A Course on CFD & Rapid Product Development/Reverse Engineering

 
This Program will begin with an overview to CFD, RPD&RM. This will be followed by the
detailed presentations on various topics of the three groups of technologies constituting
RPD&RM. These presentations will be made by experts from academia and industry. Apart from
the basic concepts, these will include demonstrations and case studies as well.
 
Program Co-ordinators:
VELOZETA, National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT-C)
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B)
Targeted Audience
Graduate Engineers or experienced diploma engineers.
Course Duration: July 15th - August 14th, 2008
 
Last Date for Registration: June 30th, 2008
 
Fees: INR 45,000/-
 
Contact: 09947824645 Email: velozeta@gmail.com , aaron@velozeta.com
 
Detailed Course Content
 
The topics that will be covered are:
 Overview to Rapid Product Development
 Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics using FLUENT as
an Engineering Tool
 Geometric Modeling: Wire-frame, surface and solid
representations; need for multiple solid representations; STL
format
 Virtual and Augmented Reality: Stereo-vision; tracking-based
interaction; multi-modal perception; applications and case studies
 Finite Element Analysis: Principle; applications and case studies
 Reverse Engineering: Principle; legal and ethical issues; various
contact and non-contact methods of capturing a physical object;
construction of the 3D models; applications and case studies
 Rapid Prototyping: Principle; popular RP processes like Fused
Deposition Modeling (FDM), 3D Printing (3DP), Stereo-
Lithography (SLA) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS);
applications/benefits and limitations of RP
 Rapid Tooling: Direct metallic tool making using processes like
SLS, 3DP and Laminated Tooling; Indirect metallic tool making
using processes like Spray Metal Tooling and 3D KelTool;
Benefits of conformal cooling ducts and their manufacture
 Overview to Rapid Manufacturing: Definition; Roadmap
 Rapid Manufacturing of Non-metallic Objects: Silicon Rubber
Molding; Epoxy Tooling
 Rapid Manufacturing of Metallic Objects through Layered
Manufacturing: Comparison of powder-bed and deposition
methods for building metallic objects; Comparison of energy
sources such as laser, electron beam and electric arc; Powder-bed
technologies like SLS, 3DP and Arcam; Deposition technologies
like Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM), Laser-Engineered Net
Shaping (LENS), Shape Deposition Manufacturing (SDM) and Arc
Hybrid Layered Manufacturing (ArcHLM)
 Laminated Manufacturing: Issues in the joining of laminates; case
studies
 High Speed Machining in Rapid Manufacturing: Scientific
definition; enabling technologies, viz., cutting tools, machine tools
and CAM packages; benefits
 Rapid Casting: RM of metallic objects through Material
Translation, i.e., Investment Casting; Segmented Object
Manufacturing (SOM)
 Design and Manufacture Using Functionally Gradient Materials
 Aerospace Applications of Rapid Manufacturing
 Biomedical Applications of Rapid Manufacturing
 Micro-Manufacturing
 Concurrent Engineering and Design for X
 Product Lifecycle Management

