Muscular Strength

A friend of mine had asked me about muscle growth the other day. He said that he had upped the amount of weight at the gym and still hasn't gained any on his body. He wanted to know how long it takes for muscles to grow. Well Chris here is your answer. 
The muscular system is extremely complex, we have muscles everywhere in our bodies. Just to give a few examples, we have a tiny muscle called the Arrector pili in the middle layer of our skin, one can only guess that it is used to raise the hairs on our body. This is the muscles only purpose. We also have muscles in the iris of our eyes and even in our blood cell walls. 
But enough about microscopic muscles lets get back to the big guns. Muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth) varies from person to person. This is because no one is built the same. Some people produce more amino acids, protein builders, than others. But don't fret this has a lot to do with the kinda of foods we eat. The more protein a person eats the faster a muscle will grow. Plus, protein helps fight off fatigue. To get the full effect of protein you should try to consume roughly 20 grams of it within 30 minutes of completing your workout. Two protein bars or a glass of chocolate milk and a peanut butter sandwich should do the trick.  
As we get older it is more difficult to build muscles, because our bodies stop naturally growing in our late teens and early twenties. Therefore one must know how to work their muscles in order to gain mass. Muscle memory is a term used when you do something so much that is just becomes automatic to your body. We see this a lot in sports, when the pros make things look easy and natural. This can also happen when you are in the gym lifting. Your muscles will become accustomed to doing the same lifts, and the lift will stop affecting muscle hypertrophy. You need variety in your workouts. Don't do bench press every time you lift upper body. Try it instead with just dumbbells, or do reverse bench press. If you get to the point where you can do 15 reps without getting tired the wight is too light (for muscular strength that is).
If you start to increase your weights and you don't see a noticeable difference after the first couple weeks don't be alarmed. Muscles grow slowly. On average it takes about two weeks for a workout to affect your muscles, sometimes longer. This all depends on your food intake, and what you do the day after. 
Muscles can be complicated. If you need some advice on alternative workouts or eating habits for gaining weight just post a comment! I will be happy to help in anyway that I can! 

Stay positive. 

-Sonya

Getting Started

I was talking to my boyfriends mom the other day and she said she hadn't done any physical activity in a long time. 
"I sat down to stretch and even that was difficult!" she had told me.

My mom said something along the same lines to me a while ago. 

"I went for a 30 minute bike ride and I came back and was so sore for days after. It just made me not want to go out and ride my bike again." 
I get the feeling that this is the case for a lot of people, younger and older, and when everything doesn't start clicking right away they just stop. 
Here are a couple of ways to slowly get back into fitness minimizing the amount of pain. You are going to be sore that can't be avoided but hopefully this helps it to be more tolerable.
Walking is a great way to get back into shape if you haven't worked out is a while. Take a 30 minute walk every day just to get your muscles used to doing physical activity again. After you have done that for a couple of weeks try upping your pace and holding it for the duration of the walk. Get to the point where you are walking swiftly for 30 minutes instead of just leisurely. You will be surprised at how much simply walking can do for you. 
You are going to be sore and stretching for about 20 minutes after your work out can help. I wrote an earlier post about the different types of stretches and when to do them. If you need some advice an stretching check it out! Or just leave a comment for me. 
If you are not big on jogging try swimming! Swimmers experience the least amount of injury because there is barely any pressure on your bones when you are in the water. Do the same thing with swimming as you would walking. Swim casually for about 30 minutes then work your way up! 
Working out is all about knowing where to start, and working your way up to harder things. If you are are older and want to try some of the work outs I have previously posted on here try doing them at a slower pace or a jog! That would be another good way to get into working out again. 
Fitness is something that never goes away. It keeps your body healthy and you can feel it into your old age. My grandpa is 92 years old and he walks at least 3 miles daily. His doctor even said that he is healthier than a lot of young people. He doesn't really eat anything special, and he loves a glass of scotch with a cigar whenever he can. Fitness really helps; you just have to know where to start!
Leave me some comments! 

Failing is the first step to success. 

-Sonya