As we all know, when you lift weights, your body responds to the challenge by increasing the size and strength of the muscles involved in the lift, so that you will be able to do the job more easily next time. But what is it that actually causes this to happen? What are the specific mechanisms involved that produce muscle hypertrophy?
Well, there are three underlying mechanisms that appear to trigger a growth response in skeletal muscle. These are mechanical tension, metabolic stress and muscle damage. So, if you want to achieve maximum muscle growth, you should really have a basic understanding of each of these, so that you’ll be able to structure your training in a way that will optimize the effects of all of them.
So, in this article, I’ll give you an outline of these mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy, and I’ll also explain how best to train in order to get the full benefits of all three of them. Continue Reading →