If exercising means you strain muscles to grow them, why does straining your back hurt it instead of making it stronger?

Question

If exercising means you strain muscles to grow them, why does straining your back hurt it instead of making it stronger?

In: 489

Answer 1

You don’t strain muscles to grow them, you stress them. A ‘Strain’ in regards to muscle is it’s own identifiable thing. The definition of a strain is some level of tearing. They are graded (I, II, and III) by the percentage of tearing that occurs. This *is* an injury.

HOWEVER. Strains often occur with normal physical training, but they are not necessary to grown the muscle.