 Rational and Irrational Hypertrophy

 Metabolic processes within the cell require ATP to “fuel” them
(ATP is the body’s primary fuel source for all of its energy). If
enough ATP isn’t present then a host of cellular processes slow
down (including protein synthesis), resulting in the operations of
the cell being compromised. This means, among other things,
slower removal of waste products, slower recovery from training
and slower or less protein synthesis. Research done in the former
Soviet Union by Zalessky and Burkhanov has shown that if the
contractile components of the cell continue to grow (sarcomere
hypertrophy) without a concurrent increase in the energy supplying
systems of the cell (i.e. mitochondria, etc. – sarcoplasmic
hypertrophy) then such a situation will develop.
 Essentially, the contractile machinery of the cell has grown
too large for the energy systems to support it. In addition,
fellow Soviet researchers, Nikituk and Samoilov have
demonstrated that such a condition can be brought about
through poorly planned resistance training.
 Once such a situation is created, the full potential strength of the
muscle cannot be exerted because the cell cannot produce and
utilize enough momentary ATP to cycle actin-myosin cross-
bridges sufficiently. Likewise, when hypertrophy and
strengthening is stimulated, growth cannot be supported because
the cell lacks the energy systems necessary to support the synthesis
and maintenance of new proteins (muscle protein is constantly
being broken down and rebuilt – a process of ‘maintenance’). In
Bodybuilder’s terms, you hit a plateau. Because such a condition is
unproductive from an adaptive standpoint, it is called irrational
hypertrophy.
 The defining characteristic of this kind of growth is cells that
contain significantly larger mitochondria than in the
untrained state, but fewer of them per myofibril. The net
result is an ATP shortage in the cell.
 On The Other Hand
 If training results in proportionate vascular improvements within
the cell (mitochondrial density increases – the total number of
mitochondria also increases as the existing mitochondria get
bigger), such a plateau will not be encountered and training-
invoked hypertrophy can proceed. This is called rational
hypertrophy, for obvious reasons.
 As this article isn’t intended to get into the details of training
procedures, I’m going to leave this subject by saying that for
continued progress with regard to increased muscle mass
and/or strength-endurance, sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is,
indeed, necessary and must be trained for.
 “But Why Aren’t Olympic Lifters Bigger Than
Bodybuilders?”
 It wouldn’t be right not to address the fact, though, that training
with weights ~90% of your 1RM and above seems to favor the
development of strength more so than muscular size. But, in light
of the information presented in Part I of this series, how is that
possible? It is theorized that when using loads of ~90% of 1RM
and above muscular failure may occur because of signaling
problems at the neuromuscular junction, and that this occurs before
a significant growth stimulus has been delivered to the cells. In
addition, the total time that the muscle fibers are required to
produce force is shorter in low-rep sets than in higher-rep sets and
this may result in exhaustion of fewer muscle fibers and a lesser
growth stimulus.
 Simply put, a hard set of 8 reps may deliver more growth
stimulus to the muscle cells than a hard set of 3 reps because
in a 3-rep set (or any low number of reps) failure may occur
before a significant growth stimulus has been achieved.
 Effect Of Higher Reps
 Additionally, when higher reps are performed substrates such as
phosphate and hydrogen ions build up in the muscles – some
researchers theorize that the presence of these substrates may
further facilitate the muscle growth process (though this has not
 been confirmed). It is also widely believed that lifting heavy
weights (~90% of 1RM and above) effectively stimulates the
nervous system to ‘improve’ its recruitment pattern, frequency and
efficiency to produce limit strength, making you stronger without
actually increasing muscle size. These reasons are why
bodybuilders, as a group, have bigger muscles than Olympic lifters
– they typically train with longer-duration, higher-rep sets, which
is an effective method of producing hypertrophy.
 Olympic Lifters, on the other hand, typically train with short-
duration, low-rep sets, which is an effective method of
producing strength gains due to neural adaptations, but
produces little in the way of hypertrophy. Accordingly,
Olympic lifters, as a group, are much stronger than
bodybuilders, but not as heavily muscled.
 Other Important Factors
 It also needs to be pointed out that any type of repetitive weight
training (regardless of rep range) will result in the type IIB fibers
having endurance-type adaptations. This occurs most quickly and
profoundly at lighter loads (8-15 rep maximums) because, with
these loads, the type IIBs do not twitch with maximum frequency
and, therefore, adapt to twitch at lower frequencies for longer
periods. This adaptation improves the IIB fibers ability to produce
tension for longer periods of time, thus allowing them to be trained
in a fashion that produces substantial muscular damage and greater
growth stimulation. This gives the Bodybuilder’s muscle more
potential for growth. Training in the 8-15 rep range (roughly
speaking) also constitutes endurance training for IIB fibers,
causing them to adapt so that they have better endurance
characteristics (i.e. higher mitochondrial densities and greater
abilities to sustain enzyme concentrations).
 In other words, sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. This increases the
IIB fibers’ energy production capabilities, allowing for
further stimulation of sarcomeric hypertrophy and the
development and maintenance of muscle proteins.
 My Point
 Don’t do as others have, and use these observations to argue that
bigger muscles are not stronger muscles. As was eluded to above,
muscles adapt very specifically to specific tasks. If you train using
three rep sets then they get good at doing three rep sets. If you train
using 8 rep sets then they get good at doing 8 rep sets. Moderate-
reps sets, however (such as 8-12 reps), stimulate more muscle
growth than low-rep sets (assuming of course, you are training
with sufficient intensity).
 Make no mistake about it though, your legs will be bigger
when you’re squatting 405 for 8 than they were when you
were squatting 275 for 8. For the case of 3 rep sets, you may
not be much bigger when you’re cleaning 315 for 3 than you
were when you were cleaning 185 for 3, but you will have a
much more efficient nervous system for the task.
 Take Home Lessons!





