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How Strength Training Changes Your Body for Good

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Re: How Strength Training Changes Your Body for Good

#21

Post by cbanek »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #10
maxcan wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Simply maintaining muscle mass requires a considerable amount of calories. Our bodies evolved to function with the least calories possible. So, if you aren't using your muscles often, the body will catabolize muscle to save energy. If you are using your muscles, and thus signaling to your body that you need more of them, your body will devote energy to hypertrophy and increase muscle mass. The current regime of near…

> The current regime of near universal caloric surplus is not something our ancestors ever faced and evolution left us very little tools to deal with instinctively. This depends on your ancestors. Demographics with a long history of agriculture are much less vulnerable to diet-induced diabetes than, say, native Americans are. Some people will eat to gorging when faced with more food than they can eat, and some won't.

That's super interesting about demographics with a long history of agriculture. Do you have any links for further reading on that?

Re: How Strength Training Changes Your Body for Good

#22

Post by ChemicalWarfare »

Aron wrote: post #2

Weight training doesn't make your muscles bigger, it inspires your body to make your muscles bigger. So my question has always been, if having bigger muscles is good why doesn't the body just do it? It certainly has to be aware that I'm operating with a calorie surplus.

muscles DO get bigger when you consume more calories then what your body requires for "maintenance". except of course unless your testosterone levels are exceptionally high most of those calories would go into fat storage.

you might know that this calorie surplus will last "forever" but your body doesn't so to speak so it's choosing a safe bet survival strategy-wise.

Re: How Strength Training Changes Your Body for Good

#23

Post by FullMtlAlcoholc »

innerpeace1 wrote: post #7
Aron wrote: post #2

Weight training doesn't make your muscles bigger, it inspires your body to make your muscles bigger. So my question has always been, if having bigger muscles is good why doesn't the body just do it? It certainly has to be aware that I'm operating with a calorie surplus.

Bravo, spoken like a true geek, if only evolution was as simple as building machines.

Evolution does build machines. It is a master of nanotechnology.

Re: How Strength Training Changes Your Body for Good

#24

Post by donretag »

"The average American flat-out loathes strength training. While about half of people do the recommended amount of aerobic activity each week, only 20% also do the muscle-strengthening moves that work major muscle groups."

That definitely sums up myself. I am a cyclist. My totals for this week are 147.1 miles with 15,497 feet of climbing (I do nothing but mountains, flat is boring!), but if you ask me to do 10 push ups, I will complain! For me aerobic activity engages my mind. There is a destination. The environment moves and is changing. When climbing up a hill, I have no choice to push myself if I am ever going to get to the top. Push ups? I simply stop when my body resists.

Despite my complaints, I do some strength training. Core strength is important in cycling and it is my upper body that fails during long rides, not my legs. My legs can keep going, but my shoulders give out due to constant vibrations.

Re: How Strength Training Changes Your Body for Good

#25

Post by _chris_ »

amelius wrote: post #13
Aron wrote: post #2

Weight training doesn't make your muscles bigger, it inspires your body to make your muscles bigger. So my question has always been, if having bigger muscles is good why doesn't the body just do it? It certainly has to be aware that I'm operating with a calorie surplus.

A related question would be: why doesn't my body dump all the fat, since I'm eating a surplus of calories anyway?

why doesn't my body dump all the fat, since I'm eating a surplus of calories anyway?

That's a great research question. Normally, the body tries to maintain a happy "set point" of fat. However, different genetic populations (who may have historically gone through more famine) are more inclined to save fat than dump it relative to others.

Researchers suspect that there is some mechanism that may be going awry due to our modern diet/lifestyle. Fat makes a protein called leptin; the more leptin in our body, the fatter we must be. So why is our body not properly measuring how much leptin is in our bloodstream and thus thinking it is skinnier than it really is?

Answer that and you will both win a Nobel Prize and become a very rich person.

Re: How Strength Training Changes Your Body for Good

#26

Post by tybit »

Aron wrote: post #2

Weight training doesn't make your muscles bigger, it inspires your body to make your muscles bigger. So my question has always been, if having bigger muscles is good why doesn't the body just do it? It certainly has to be aware that I'm operating with a calorie surplus.

I think it effectively operates under the heuristic of build only as much muscle as needed(which is why the signals(hormones) are needed), store excess as fat. That makes sense if starvation is the largest risk shaping evolution, but this is all just armchair biology.

Re: How Strength Training Changes Your Body for Good

#28

Post by oh_sigh »

Aron wrote: post #2

Weight training doesn't make your muscles bigger, it inspires your body to make your muscles bigger. So my question has always been, if having bigger muscles is good why doesn't the body just do it? It certainly has to be aware that I'm operating with a calorie surplus.

Because your body deems big muscles as relatively worthless if you don't need them. They are a big energy sink so it makes sense. Also, being muscular increases your basal metabolic rate, so not only does it take energy (which may not be available) to grow them, but you also spend more energy simply existing with more muscle mass.

Re: How Strength Training Changes Your Body for Good

#29

Post by amelius »

_chris_ wrote: post #25
amelius wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A related question would be: why doesn't my body dump all the fat, since I'm eating a surplus of calories anyway?

why doesn't my body dump all the fat, since I'm eating a surplus of calories anyway? That's a great research question. Normally, the body tries to maintain a happy "set point" of fat. However, different genetic populations (who may have historically gone through more famine) are more inclined to save fat than dump it relative to others. Researchers suspect that there is some mechanism that may be going awry due to ou…

Interesting. Would it be possible to fool the body by injecting (or supplementing with) extra leptin?

Re: How Strength Training Changes Your Body for Good

#30

Post by Daishiman »

ec109685 wrote: post #11
garraeth wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if you are operating with a calorie surplus, you'd need to eat an optimal mix of nutrients to maintain extra muscle. Most people (most likely) cannot simply ramp up amounts of what you currently eat. For example, if you suddenly require 5000 c/day, you cannot simply eat more pizza, MT Dew, etc. You have to eat 5000 c/day of nutrient rich food. Your muscles do not only require calories. This is actually very hard…

Which nutrients are pizza missing for building muscle? The problem with pizza is that it is way too easy to over indulge, but I don't think it is lacking "nutrients".

Fiber for improved intestinal health, and probably a boatload of micronutrients.
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