Bulky muscles V.S. Faculty to adapt to physical activity

Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well in your fitness journey. Today's post is all about the muscle's adaptation to your physical activities. Let's get started!

So first, there are aerobics/endurance exercises like running on long distances, walking at fast pace, swimming or cycling. They all cause several modifications to skeletal muscles. Did you know that there can be a 10% increase of the amount of capillaries around muscle fibers? That the amount and size of mitochondria ( which produces energy ) increases in them too, and that those fibers synthesize up to 80% more myoglobin ( which transports oxygen in blood ). Wow, that's a lot of good stuff. These transformations allow us to have a better muscular metabolism, an increased endurance, better strength and a better resistance to fatigue.

Aerobics exercises who require moderate muscular effort for a long time DON'T cause muscle hypertrophy ( AKA bulky muscles ) even if the exercises lasts for hours. Bulky muscles are the consequence of intensive against-resistance exercises ( mostly done in anaerobic conditions ) like weight lifting. Because in this kind of activity, you only need strength, not endurance. A few minutes of against-resistance exercises every other day are enough to increase your bulkiness. They can even allow a skinny man to gain 50% of muscle mass in a year.

The increase of muscular volume is mostly about muscle fibers expansion and NOT a multiplication of them. This volume growth is caused by little tears in muscle fibers that heal after your workout. The amount of connective tissue between the cells increases too, which helps with getting bigger muscles. Nevertheless, if you completely stop your exercise program, the fibers that just transformed take back their initial properties.

Doesn't matter of the physical activity you choose to do, you will see results only if you follow the Overload Principle and the Progressive Principle. In other words, when you force a muscle to work hard, its strength and endurance increase. When they get used to give their maximum, you NEED to get overload  so they can work harder. Then, you won't hit a plateau.

Finally, if you start too quickly in an exercise program or that you don't listen to your body when it tells you it hurts, you might inflict yourself some serious overuse injuries. You could have to stop exercise for a while or you could have to stop permanently. Get into your exercise program gradually. And remember, to get the best shape and body you want, you should always combine strength and endurance training.

Hope this helps answering to your questions. If you still have any, feel free to comment below!

xx

Chryseis