 

 If you want to grow bigger muscles you must train your muscles
against a resistance great enough to stimulate hypertrophy, but not
so great that you cannot continue the set long enough to stimulate
growth. Practically, that means you must select weights that allow
you to complete 6-12 reps (smaller muscle groups may respond
better to even higher reps). Most people will use between 70% and
85% of their 1-rep maximums to achieve this. Training in this
range produces micro-trauma to the muscle fibers that results in
muscle growth (if proper rest and nutrition is supplied). If your
primary concern is increasing limit strength, then you should train
with weights over 85% of your 1-rep maximum, and the sets (by
necessity) will be of 5 or less reps. If you want to avoid
hypertrophy as much as possible, while increasing strength as
much as possible, then sets of 1-3 reps using weights of over 90%
of 1-rep max are indicated.
 Training in this range produces little micro-trauma, thus
stimulating little growth, but results in nervous system firing
pattern refinements that increase limit strength.
 Size Factor
 In all cases, if you want to get stronger OR bigger, you MUST
train for strength. Getting stronger in the rep range that you’re
using is the most fundamental sign of progress – it is the rep range
that determines whether the training effect will be strength or
muscle mass increases.
 If you are not getting stronger in your training rep range, then
your training is not working. This fact cannot be ignored, it
cannot be argued around, and it cannot be refuted – it is as
fundamental, and as simple, as that

Strong Science – Research On The Ideal Rep Range & Sets To

Maximize Results
When it comes to the perfect training program, there are three key
variables for gaining strength and muscle mass: the number of sets per
bodypart, the number of reps completed per set and the frequency with
which each bodypart is trained.

Yet, if you were to ask the bodybuilding industry’s biggest pros for their
numbers of sets, reps and training frequency, you’d be surprised at how
much their answers would differ. This means that different training
schemes work better for some individuals than for others, which is often
a frustrating realization for aspiring bodybuilders seeking the best way
to train.

The Big Debate

This topic is debated in local gyms, college strength rooms and exercise
physiology laboratories. There are so many differing opinions that it
makes even the smartest exercise scientist’s head spin. Searching
through scientific journals only turns up conclusions that vary from one
study to another. Most scientific studies have two major flaws. One
problem is that they often involve only a small group of subjects
(usually 10-20) who are supposed to represent the bodybuilding
majority. The other problem is that many weightlifting studies use
beginners as subjects. Even the least-educated bodybuilder knows that
beginners respond to training much differently than experienced
bodybuilders.

Researchers

Fortunately, scientists from Arizona State University in Mesa, Arizona,

have published a study that could give us some solid answers. They
gathered data from 140 well-designed weightlifting studies and
compared the optimum number of reps and sets and the best training
frequency for inducing strength gains in both novice and trained
(defined as having lifted weights consistently for more than one year)
weightlifters. Then, the data was analyzed using a statistics method that
calculated the optimal rep, set and frequency scheme for beginner and
advanced weightlifters (see “Strong Results” sidebar).

