[net.med] Questions about human muscles

mickey@altos86.UUCP (Mike Thompson) (11/12/85)

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?

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

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?

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

	thanks for your help..

	Michael Thompson
	{ucbvax,decwrl}!dual!vecpyr!altos86!mickey

martin@yale.ARPA (Charles Martin) (11/18/85)

Expires:
Sender:
Followup-To:
Keywords:

You don't need as much meat as you were led to believe from childhood
stereotypes.  In fact, you don't need meat at all (which lots of veg-
eterian athletes would love to tell you), just make sure you get the
balance of proteins.  An *athlete* needs about 1/2 g. protein per pound
of body weight per day.  What you should eat more of are (as was
mentioned) potatoes, breads, etc---the complex carbs.  Avoid empty carbs
(sugar).  Go for the fruit and veggies.  Watch out for coffee, as it
will inhibit the absorption of iron and calcium.  Vitamin C, on the
other hand, will help out.

The biggest piece of advice is to make sure you're well-hydrated.  Drink
water all the time and especially after exercise (before eating).  You
need the water so that the proteins can be used.  Check the color of
your urine to see if you're getting enough---the lighter the better.

Aerobic exercise is, in my opinion, indispensible.  I don't agree that
it won't `hurt', however...try to stay over 60% of your max heart rate
for twenty minutes (the infamous rule of thumb).  I usually go for a run
before lifting, since it warms up all the muscles.  DO NOT LIFT WITH
COLD MUSCLES!  If you don't have time for a run, do some stairs for five
minutes, some situps, anything to get a little bit of sweat.  Then
stretch out again (stretch the muscles, don't strain them), then lift.

Aerobic exercise is also good since it may give you an incentive to
stick with your program for longer than a month ("Wow, I've cut my per
mile time by ten seconds!").  Mixing exercises (running, swimming, etc)
can also relieve incipient boredom.

    -- Charles Martin
       Martin@Yale.ARPA
       ...decvax!yale!martin@UUCP