Wednesday 18 June 2014

BULKING UP AND BODY BUILDING: Muscle regeneration and the role proteins play

Hi again,
Quite often I get questions about bulking up and muscle building. This also includes questions regarding mass gainer supplements, creatine, testosterone products and synthetic anabolic steroids. All these and you throw in exercise... it can be quite confusing for someone who is starting off or has tried to bulk up unsuccessfully.
To start, I highly discourage against synthetic anabolic steroids, unless prescribed by your physician.
Mass gainer supplements are usually the most effective alongside creatine (although some mass gainers already have creatine in the formulas). Most mass gainers are usually a complex of carbohydrates, protein, vitamin and minerals and sometimes creatine. These are usually in powder/shake form. Some come in tablets, and are mostly vitamin and mineral complexes. These are usually very effective when combined with a good source of protein.
where proteins and muscle regeneration comes in...
Whenever we engage in exercise or strenuous work, the skeletal muscle tissues get strained and injured (microscopic tearing). This is why we feel sore. But as the activity continues, the skeletal muscle (the ones in limbs, abs, neck etc) start to rebuild and become bigger so as to accommodate the extra strain.  This is where muscle regeneration comes in.
Muscle regeneration is the process by which damaged skeletal, smooth or cardiac (heart)  muscle undergoes biological repair and formation of new muscle in response to death (necrosis) or injury of muscle cells. The success of the regenerative process depends upon the extent of the initial damage and many intrinsic and environmental factors.
Key cellular events required for regeneration include;
-inflammation ( Inflammation is a process by which the body's white blood cells and
chemicals protect us from infection with foreign substances, such as bacteria and viruses....source. Inflammation is essential to remove necrotic tissue and initiate myogenesis.)
-revascularization (the restoration of the blood circulation of an organ or area, achieved by unblocking obstructed or disrupted blood vessels or by surgically implanting....source)
-replacements
-innervation ( the distribution or supply of nerves to a part.....source)
in addition to
-myogenesis where new muscle is formed. In mammals, new muscle formation is generally excellent for skeletal muscle but poor for cardiac muscle....(source).
Skeletal muscle has an excellent capacity for regeneration. The major source of myogenic precursor (stem) cells is still considered to be the satellite cell, although other cells lying outside the myofibre may contribute to myogenesis.
But why does a muscle cell grow and how does it grow?
What is Muscular Hypertrophy?
Muscular hypertrophy is an increase in muscle mass and cross-sectional area. The increase in dimension is due to an increase in the size (not
length) of individual muscle fibers...
Skeletal muscle has two basic functions: to contract to cause body movement and to provide stability for body posture. Each skeletal
muscle must be able to contract with different levels of tension to perform these functions. Progressive overload ...applies levels of stress to skeletal muscle, making it adapt by generating comparable amounts of tension. The muscle is able to adapt by increasing the size and amount of contractile proteins, which
comprise the myofibrils within each muscle fiber, leading to an increase in the size of the individual muscle fibers and their consequent force production.
Satellite Cells
Satellite cells function to facilitate growth, maintenance and repair of damaged skeletal (not cardiac) muscle tissue. Trauma to the muscle activates the satellite cells.
(These cells are termed satellite cells because they are located on the outer surface of the muscle fiber..... Satellite cells have one nucleus, with constitutes most of the cell volume.)
Usually these cells are dormant, but they become activated when the muscle fiber receives any form of trauma, damage or injury, such as from resistance training overload. The satellite cells then proliferate or multiply, and the daughter cells are drawn to the damaged muscle site.
They then fuse to the existing muscle fiber, donating their nuclei to the fiber, which helps to regenerate the muscle fiber.
It is important to emphasize the point that this process is not creating more skeletal muscle fibers (in humans), but increasing the size and number of contractile proteins (actin and myosin) within the muscle fiber.
(source)
Myogenesis is where the body manufactures new muscle fibres. Both factors affect bulking.
Proteins and amino acids are necessary for these processes to occur, by providing building blocks and precursors to the synthesis processes.
There is more on protein, its sources and functions and the various amino acids in the body building process.
Stay fit!!
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