Intensity Rules

Intensity refers to the number of reps and the amount of weight

employed.

Beginners

The study concluded that beginners should start with a program of

higher reps and lighter weight. Those who have been lifting for less than
a year should use weights that allow 12-15 reps to be completed per set.
Beginners make considerable strength gains by adaptations that occur
within the nervous system. Lifting weights teaches the nervous system
how to fire signals to the muscles faster and more efficiently so that the
right muscle fibers are optimally recruited during a lift. Using more
repetitions allows the nervous system to get more practice, as it must
work to control each and every rep.

Advanced

For advanced trainers, heavier weight and lower reps produced the
greatest strength gains. If you’ve been training for more than a year and
are interested in making strength gains, use weights that allow you to
complete about six to eight reps per set. According to the concept of
progressive overload, as muscles adapt to repeated training, you must
challenge them with heavier weight.

Therefore, advanced trainers need to use poundages that are relatively

heavier than those a beginner would use.

Pump Up The Volume

Volume refers to the total number of sets performed for one bodypart
during a workout. If you do three sets of three exercises for chest, the
total volume is nine sets.
Beginners

The Arizona team discovered that beginners should complete only three
or four sets per bodypart for good strength results. In the study, optimal
results for beginners interested in gaining strength were achieved with
three sets of one exercise per bodypart.

When performing only one exercise per bodypart, we recommends that

it be a basic exercise, such as bench presses or incline bench presses for
chest, barbell or dumbbell overhead presses for shoulders, barbell rows
or pulldowns for back, squats or leg presses for legs, close-grip bench
presses or skull-crushers for triceps and standing barbell or dumbbell
curls for biceps. Considering its lower volume of exercises, this workout
can be done as one full-body workout or split into two separate workouts
that train the entire body (quads, hams, chest and triceps one day, for
example, and back, shoulders, biceps and calves the next).

Advanced

The volume of sets for advanced trainers is increased slightly but still
remains on the lower side. Researchers found that advanced trainers who
are concentrating on strength gains should perform only about four to six
sets per bodypart. For most people, that means three sets of two
exercises. The best option is to pick one basic exercise for each muscle
(as previously described for beginners) and one assistance exercise (one
that trains the muscle group in a similar manner to the basic exercise or
that trains the muscle group using a single-joint exercise).
Basic Exercises
For chest, do flat bench presses and incline dumbbell presses or
dumbbell flyes. For shoulders, do barbell or dumbbell overhead presses
followed by upright rows or lateral raises. For back, do bent barbell rows
or pulldowns followed by one-arm dumbbell rows or seated cable rows.
A good leg workout would entail squats or leg presses followed by
lunges or leg extensions. For triceps training, perform close-grip bench
presses or skull-crushers followed by triceps pressdowns.
And for biceps, follow standing barbell or dumbbell curls with preacher
curls or incline dumbbell curls.

The best type of workout split is a 2 or 3 day training split

Again, progressive overload is behind the increase in the number of sets

per bodypart for advanced trainers. As muscles adapt, increase the
amount of stress they receive. One way to do this is to increase the
number of sets performed. Of course, the increase only enhances
strength to a degree. Scientists found that when more than six sets per
bodypart were performed, strength gains were not as significant as for
those who trained with four to six sets per bodypart.

Whats The Frequency?

Frequency refers to the number of times a bodypart should be trained

each week.

Beginners

As far as weekly training frequency goes, beginners should train each

muscle group three times per week. (A beginner may choose to split his
bodypart training over two workouts, resulting in a six-day-a-week
program that works each muscle group three times weekly.)
Weightlifting trains a beginner’s nervous system, and by training more
frequently, the nervous system can adapt at a faster pace. To make sense
of this concept, consider when children learn to ride a bike. The more
often they practice, the faster they learn.

