muscles and hamper your lifting performance.
How many hours should I let my muscles rest?
Experts recommend resting a muscle group for at least 72 hours between workouts. This ensures your muscles are fully rested and are ready to take a hammering.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, weight training for the general population should be an important part of any fitness routine, not only for building muscle but also for improving cardiovascular health and reducing the risk of chronic diseases.
And for athletes, weight training can have many benefits, both in terms of physical performance and health. The best way to do it is to find a program that is tailored specifically to your needs and follow it faithfully.
Add 2 more inches to your targeted muscles by staying away from protein and other mineral deficiencies by having a good basic supplement stack.
If you want to achieve the best possible results, start with a basic weightlifting program and work your way up to more challenging workouts.
Motivation is key, so make sure to find a workout that you can stick to, and keep your goal in mind – whether it’s toning up or achieving a specific fitness goal.
👋 I am Rakesh Sonawane, a personal trainer with around half a decade of working experience. I have been fortunate enough to have trained people from all walks of life.
I created this site to simplify the path of getting fit and healthy as the internet is filled with too complex and useless info.
My website content is well-planned, thought, and well-researched before being published on the site for you to read. Hopefully, you will enjoy my helpful, practical content.
