If muscle growth is caused by microtears, then what is the biological reason that a strain doesn’t make your muscles grow even stronger?
In: 212
Because the “muscle growth is caused by micro tears” thing is massively over simplified if not downright wrong. Your body can tell when a muscle is put under tension and allocate resources to build that muscle. Microtears might be a part of it, but the extent is unclear, and there definitely isn’t a 1:1 translation between muscle damage and muscle growth.
Edit: Since this seems to have ended up the top answer, let me know if you’re interested in a more in depth ELI5 analogy for muscle growth and I’ll write one up.
Edit 2: Ok seems like people want more in depth. I want to put a disclaimer that if you want to know the actual science behind this stuff, I highly recommend finding people like [Jeff Nippard](https://youtube.com/@JeffNippard), [Mike Israetel](https://youtube.com/@RenaissancePeriodization), etc. on YouTube. They provide super digestible and practical tips on muscle growth, and they back their claims up with analysis of actual studies. So if you want the science, go there, and I’ll provide an ELI5 analogy if you just want something surface level. I’ll put it in a reply below since idk if I’m getting close to character limits.
The key is the “micro” in “microtear”. A larger tear causes the body to focus on healing rather than growth. Also, inflammation happens which can reduce muscle function temporarily rather than promote growth.
There’s a point where the damage is being repaired with scar tissue that doesn’t contract like muscle tissue. And the downtime of not being able to utilize the muscle due to pain and injury means it’s getting dismantled for resources since your body doesn’t think it needs it anymore
Imagine your muscle fibers are like little soldiers.
If you simply wound them, they can call in reinforcements.
If you kill them outright, they can’t call in reinforcements.
I would think the amount of mechanical tension is the main driving force for muscle growth. Microtears are probably an unwanted side effect of lifting weights.
Long distance running tears the shit out of your leg muscles. It’s why your legs are sore afterwards. It does not grow giant ass turbo quads. You’re starting from a false premise
Being larger and more muscular requires more energy and therefore more food, in a food scarce world nothing will be more muscular than it needs
I cry little tears all the time. Why aren’t I ripped?
Too much of anything does more harm than good. Oxygen is good, but too much oxygen is poisonous. Water is good, but too much water can be fatal. Literally every thing that is good is bad if you have too much.
strains can effect more tissue than just the muscles. you have tendons and ligaments, connective tissue that glues them together.
that’s why advancing weights too fast can cause damage. it takes some serious damage to tear a muscle like some pro athletes (and unlucky amateurs) but fairly easy to hurt the tendon or tear the ligaments. those build slowly, and the older you get the slower they are. that’s where ‘strains’ get you.
Latest Answers