After reading the last post on soreness, one of my friends asked if soreness was responsible for muscle growth, then can he achieve the same results through flexing instead of weight training, i.e if he just flexed his biceps till the time they become sore, will they grow in size? In this case the antagonistic muscle i.e the tricep was acting as resistance while flexing bicep.
So, let’s discuss this in a little more detail. Going by the principle of muscle tissues getting broken as indicated by soreness, the apparent answer to the above query would be yes. However, while one may experience somewhat increased strength, there will not be any significant increase in size of arms. The explanation for this lies in an earlier post in which I discussed slow twitch fibres and fast twitch fibres. Fast twitch fibres are primarily responsible for the bulk. Doing endless repetitions with no weights do not induce stress in fast twitch fibres. The strength and size of a muscle increases when it is subjected to larger loads. Using the antagonistic muscle solely for resistance might help in the muscle getting a bit firmer initially, but not bigger.
To conclude, we can say that some form of external resistance (in the form of weights, resistance bands etc) is needed to gain strength and size.
Thanks Saurabh , the things you wrote for soreness is very beneficial. I have seen the amount of pump i feel when i take reps in full control.
ReplyDeleteI have a query, What should be an ideal exercise schedule. I take two muscle parts a day, the muscle group should be two big muscles say chest n Back, or one big muscle + one small, say chest+ tricep , so on.... how to make out for an ideal combination.
Hi jet,
ReplyDeletePlease find the response in the next post. Thanks for bringing this topic. This is a very common dilemma that gym goers face.
Cheers!!