Published on: 7/9/2025
Why might my body get bigger when I start exercising?
Your body might get bigger when you start exercising because your muscles grow and get stronger, a process called hypertrophy.
Explanation
When you start exercising, your muscles can grow bigger and stronger. This is called muscle hypertrophy. It happens because when you exercise, your muscles get tiny tears. Your body repairs these tears, making the muscles bigger and stronger.
How Muscles Grow
- Exercise Stimulates Muscles: When you lift weights or do resistance exercises, your muscles work hard. This causes small tears in the muscle fibers.
- Body Repairs Muscles: Your body fixes these tears by adding new muscle fibers. This makes the muscles bigger and helps them handle more weight next time.
- Signals and Pathways: The body uses special signals and pathways to tell the muscles to grow. These signals help manage how big the muscles get.
Why Muscles Get Bigger
- Strength: Bigger muscles help you lift heavier things.
- Endurance: They also help you do activities for longer.
Exercising regularly helps your muscles grow over time, making your body stronger and more fit.
(References)
- Attwaters M, & Hughes SM. (2022). Cellular and molecular pathways controlling muscle size in .... The FEBS journal, 33755332.
- Wackerhage H, Schoenfeld BJ, Hamilton DL, Lehti M, & Hulmi JJ. (2019). Stimuli and sensors that initiate skeletal muscle .... Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 30335577.
- Schoenfeld BJ. (2010). The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their .... Journal of strength and conditioning research, 20847704.
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