An increase in muscle mass (muscle gain) refers to an increase in the size (volume) of the skeletal muscles, ie. the musculature. The male population's appetite for muscle building has always existed, but over time, this appetite is continuously increasing, due to the development of technology. But how technology affects the increase in muscle mass will be explained in another post. The need to increase muscle mass usually comes from the desire for a better appearance, and thus increased self-confidence. This need occurs in both males and females, but in males it is much stronger because musculature is one of the primary male characteristics. That's why the topic refers to increasing muscle mass in men.

In fact, the human body adapts to the environment. This means that we have to establish a suitable environment for muscle mass to increase. Such adaptation of the body nowadays is accomplished through exercise in the gym by lifting free weights or by performing contractions of muscle groups with appropriate resistance with the help of various machines. With this kind of exercise, we cause the body to adapt to the load with appropriate strengthening, that is, an increase in muscle mass.

An increase in muscle mass is achieved through:

• muscle hypertrophy and
• muscle hyperplasia.

M uscular hypertrophy (muscle hypertrophy) is an increase in muscles due to an increase in muscle cells. Factors affecting muscle hypertrophy are both internal/genetic and external. If you want to hypertrophy the muscle mass, you need to cause it to do so. Stimulation of muscle hypertrophy is achieved by appropriate external mechanical loading of skeletal muscles. In order for the muscle fibers to increase, they must have a reason for their increase, and this is achieved by their mechanical overload. During the mechanical load, the muscle fibers experience stress, and in response to such a stressful situation, the body, through a complex biochemical process, prepares for an adequate defense against the external force acting on the overloaded muscle fibers. In order to adequately defend the body against this external force, the muscle fibers grow in size, that is, they become stronger. In this way, the stimulation of muscle hypertrophy is achieved, which in turn contributes to an increase in muscle mass. Nowadays, this stimulation of muscle growth is done in special "bodybuilding and fitness centers" or "gyms", where the muscles are overloaded with free weights and special exercise machines.

But it doesn't mean that if you exercise "hard" with adequate muscle load, you will get muscle hypertrophy! If the overloaded muscle fibers are not fed enough with the necessary nutrients, they will not grow at all or worse - they may even break down (catabolize). This means that after hard training, we need to rest enough so that the muscle fibers are satisfactorily nourished. Under normal/natural conditions of the body, this rest refers to a time period of 1-4 days which depends on how many meals we have taken, what type of food the meals contained, the intensity and duration of the training and the genetics of the body. This period of rest is also called the period of muscle growth or recovery time , because during training we only stimulate the muscle to grow. Adequate training, nutrition and rest are the three conditions that must be met in order to increase muscle mass. If you satisfy only one condition or two, you will either "stagnate" (stand still) or there will be a decrease in muscle mass. This case is quite common when trying to increase muscle mass due to inadequate education and therefore it is recommended to consult with a proven professional before starting such a challenge.

Can and how can muscle hypertrophy be improved, with satisfactory training, rest and nutrition?

The main supporter of the increase in muscle fiber is the hormone testosterone, therefore some individuals have better genetics for increasing muscle mass, and some do not. Testosterone is the one that stimulates protein synthesis (building proteins) in cells, so considering that muscle cells are composed of about 50% proteins, it can be concluded that with more testosterone, the development or growth of the muscle cell is faster. In fact, when we stimulate muscle hypertrophy with proper training in the gym, we cause stress to which the body responds by excreting a higher level of testosterone than normal, all in order to defend the body from the external mechanical force that acts on the muscle fibers by increasing and strengthening them. of the muscle fibers to the appropriate degree of power. But since the stress applied to the body after the end of the training slowly decreases, the level of testosterone in the blood decreases accordingly. With the decrease in testosterone, the size of the muscle fibers also decreases. Even if we do frequent "hardcore" training to keep the level of testosterone higher, there will be no muscle hypertrophy due to the insufficient nutritional intake in the muscle cells that can contribute to stagnation (stoppage) of their growth or catabolism. No matter how much we try to overexert our body, either our testosterone levels will decrease or we will not feed our muscles enough. We can therefore conclude that muscle fiber hypertrophy is genetically limited.

