A new program of aerobic exercise will increase a muscle's endurance and tone, and make it slightly larger (by a small percentage). But if you wish to significantly increase a muscle's strength and size, you'll need to do resistance exercises with that muscle on a regular basis (one to three times a week). Resistance exercise (also called strength training) uses much heavier loads than aerobic exercise--loads so heavy that you can only lift them a limited number of times in a row.
A strength program usually involves lifting a weight 8 to 15 times (or "repetitions"), taking about 6 seconds per repetition. You can use free weights (barbells or dumbbells) or weight machines (such as Nautilus or Universal machines). The weight should be heavy enough to make the final repetition fairly difficult.
By stressing a muscle's anaerobic energy system in this way for several months, you'll produce changes in your muscles that are completely different from those produced by aerobic exercise:
The amount of local energy reserves are increased by anaerobic exercise.
The nervous system adapts quickly to weight-lifting exercises, by facilitating the desired movement while learning to "shut off" reflex mechanisms that might otherwise inhibit contraction.
With repeated resistance training, over time the protein filaments inside each muscle fiber grow thicker and more numerous, increasing the diameter of exercised muscles. This size increase is more pronounced in men--probably because of the influence of higher testosterone levels. The tendons, ligaments and other connective tissues surrounding the muscle also thicken and become stronger. The bones attached to the working muscle may also increase their mineral content.
Note: An increase in size is not
necessary for a muscle to get stronger. The greatest strength gains are
usually achieved in the first weeks of training--before any significant
size increase occurs. And because the main strength gains come from the
rebuilding of the muscle fibers between workouts, you should allow at least
48 hours between strength training sessions.
Last updated June 10, 1997
Copyright The Johns Hopkins University 1996-1998. All rights reserved.
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