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From: dorettas@iddic.UUCP (Doretta Schrock)
Newsgroups: net.bio,net.med
Subject: Re: Questions about human muscles...long, sorry :-)
Message-ID: <2292@iddic.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 13-Nov-85 18:56:49 EST
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Posted: Wed Nov 13 18:56:49 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 15-Nov-85 05:24:06 EST
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 	Michael Thompson writes:
> I have started weight lifting and have some questions about human muscles.
> 
> Why do muscles get sore?  Is it an injury?  Like a bruising?  Why does
> it take several hours to a day before they feel sore?  Should I force
> myself to lift weights if my muscles are sore or can I injure myself that
> way?  If my muscles don't get sore, does that mean I am not making 
> progress?

Yes and no :-).  Your muscles get sore because of the build up of the products
of anaerobic respiration (mainly lactic and pyruvic acid).  Your muscles have
the ability to use glucose (sugar) for power either with or without oxygen.
If you work them slowly and steadily, there will be enough oxygen supplied
for them to burn glucose efficiently.  Your muscles will build up, and you 
won't get sore.  But, if you work them quickly and heavily (as in weight 
lifting), there isn't enough oxygen to go around, so they have to take a short-
cut process that isn't as efficient, and leaves various products lying around.
These take time to diffuse out of your muscles into your blood stream, 
especially if you stop using them suddenly (which is why you are told to 
"warm down" after lifting), and so build up to concentrations that you perceive
as a dull ache.  This doesn't really hhurt your muscles unless there is a 
whole lot of the acids around for a long time (if you're fairly healthy this
shouldn't happen).  There is some evidence that the ache is due to distension
of the intra-muscular capillaries (this can also happen after getting an
intra-muscular injection for example), but again, this shouldn't 
hurt you.  
  The main reason you should wait a day or two between lifting
sessions is that on a molecular level, your *are* doing damage to the
muscle, and this gives it time to rest, repair, and get rid of any excess
acids that are left.

> What is it exactly that triggers muscle development in humans?  Is there 
> some kind of chemical that gets released after physical exercise?

  When you contract and relax your muscle, millions of tiny molecules link
up with each other, contract, relink, and finally relax (this is very difficult
to explain without a picture...you might want to find a recent bio or physio
book).  The microscopic contractions of each of these molecule-linkages
adds up to a visible contraction in the muscle.  This is one reason that
longer muscles tend to be more powerful.  When you work the muscle, it
contracts and expands a little beyond its "normal" limits, and some damage
is done. Then, when the muscle is in a more resting state, the muscle cells
repair the protein strands that were damaged.  In doing so, they make each a
little larger and/or make more of them in the cell.  This makes the muscle
stronger and somewhat bigger.  The relationship between size and power of
a muscle is not one-to-one, though.  Muscle cells also store large quantities
of glycogen (that is, "fat"), and if they are continually being heavily used,
they will store more.  That is why you see body-builders who have big muscles
without necessarily being super-strong.

> What kind of foods/diet promotes muscle growth?  Should I eat lots of
> protien? Carbohydrates?  How important is diet for muscle growth?  Should I
> concentrate more on lifting weights than on following a particular 
> diet, or should my efforts in these areas be equally distributed?

  I am not a nutrition expert, but beyond following common sense, I would
say that proteins and complex carbohydrates (potatoes, bread, etc.) would
be two things to concentrate on (though *not* to an extreme -- ignoring
any part of your body's needs will be foolhardy).  Protein is needed for
muscle repair, and carbohydrates -- in moderation -- will give your body the
energy supply it needs.  Sugar (glucose, dextrose, honey, etc.) will, to 
some extent, actually work *against* you, in that it lowers your blood-
sugar level about 20 min after ingestion (it does not make people 'hyper'...
if anything, it puts them to sleep!).  Depending on how serious you are
about this, follow a balanced diett (maybe heavy on the protein, esp. meat),
work out, and if you need to, see a doctor or nutritionist.  BEWARE of body-
building fads, etc.

> Is there anything else I can do to get maximum muscle growth in minimum
> time with a minimum amount of pain?

The Soviets (of course :-) have experitmented with low-level electrical
stimulation of muscles to speed development.  I don't know what, if anything,
is being done with it right now.  Aerobic excerise can be a good adjunct
to a building program.  Things like swimming, running, dancing, etc. are 
good at excercising your muscles with a minimum of pain (and boredom).
Don't think that something like swimming won't build up your body, it will.
And though it (or dancing, fencing, etc) won't always make a specific muscle
group hurt, you *will* feel the difference.

	Mike Sellers <-- note the name difference from above!