This limitation can be moved by taking certain supplementation that causes an increase in testosterone levels and supplementation that helps with a more efficient diet. This normally requires proper education of the user or consultation with an expert. Also in professional bodybuilding and fitness sports, competitors use synthetic forms of testosterone called anabolic steroids . Competitors use anabolic steroids in order to produce as much muscle hypertrophy as possible. But the use of anabolic steroids is quite dangerous because they bring both positive and negative effects! That's why every competitor is forced to receive appropriate education and, if possible, consultation with proven professional experts. Using anabolic steroids is in no way recommended to non-professional exercisers who do not intend to compete in this sport! It is only recommended to use a specific supplement with the correct dosage!

In addition to testosterone, hypertrophy of muscle fibers can also be caused by an increased amount of reserve sugar - glycogen , creatine and certain electrolytes . These things work directly to increase the size of muscle cells, but also work indirectly through the attraction of water. To increase the amount of glycogen in the muscle cells, a higher concentration of insulin (insulin) in the blood is needed . But this is quite a "dangerous game" ie. a risky way to hypertrophy that requires a lot of expertise and caution for the introduction of synthetic insulin. This method of hypertrophy is used only by top professionals who aim for the greatest possible muscle hypertrophy. In no case is this method of muscle hypertrophy recommended for non-professional exercisers, because with a little carelessness and inaccuracy in dosage and nutrition, quick death can occur! What is recommended is an increase in the concentration of creatine and certain electrolytes through proper nutrition or supplementation, but this also requires proper education because everything we enter into our body in excessive-inappropriate amounts can harm our health!

Muscle hyperplasia is an increase in muscles due to an increase in the number of muscle cells. As with muscle hypertrophy, hyperplasia of muscle fibers is achieved by mechanical overloading of them. During the resulting stress on the muscles that are overloaded with an external mechanical force, some of the muscle fibers do not withstand, so they burst and break into two or more segments/parts. If these segments are fed satisfactorily, they will be regenerated to form complete muscle cells. In this way, two or more are obtained from one muscle fiber, thus we get an increase in muscle mass by increasing the number of muscle cells, ie. through muscle hyperplasia. But just as with hypertrophy, muscle hyperplasia will not occur if the parts (segments) obtained from the bursting of muscle fibers are not adequately fed with the necessary nutrients. In order for muscle hyperplasia to occur, it is necessary to fulfill the same three conditions, ie. satisfactory training, satisfactory rest and satisfactory nutrition.

Can and how can muscle hyperplasia be improved, with satisfactory training, rest and nutrition?

In order to form muscle segments into complete muscle fibers, stem cells are necessary , which are necessary during the formation (reproduction) of any type of cell. When muscle fibers are torn during intense training, the body in response to this stressful situation activates stem cells to regenerate the damaged muscle fibers, as well as to form new ones from the completely torn muscle fibers. The activation of stem cells causes the hormone IGF-2 ie. " insulin - like growth factor 1 " (Insulin-like growth factor 1). The activation of this hormone is controlled by the growth hormone . This means that with a higher level of growth hormone in the human body, the concentration of IGF-2 is higher and accordingly, a faster regeneration of any damaged cell in the body is obtained, where in this case it is the regeneration of damaged muscle cells, such as and the formation of new ones. Like testosterone in hypertrophy, intense training causes an increased release of growth hormone for proper regeneration of muscle cells, and thus an increase in the number of muscle fibers - muscle hyperplasia. Similar to hypertrophy, muscle hyperplasia is genetically limited. If we try to increase the frequency of the training, the muscle will not be fed satisfactorily, or if we try to increase the recovery time from the optimum, the level of growth hormone will decrease. Therefore, any attempt to accelerate muscle hyperplasia by deviating from the optimal balance between food, training and rest can lead to stagnation or reduction of muscle mass.

