The Science Behind Muscle Hypertrophy

Let’s get a little bit nerdy. I think it’s important to know the way your body works when you’re on the pursuit of building muscle. When you lift weights, you're triggering a complex series of physiological events that lead to bigger, stronger muscles. This is called hypertrophy.

Muscle hypertrophy occurs when your muscle fibres are put under stress. When you challenge your muscles with heavier loads, tiny micro-tears occur in the muscle fibres. This is the first step in the muscle-building process.

Your body responds to these micro-tears by activating satellite cells, which are like a little repair crew of your muscles. These cells repair the damage and stimulate muscle protein synthesis (MPS). This is where your body adds new muscle proteins, making your muscles bigger and stronger to handle future challenges.

That’s why we progressive overload, and repeat the same exercises for weeks at a time. Our muscles need to adapt. If we don’t train hard and stress them out, they don’t feel the need to adapt and grow.

Nutrition plays a crucial role in muscle-building. Training hard won’t do much if you’re not consuming enough high-quality protein. Protein provides your body with the amino acids (the building blocks of muscle) it needs to fuel muscle repair and growth. Plus, adequate calories and nutrients provide the energy needed for this muscle-building process.

Building muscle uses a lot of energy, this is why we must provide the body with the extra energy it needs to grow.

I could go on about this for hours, but that basically sums it up! Keep challenging yourself, fueling your body right, and enjoy the gainzzz!

With love,

Sandra xx