It gets harder to build muscle and strength as we age. Most people start losing muscle around age 30.

If you aren’ physically active, you’re may lose about 3 to 8% of lean muscle every decade after that. This is due to lower testosterone levels in men and lower estrogen levels in women.

Fortunately, you can reverse this trend.

If you’re looking to build muscle, gain strength, then this article is for you.

In this article, I will share

• What really makes muscles grow?
• Why does building muscle matter?
• How supplements like mass gainers can aid in your muscle building journey

Science of Muscle Growth

Our body has 3 types of muscles – cardiac muscle, smooth muscle and skeletal muscle. For the purpose of bodybuilding, we will only talk about skeletal muscles.

These skeletal muscles are composed of thread like myofibrils and sarcomeres that form the muscle fibre and are the basic units of contraction. These muscles are controlled by motor neurons that tell the muscles to contract and relax.

When we exercise, it causes the muscle fibres to tear slightly (micro tear). Your muscle growth happens in response to this tearing. The body activates cytokines to fix the tears, building up thicker each time to prevent future damage. This repair requires amino acids which your body gets from protein, and rest.

The repaired muscles are thicker and thus, require greater load and more repetitions to be torn. This is how you can gradually increase the load to build up muscle. As long as the muscle protein synthesis is more than the muscle protein breakdown (that happens during lifting weight), you’re going to gain muscle. So this is the underlying principle of natural muscle growth – lift progressively heavier weights. So build your strength gradually and take your time to increase the weights.

In the absence of nutrition in the body (protein) or rest (time for the muscle to repair), it can cause muscle loss or injury.

The main hormone called testosterone also plays an important role in muscle growth. Testosterone increases protein synthesis, inhibits protein breakdown and activates satellite cells for faster repair of muscles.

Another hormone called IGF – Insulin growth factor – also regulates muscle growth as it enhances protein synthesis and uptake of glucose and amino acids in the skeletal muscles.

Why Muscle Building Matters?

Muscles help us move, speak and chew. They are required for our health, longevity, and metabolism. So even if you aren’t looking for bulky thighs and shoulders, you could still benefit from adding lean muscle mass.

Muscle Building gives confidence

When you gain muscle mass and strength, it gives you a lot of confidence. Whenever you are working out, you feel like you have the ability to gain more weight and gain more muscles. When you have the motivation to gain more weight and gain more muscle mass, you will be more inclined to work out regularly. You will have more dedication and be much more dedicated to the cause.

Muscle Building helps you lead an efficient life.

When you gain muscle mass and strength, you can eat well and get a sound sleep.

Role of Mass Gainers For Muscle Building

Mass gainers are supplements that help you get the extra calories you need to build mass. You need to engage in intense physical training to build muscles, hence, you often require to consume more food to fuel your body with additional nutrients.

If you’re focusing on gaining lean muscle vs the weight, then it may prudent for you to choose mass gainers with fewer calories. Hence, mass gainers can aid your muscle building journey.

Side Effects of Mass Gainers

For some people who are intolerant to certain foods, they might feel that mass gainers upset their stomach. So always consult your doctor to understand if you are making the right choice.

Also, make sure to workout regularly if you’re consuming mass gainer otherwise, you may only gain fat rather than muscle. Some people may, therefore, benefit more from increasing the amount of lean protein in their diet instead.

Takeaway

Building muscle mass and gaining strength is a slow process. So increase your weights gradually, take appropriate rest, don’t overtrain and eat well.