This restriction of muscle hyperplasia, as well as hypertrophy, can be moved by introducing a certain supplementation that causes an increase in the level of growth hormone and supplementation that leads to a more efficient diet . Also in professional bodybuilding and fitness sports, competitors use synthetic forms of growth hormone. Competitors use growth hormone in order to achieve as much muscle hyperplasia as possible. The increase in muscle fibers makes the muscles denser, which in turn contributes to a more aesthetic (better) appearance of the muscles . But the use of synthetic growth hormone is quite expensive and few can afford it. It has side effects, but not like anabolic steroids. But in any case, every competitor is forced to receive appropriate education and, if possible, consultation with professional experts.

Hypertrophy or hyperplasia? – How much can it contribute to the progress towards increasing muscle mass?

Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the muscles are consequences of the overloading of the muscles by the action of some mechanical external force, i.e. consequences of anaerobic training with maximum weights. Those two are connected together and are the result of the action of the body's defense mechanism. During a period of exercise, each stressed muscle fiber will either lengthen or tear/shred. When there is muscle hypertrophy, there is also hyperplasia. But it takes more time to form a new muscle cell than it does to grow another muscle cell. Hyperplasia can last up to 10 days, while hypertrophy no more than 4 days. Usually, people who exercise actively for more than a year and do not take any supplementation or synthetic hormones to get a higher level of growth hormone and testosterone, think that they are "standing still", that is, they think that they are not progressing. This happens when we reach the limit of hypertrophy. However, then we continue to progress through muscle hyperplasia whose progress is quite slow, which is why we get the false perception of "stagnation". Maximum hypertrophy of the muscles can be achieved even in less than three months, but then the muscle mass slowly increases by about half to one kilogram of lean muscle mass per year. In fact, muscle hyperplasia is the key to success in increasing muscle mass and its quality. If we take as an example the competitors in the professional sport of bodybuilding and assuming that all competitors in the same category have achieved the same level of hypertrophy, the one who has reached the highest level of hyperplasia, that is, the one who has created the highest number of muscle fibers, will win. This means that the one who has exercised the longest with optimally balanced training, rest and nutrition always wins, because hypertrophy is the easiest part of professional bodybuilding, while hyperplasia is the hardest! Taking a synthetic growth hormone can accelerate hyperplasia, but the best will be the one who put in the most effort because there will always be competition that also uses that hormone. But let's not go into details about the professional bodybuilding sport, let's explain about increasing muscle mass during non-professional everyday bodybuilding and fitness sports.

How should and how should progress towards increasing muscle mass be measured?

Until now we have talked about increasing lean muscle mass. But when it comes to the external appearance in terms of the size of the muscles, it can also affect how the subcutaneous fat contributes to a bigger - more "massive" appearance of the muscles. But the greater the amount of subcutaneous fat content, the more the real (sculpted/aesthetic) appearance of the muscles is lost. According to this, when we are on the road to increasing muscle mass, our body weight or the size of individual muscle groups should not be our yardstick. This is so because, for example, it can happen that we have increased fat mass by 3 kg, but we have not gained muscle mass at all, or even better, we have increased 5 kg of fat mass and decreased 1 kg of muscle mass. Measuring progress when trying to increase muscle mass can be body weight or the size of individual muscle groups, only if the percentage of subcutaneous fat is constant, ie. remain unchanged. If you do not have a measuring instrument to measure the percentage of subcutaneous fat, it is recommended to measure with occasional photography during which you should "by eye" assess whether your purity (percentage of subcutaneous fat) has remained the same and if it is the same, only then can you take the measured body weight weight and size as a measure of progress . However, proper education is necessary before you start trying to increase muscle mass, as well as defining exactly what you are aiming for: "is it gaining muscle size regardless of its degree of definition or gaining muscle size with a good degree of definition". Otherwise, you may become demotivated, and thus give up on the intention to increase muscle mass.