Question regarding muscles!

moobrack · Black Belt

Hello All,
This question is aimed mostly towards KickChick but opinions or thoughts from others is much appreciated!

I have been weightlifting now for about 6 months!

I am led to believe that by ripping or tearing uscles, and pushing past the pain, I can encourage excessive muscle growth!

is this true?

Thanx

_________________
Anthony Bullock
1st Dan Black Belt - Shotokan Karate
5th Kyu Yellow Belt - Aiki-Jutsu
www.universaldojo.com Coming Soon

Phantasmatic · Purple Belt

yes

_________________
"Which one is more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?" - Obi Wan Kenobi

KickChick · Black Belt

Yikes .... here goes!

If an exercise hurts, and you've been performing it using good form with controlled cadence and have tried sensible modifications, drop that exercise. The first rule of exercise selection is "Do no harm" ... don't believe in that "no pain no gain" maxim!
Experiment with new exercises, angles of movement, types of equipment and rep ranges ... this can spur on new growth. Doing faster reps is one way to change up your routine.
Training slow with continuous movement is effective when using heavy weights. Its helps prevent injury and isolates the muscle more.
Pumping out faster reps using slightly less weight is done in an effort to fill the muscle with as much blood as possible and is used to build explosive strength. Changing this back and forth may shock your muscles into growth.
But remember everyone is diff so try both methods and see what works for you!
Make sure you don't overtrain ... don't make the mistake of minimizing recovery time and maximizing workout frequency .... if you feel tired rest! Oh, and eat properly! You can also try Myoplex to achieve muscle gain, size and strength http://www.eas.com

Jack · Black Belt

If you are doing a weight exercise properly, you want to continue so you simply cannot perform another rep after 6-10 reps. If it hurts in the muscle, thats good, that shows you're doing it correctly! If its hurting in the wrong places then you're doing something wrong - stop.

You tear your muscles down with high weight, low repititions to FAILURE. The muscle will regrow and rebuild but you need to fuel your body properly for this - you want lots of protein and calories to gain weight!

For newly shocking your muscles, Kickchick summed it up.

_________________
Jack
Currently 'off' from formal MA training
KarateForums.com

Bon · Black Belt

Yeah, baby!

You wanna tear your muscle down, so you can barely use it the next day, or at least make it feel weak and fuel the body with protein so it has amino acids to let the muscle(s) re-grow bigger and stronger.. Add 5lbs each week onto big exercises such as presses and squat and a lb or two onto smaller exercises like curls, aiming for the SAME amount of reps, or more with the new weights.

I find 5 sets, with 8-12 reps is awesome.. The no pain, no gain does apply here I think! The RIGHT kind of pain though, you want your muscles to feel worked, not bad pain. Always use good form over heavier weights, it's not how much you're lifting, but how heavy it feels. Heavy is a relative term, so don't pay too much attention to how much you can lift compared to others. But, saying that.. Keep a journal of how much you're lifting and and for how many reps, also what you're eating, weigh yourself daily, etc, etc. That way, when you get results you can see what you're doing right, or what you're doing wrong when you're not getting results. The warm up set is important and not to be neglected at any time!

_________________
It takes sacrifice to be the best.

There are always two choices, two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it's easy.

Bitseach · Green Belt

No no no! Not to the point that you cannot or can barely use the muscles the next day - that is too much! You run the danger, in doing this, of doing proper damage to the muscle tissue and you could end up with scar tissue, not muscle tissue! It may look bigger but will be totally useless and set you up for injuries and tears in the future and will affect your flexibility.

It is true that training causes *slight* damage to the muscles tissues that increases muscle mass as the muscle repairs itself - you'll see it called "hypertrophy" - and this is why recovery days after resistance training are so important. Leave AT LEAST a day between weights work-outs for muscle regrowth to be most effective. Exercise should not be done to the point of pain, although a slight burning is usually a good sign that the muscles are being worked hard in the anaerobic range. The "no pain, no gain" ethos has largely been discredited now. Even if it means your progress might be a bit slower, keep it safe!
Good luck!

_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My karma will run over your dogma
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack · Black Belt

I disagree in part with that Bitseach.

Pain is fine, its simply what sort of pain. Muscular pain is fine. If you really tear your muscles up with weights you shouldn't have to work those same muscles out again for anywhere up to a whole week. A slight burning is a good sign of lactic acid build up, not of muscle teardown. You can keep things safe with heavy weights, using the correct form and keeping a spotter available. As for this internal scar tissue claim - I have not heard of this before and shall ask about it on a Bodybuilding forum later tonight.

In the end, its each to their own. I simply prefer pushing myself hard and then getting good amount of rest and nutrition. I see good gains this way.

_________________
Jack
Currently 'off' from formal MA training
KarateForums.com

Bon · Black Belt

Bitseach, you're just a little girl! : )

_________________
It takes sacrifice to be the best.

There are always two choices, two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it's easy.

[CT]pizzaboy · Green Belt

Break a person down so they can be stronger, the same way works with your muscles work.

Moo, muscles are really dumb and have a very short memory. You break your muscles down so they can rebuild and be biggger, but if you slack for about just two weeks, you won't be able to lift that same amount you did two weeks ago. Yeah its strange, but its the truth.

Start with enough weight so you can do six reps. When your able to get to ten reps, add more weights until you're down to six reps again. Lift until your muscles are fatigue. After that, do partials. Or another way to max out your muscles is to do combo lifts. Try: barbell curls into side raise(working side shoulder deltoids) into front raise(working front shoulder deltoids). Remember to be careful with your back, there is alot of pressure on your back when lifting weights.

Withers M.A.A. · Brown Belt

THe way to build muscle is to shock them. If you are lifting and doing the same routines over and over your muscles will get used to what you are doing and will not get any bigger or stronger. You need to do a routine for 3 weeks or so then change it up to s hock the muscle. You also need to decide what your purpose of lifting is. If you want to gain mass then realize you will lose some range of motion. I started a lifting program a few years ago to bulk up. I gained almost 50 lbs. but I lost tons of range or motion. I cut back and now I'm at a perfect weight.

_________________
2nd Degree black belt in Kenpo Karate and Tae Kwon Do. 1997 NASKA competitor-2nd place Nationally in Blackbelt American Forms. Firearms activist!

	KarateForums.com Forum Index -> Health and Fitness	All times are GMT - 6 Hours
Page 1 of 1