Advanced

On the other hand, advanced trainers should not train a bodypart more
than twice per week to optimize strength gains. Unlike beginners,
advanced trainers’ nervous systems have pretty much adapted by this
point. Their strength gains come mainly from adaptations in the muscle
fibers themselves. Because training with heavy weights and more total
sets causes more muscle damage than beginners would experience if
they used lighter weights and fewer sets (as suggested by this study),
advanced lifters require more recovery time between workouts.

This allows the muscles to regenerate muscle protein and grow larger
and stronger.

Bottom Line

Besides the results, there are other important points to take from this
study. First, the study’s conclusions are based on maximizing strength
gains. What about maximizing muscle growth?

Some would argue that these conclusions could also be applied to

muscle growth. Although strength increases are not directly associated
with more muscle mass, we know that being stronger will lead to more
muscle mass.

Don’t forget about variety.

Regardless of what the study found to be optimal, no single rep range,

total number of sets or training frequency will give you optimal results
forever. You need to mix it up and change these variables from time to
time. You are an individual and should train like one.

Even though the study’s results represent what works best for most
lifters, it doesn’t mean they will work best for you. Try the suggestions
for six to eight weeks. After that, change the variables, whether they
worked for you or not. If they did, use them frequently in your training
program. If they didn’t, try a different technique.

Muscle Growth Part 1: The Science Behind Why, And How,

Does A Muscle Grow And Get Stronger?
In concept, weight training is a very simple practice. You lift weights, you wait a while, you do it
again. You improve over time and eventually you are stronger and bigger than you were before.
When you strip it down it’s really quite simple isn’t it? The problem is things don’t always go as
smoothly as the above description would imply.

The Size And Strength Relationship

In bodybuilding circles there is the common misconception that muscle mass increases and
strength increases are not necessarily related. That is to say, that you can increase the size of a
muscle without it getting stronger. This mistaken belief presents itself commonly in the old
“Bodybuilders aren’t as strong as Powerlifters” argument. If strength was related to muscle mass,
wouldn’t Powerlifters be bigger than Bodybuilders?

The explanation is simple: Strong people usually have better mechanical advantages than weaker
people.

This includes more favorable joint lengths and connective tissue factors (including attachment
placings and superior tendon and ligament strength). They may have more type II fibers than
others and/or a more efficient nervous system (which can be trained for). A muscle can be
trained to get stronger but not bigger – this depends on rep range, training volume and frequency.
However, if a muscle gets larger it must also get stronger in the rep range over which it was
trained. Likewise, if a muscle gets stronger in a rep range conducive to producing growth then
the muscle will also get larger.

It is a scientifically verified physiological fact that muscle size and strength are directly related.
Let’s take a look at what happens to a muscle when you train it.

Segment from the Neuromuscular System series:

“Muscle biopsies of experienced bodybuilders have shown that it was the size of the individual
fibers within their muscles that was responsible for the abnormal muscle size and not the actual
number of fibers present.” Although there is some evidence that extreme conditions may result in
modest increases in fiber number (hyperplasia), the mechanism responsible for muscle size
growth is hypertrophy – the increase in size of existing muscle fibers.

Another segment from the Neuromuscular System series:

“It is also worthy of note that contractile machinery comprises about 80% of muscle fiber
volume. The rest of the volume is accounted for by tissue that supplies energy to the muscle or is
involved with the neural drive.”

This tells us that there are a couple of ways to increase muscle size.

1. Increase the volume of the tissue that supplies energy to the muscle or is involved with
the neural drive – called sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.
 2. Increase the volume of contractile machinery – called sarcomere hypertrophy.

Let’s take a look at both routes.

Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy
Increasing the volume of the tissue that supplies energy to the muscle or is involved with the
neural drive: Intimately involved in the production of ATP are intracellular bodies called
‘mitochondria’. Muscle fibers will adapt to high volume (and higher rep) training sessions by
increasing the number of mitochondria in the cells. They will also increase the concentrations of
the enzymes involved in the oxidative phosphorylation and anaerobic glycolysis mechanisms of
energy production and increase the volume of sarcoplasmic fluid inside the cell (including
glycogen) and also the fluid between the actual cells. This type of hypertrophy produces very
little in the way of added limit strength but has profound effects on increasing strength-
endurance (the ability to do reps with a certain weight) because it dramatically increases the
muscles’ ability to produce ATP. Adaptations of this sort are characteristic of Bodybuilders’
muscles.

It should also be obvious that as the volume of the tissue that supplies energy to the muscle
represents only around 20% of the total muscle cell volume in untrained individuals, this isn’t
where the majority of growth potential lies.

Hypertrophy Factor
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy of muscle cells does directly produce moderate increases in size. But
also, ATP is the source of energy for all muscular contraction – type II fibers included. Wouldn’t
having more of this in the muscle, and having the ability to produce greater intramuscular
quantities at any one time, be an asset? The answer is, clearly, “yes”. That’s where a major
portion of the importance of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy comes into Bodybuilding. As for
increasing the tissue that is involved with the neural drive, this would theoretically occur in
response to the need for contracting cells with hypertrophied contractile machinery. Directly, it
would produce very little in the way of added size. In addition, there are other intracellular
bodies whose growth and/or proliferation would fall under the category of sarcoplasmic
hypertrophy.

These would be organelles such as the ribosomes, which are involved in protein synthesis. As in
the case of neural drive machinery, in most cases they would increase in size or number only to
support sarcomere hypertrophy. They would have little direct impact on overall muscle size.

Sarcomere Hypertrophy
Increasing the volume of contractile machinery: The vast majority of the volume of each muscle
cell (~80%) is made up of contractile machinery. Therefore, therein lies the greatest potential for
increasing muscle cell size. Trained muscle responds by increasing the number of actin/myosin
filaments (sarcomeres) that it contains – this is, primarily, what is responsible for the increased
strength and size. But before a muscle will grow like this it has to be ‘broken down’.

Let’s take a look at both the ‘breaking down’ and ‘building up’ processes:

The Process Of Exercise-Induced Muscle Cell Damage

When a muscle fiber develops sufficient tension for sufficient time, increasing fatigue impairs
the actin/myosin cross-bridge cycling necessary for the contractile filaments to maintain force
production. This impaired cross-bridge cycling under load results in trauma to the contractile
filaments as some cross-bridges are subjected to tensions greater than they can structurally
support. Additionally, training leads to post-workout breaches in plasma membrane integrity that
allow calcium to leak into the muscle cells (there is much more calcium in the blood than in the
muscle cells). This intracellular increase in calcium levels activates enzymes called ‘calpains’
which remove pieces of the damaged contractile filaments (called ‘easily releasable
myofilaments’).

A protein called ‘ubiquitin’ (which is present in all muscle cells) binds to the removed pieces of
filaments thus ‘identifying’ them for destructive purposes. At this time, neutrophils (a type of
granular white blood cell) are chemically attracted to the area and rapidly increase in number.

The Breakdown
They release toxins, including oxygen radicals, which increase membrane permeability and
phagocytize (ingest and destroy) the tissue debris that the calcium-mediated pathways released.
Neutrophils don’t remain around more than a day or two, but are complimented by the
appearance of monocytes also attracted to the damaged area. Monocytes (a type of phagocytic
cell) enter the damaged muscle and form into macrophages (another phagocytic cell) that also
release toxins and phagocytize damaged tissue. Once the phagocytic stage commences, the
damaged fibers are rapidly broken down by lysosomal proteases, free O2 radicals, and other
substances produced by macrophages. The muscle is now in a weaker state than before it was
trained. Incidently, macrophages have an essential role in initiating tissue repair. Unless
damaged muscle is invaded by macrophages, activation of satellite cells and muscle repair does
not occur. Also, increased intracellular Ca++ concentrations are known to activate an enzyme
called phospholipase A2.

