Many people think they do but it’s far from the case and actually quite the opposite. If you think about it on your own you’ll be able to figure out the why on your own. I’m not going too far into the science. It’ll bore most people. I’ll tell you why you don’t build muscle in the gym first and then I’ll go into when muscle building is actually taking place.
Simply put, when you head into your local or home gym and you pick up a dumbbell and start hammering away, you’re tearing yourself apart. Yup, you’re tearing up your muscles. Micro-tears that is. With every rep, you’re breaking down your muscles further and further. You’re getting weaker while you’re working out! Way to go you! You thought you were building muscle in the gym weren’t you! Fools! I kid I kid. So as you break down your muscles no matter what type of exercise you’re doing, you also tend to feel fatigued. Most people can’t go longer than an hour under intense exercise, but nor should you. Taking on intense exercise for long periods of time lead to injury. And what happens when you get injured? No exercise.
So what’s actually going on Phill? Well, let me give you the best analogy I can come up with off the cuff. Good thing I prepare these blog posts days in advance that way I can give myself some time to think about these things. Ha! So here is my analogy; What needs to happen to add a second story to a home? Do you just cut a staircase sized hole into the roof and build from there? no. You need to break the house down first. You remove the shingles, some of the framing and reinforce what needs to be reinforced. When everything is broken down properly, building can begin. Now that you added a second story to your imaginary home, years have passed. You want to add one more, so you go through the same process again.
You break down your muscles are the gym and they rebuild later. “But when do they rebuild Phill?” They start rebuilding as soon as they’re fueled properly. This is why eating is very important as soon as you’ve finished your workout. We don’t live in a perfect world so it’s not always possible for all of us to stick to that rule of eating within thirty minutes to an hour for maximum muscle growth. Let’s not forget you’re also burning calories while exercising so some of that needs to be replaced too or else you’ll be depleting your body far too much, even if your main goal is to lose weight.
But there is a second, more or less obvious factor to building muscle. It’s not only nutrition. It’s not only going to the gym (although like I mentioned, you’re actually breaking down your muscles in the gym). It’s the magical four-letter-word, REST. You need rest. Your body needs to recover to build muscle. You can’t work out the same muscles every single day because it needs rest. It needs time to rebuild, recuperate. That’s a lot of “R”‘s.
And to end this semi-short post. DRINK WATER. It is your fuel. If you think you’re already drinking enough water, you’re probably not. You should KNOW you’re drinking enough water. Not think it. There are many calculators online that can calculate what your water intake should be. Follow a trusted source and consume the correct amount of water. Think of it like gasoline for your car. If it as an empty tank, it’s not going anywhere and neither are you.
Muscle breakdown – Your workouts
Muscle building/Recovery – Rest, food
Tootles 👋
Be Active Daily 