OnFitness Magazine - May/June 2022 - 55

55 WWW.ONFITNESSMAG.COM | VOL 22 NO 6 | 2022
increased levels of cytokines will activate a type of
stem cell in the muscle known as satellite cells.
Once activated, these satellite cells grow and
mature into healthy and intact muscle tissue. They
will anchor to the existing muscle and repair the areas
previously damaged by the exercise.
This is the process of muscle repair and is the
only method for muscle hypertrophy and growth.
Without this inflammatory process, muscle tissue will
not adapt to an exercise and will not demonstrate
increases in strength or power.
Now understanding the importance of this
inflammatory process, it's important to understand the
role of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
These drugs block the production of inflammatory
chemicals throughout your body. This will cause a
decreased sensation of pain, as the cytokines will not
be produced and will therefore not stimulate the
nerve endings.
However, the blocking of this release will also
prevent the activation of the satellite cells. No satellite
cells equal no muscle repair. Without repair, there will
be no muscular growth or increases in strength.
It's important to understand this process. Muscle
soreness is normal and should be allowed to run its
course.
Blunting the discomfort with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory
drugs will cause a resulting blunting in
muscle growth and level of performance. Only in
extreme cases should these drugs be considered.
When satellite cells are activated, as described
above, it's important to have the appropriate macro
and micronutrients available to promote tissue growth
and repair.
Soon after a session of intense exercise, it's
recommended to ingest a meal with appropriate levels
of carbohydrate, usually in the form of simple sugar
and protein. The carbohydrate will be processed by
your body quickly and will result in your pancreas
releasing insulin into your bloodstream. This is a
good thing for your muscles.
Insulin can be thought of as a hormone
responsible for taking compounds in your
bloodstream and storing them in tissues. Its job is to
latch onto certain compounds and shuttle them out of
circulation.
In the case of muscle repair, this is highly
beneficial. The satellite cells are quite small upon
activation, being only a mono-nuclear cell. They don't
inherently contain the building blocks necessary to
build muscle.
Insulin assists this process by taking free-floating
amino acids in your bloodstream and transporting
them into the damaged muscle tissue. These amino
acids are linked together to form protein.
Put enough of these amino acids together, under
the guidance of the satellite cell, and you have new
healthy muscle tissue. This leads to the second
component of a post-workout meal.
In addition to the carbohydrate, there also should
be a source of complete protein available. Your
digestive system breaks down this protein into
individual amino acids, which are then available for
transport into your damaged muscle tissue.
The process of muscle repair is a physiologic work
of art and must be understood by those specializing in
exercise prescription. Understanding the inflammatory
process and the resulting tissue repair is an important
skill to build a stronger, leaner body.
FUNCTIONAL
CONDITIONING
How to reduce the risk of injury
The human body is an amazing work of nature that
can adapt to nearly any external stimulus. With many
fitness programs, beginners will often simply jump
right in only to quickly realize that the " no pain, no
gain " paradigm doesn't work for them.
The reason is simple in that, with the beginning
trainee, the ability of the nervous system to handle
new intense exercise is limited.
Before embarking on any exercise routine, it makes
sense that you should initially work on overall
nervous system capacity rather than concentrating on
specific parts of your body. This is one of the reasons
compound movements are best if you're starting a
resistance training program.
Your nervous system is divided into the central
nervous system, which includes your spinal cord and
brain, and the peripheral nervous system, which is
found outside of your brain and spinal cord.
Regrettably, many beginners make the mistake of
trying to copy a routine that someone else has had
success with. Whether you've come across it in a
magazine or heard of it from a friend or even a
professional athlete, oftentimes you'll find that it
doesn't meet your expectations.
The problem with following someone else's routine
is that it often exceeds your physical abilities. You
overtrain and become injured, which invariably leaves
you very discouraged.
A warm-up session before muscle building is
paramount for all, especially you're new at training.
Doing a training session without first warming up can
lead to strained or pulled muscles, and/or damaged
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An explosive,
simple home
workout
It consists of just two
exercises, complete in
minutes: a group of
explosive push-ups
followed by a group of
explosive bodyweight
squat jumps. Using
this quick routine lets
you quickly kick the
metabolism into high
gear. You can perform
it virtually anywhere.
Start with four to five
sets of explosive
push-ups, with as
many repetitions as
you can get in good
form. Rest a minute,
then get in four to five
sets of the explosive
squat jumps. This
workout is so quick
and handy you can
get it in during a lunch
or coffee break, while
your coworkers are
visiting the vending
machines.
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OnFitness Magazine - May/June 2022

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