This enzyme releases arachidonic acid from the plasma membrane which is then formed into
prostaglandins (primarily PGE2) and other eicosanoids that contribute to the degradative
processes. So, now that we’ve looked briefly at the process of post-exercise muscle degradation,
how does it grow?

The Process Of Exercise-Induced Muscle Growth

Muscle cells have many nuclei and other intracellular organelles. This is because nuclei are
intimately involved in the protein synthesis process (don’t forget, actin and myosin are proteins),
and a single nuclei can only support the manufacturing of a limited amount of protein. If muscle
cells didn’t have multiple nuclei they would be very small muscle cells indeed. So if a muscle is
to grow beyond its current size (i.e. synthesize contractile proteins – actin and myosin) it has to
increase the number of nuclei that it contains (called the ‘myonuclei number’).

How does it do this?

Around the muscle cells are myogenic stem cells called ‘satellite cells’ (or ‘myoblasts’). Under
the right conditions these cells become more ‘like’ muscle cells and actually donate their nuclei
to the muscle fibers, thereby increasing myonuclei number. For this to happen, several things
need to take place. One, the number of satellite cells has to increase (called ‘proliferation’). Two,
they have to become more ‘like’ muscle cells (called ‘differentiation’). And three, they have to
fuse with the needy muscle cells.
When the sarcolemma (the muscle cell wall) is ‘damaged’ by tension (as in weight training or
even stretching) growth factors are produced and released in the cell. There are several different
types of growth factors. The most significant are:

 Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1)

 Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF)
 Transforming Growth Factor -Beta Superfamily (TGF-beta)

These growth factors can then leave the cell and go out into the surrounding area because
sarcolemma permeabilty has been increased due to the ‘damage’ done during contraction. Once
outside the muscle cell these growth factors cause the satellite cells to proliferate (mainly FGF
does this) and differentiate (mainly IGF-1 does this). TGF-beta’s role is one of mediation – in
this case it inhibits growth. After this process the satellite cells then fuse with the muscle cells
and donate their nuclei, giving the muscle cells the ‘ability’ to grow.
Now factors that promote protein synthesis such as IGF-1, growth hormone (GH), testosterone
and some prostaglandins can commence the growth process. Protein synthesis occurs because a
genetically-coded substance called ‘messenger RNA’ (mRNA) is sent out from the nucleus to the
ribosomes. The nucleus is believed to release increased mRNA in response to tension and/or
myofibrillar damage done as a result of insufficient cycling of actin-myosin cross-bridges during
intense muscular contractions, though this mechanism is not fully understood.

The mRNA contains the ‘instructions’ for the ribosomes to synthesize proteins, and so the
process of constructing contractile (actin and myosin) and structural proteins (for the other
components of the cell) from the amino acids taken into the cell from the bloodstream is set off.

Several substances can influence this process. A short overview of the major ones are found
below:
IGF-1:
IGF-1 comes in two varieties – paracrine IGF-1 is made primarily in the liver and autocrine IGF-
1 is made locally in other cells. Paracrine IGF-1 travels through the bloodstream to the various
tissues of the body, but autocrine IGF-1 is local in that in affects only tissues in the area in which
it is released. Receptors on the surface of the cells are necessary for paracrine IGF-1 to enter the
cells and exert its anabolic effects. But autocrine IGF-1, which is manufactured and released in
the muscle cell as a response to high tension contractions, operates independently of receptors on
the surface because it’s already inside. Once inside the cell, IGF-1 interacts with calcium-
activated enzymes and sets off a process that results in protein synthesis (and the calcium ions
that were released during muscle contraction and also the ones that leak into the muscle after the
sarcolemma is damaged ensure that the necessary enzymes are calcium-activated).

A large part of this increase in protein synthesis rate is due to the fact that the IGF-
1/calcium/enzyme complexes make protein synthesis at the ribosomes more efficient. By the
way, insulin works at the ribosome in a similar manner, hence the name insulin-like growth
factor-1 (IGF-1). So get some quick digesting carbs in after your workout to raise insulin levels.

