All About Muscles – What Makes Muscles Growth Happen

Whether we want to bulk up, lean down, or maintain, muscle health is vital to wellbeing. Our muscles contribute to our strength, mobility, posture, organ health, and overall wellness, so it is important to know how to support the muscles in day-to-day life. What makes muscle growth happen and what causes them to weaken? Let’s find out.

Keep reading to learn what muscles actually do in the body, what they are made up of, and what to do and eat to support muscle health today.

What do Our Muscles do

The main purposes of the muscles are to support movement, pump blood through the body, and maintain posture. 

It is important to eat in a way that supports muscle repair and development no matter what your fitness goals are. Even if you just want to maintain or even increase muscle, a diet rich in amino acids is key for health. Even regular daily actions like opening a door, carrying groceries, or standing up require the muscles and body to move efficiently. 

What Are Our Muscles Made of

Muscles make up between ⅓ and ½ of our body weight. There are three kinds; cardiac, which works with the heart, smooth, which supports the organs, and skeletal, which surrounds the bone structure. 

Muscles are made up of elastic fibers, protein, and tissue. To support muscles, it is important to watch what you eat and what you do.

What to do to Support Muscle Growth

Certain activities can help the muscles of the body as well. 

When exposed to stress, such as lifting something heavy, the muscles are damaged with microscopic tears. These injured areas release cytokines that notify the immune system to repair the muscles. That is when muscles grow.

A well-balanced cycle of damage and repair will eventually make muscles stronger as they get used to more and more force. Day to day activities do not stress the muscles into growing more. In fact, just doing daily activities may cause muscles to wither as workload decreases.

This is why resistance training is very important to muscle growth. Even if you do not have weights available, you can use bodyweight exercises to push the muscles as well. Besides working out, the other components that determine muscle growth are nutrition and recovery time.

What to Eat to Support Muscle Growth

Certain nutrients are critical for muscle growth. Proper nutrition is needed for muscles to grow as without it, the body cannot repair muscle fibers when they are placed under stress. 

Protein provides amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle cells. You also need hormones that the body naturally produces such as insulin growth factor. This repair will only occur when the body is resting, particularly during the sleep cycle.

Some great high-protein options are Greek yogurt, eggs, cottage cheese, beans, chicken, beef, salmon, and quinoa.

Quick Tips for Supporting Muscle Health

Here are some easy ways you can support muscle health alongside resistance training, nutrition, and sleeping well.

• Stretch – stretching daily can help increase the mobility and flexibility of the muscles, preventing injury and tension.
• Have a workout schedule – work out at least 3 times a week for maintenance and at least 5 times a week for growth. However, this depends on how intense you work out i.e. the amount of weight, duration, etc.
• Recover well – it is just as important to recover as it is to work out. Recovery is vital to repair and growth. Sleep, eat nutrient-dense meals, and stretch.
• Remember that every body is different – some people’s immune system has a high response to muscle damage, meaning they will build muscle more easily. Everyone has a different body composition, so try not to compare yourself to others.

The Takeaway

Muscles are an amazing part of the body we should take care of. Even if you are not a bodybuilder, it is important to eat and move in a way that supports muscle health. Without use, muscles will even start to wither. Recovery time is also important, so try to rest, sleep well, and repair.

Remember that health comes from within, so it is important to eat nutrient-dense meals to support the muscles, work out, and take care of your mental health. Habits you do daily will become the building blocks of your emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing.

Never forget about gut health as well for even more health benefits. The gut microbiome can even determine the health of your muscles. Learn everything you need to know about gut microbiota today for free here!