GH:
GH is thought to work, primarily, by causing the cells (both liver and muscle cells) to release
IGF-1. Effective training causes a rise in GH levels in the bloodstream; this GH prompts the liver
to release paracrine IGF-1 several hours afterward, and also the muscle cells to release autocrine
IGF-1, thus leading to another potential growth induction.

Prostaglandins:
Certain prostaglandins are released during contraction (and stretch); two of the most significant
to growth being PGE2 and PGF2-alpha. PGE2 increases protein degradation, whereas PGF2-
alpha increases protein synthesis.

But PGE2 isn’t all bad because it also powerfully induces satellite cell proliferation and infusion.
The mechanism of PGF2-alpha’s action is much less clear but is suspected to be connected to
increasing protein synthesis ‘efficiency’ at the ribosomes.

Testosterone:
‘Free’ testosterone (the kind that isn’t bound to a binding protein) travels freely across the
muscle cell membrane and, once inside, activates what’s called the ‘androgen receptor’. ‘Bound’
testosterone (the kind that is bound to a binding protein) must first activate receptors on the cell
surface before it can enter (the number of receptors on the surface is what controls this pathway).
Once the androgen receptor is activated by testosterone it travels to the nucleus and sets off the
protein synthesis process. In this way, testosterone directly causes protein synthesis and is, by
far, the most powerful anabolic agent found naturally in the human body. Testosterone also
increases the satellite cells’ sensitivity to IGF-1 and FGF, thereby promoting satellite cell
proliferation and differentiation. It also increases the body’s systemic output of GH and IGF-1.
Resistance training causes a spike in testosterone level.

After A Workout: To facilitate the growth process, muscle cells are more ‘receptive’ to
testosterone, systemic IGF-1 and GH.

The whole process of cellular damage and subsequent overcompensation (the cells grow back a
little bigger than they were before) can take anywhere in the neighbourhood of several hours to
several days, depending on the severity and type of training. Trained individuals, however, have
been shown, in several studies, to complete the protein synthesis cycle within 36-48 hours after
intense ‘conventional’ Bodybuilding-type weight training. This is strong evidence to support the
idea that muscles should be trained every 48 hours. Clearly, increasing the volume of muscular
contractile elements is the key to increasing muscle size and strength. Since the type II fibers
contain the most actin/myosin filaments, and generate the highest tensions, they have the greatest
potential for strengthening/growth.

The prerequisite, of course, is that you have to lift weights heavy enough to recruit the type II
fibers – and for them to twitch fast enough to develop significant tension. You also have to
subject them to that tension long enough for significant damage to occur to the

The Science Of Building Muscle

The science of building muscle: this groundbreaking article will help you get the most out of
your workout by breaking down the critical components of each rep

Sets are competitions with yourself. They’re finite journeys taken again and again. Broken down
into reps and stacked together to form workouts, they’re training’s fundamental unit of
measurement. They’re like miniature lives, beginning with vigor, but debilitating with time and
repetition, and always, eventually, ending. They’re regimented periods of joy and pain, and, at
their best, they deliver an aching sense of accomplishment we’ll call “joyous pain.” They’re all
that and more, and they’re the very essence of bodybuilding, so it’s remarkable that they’re
seldom considered in depth.

What happens to your body during a set? Why do your muscles fail? What physiological factors
dictate the very essence of bodybuilding? And, most important, what steps can you take to
enhance your sets and eke out invaluable extra reps?

Here, in a step-by-step format, are the answers.

Prepare For Liftoff

It doesn’t matter what the exercise is. You slide plates on a bar, set a pin in a machine’s weight
stack or pick the right dumbbells, and before you even begin the first set, your body is preparing
itself for the onslaught that awaits. Your sympathetic nervous system releases norepinephrine,
a.k.a. noradrenaline, from specialized nerve fibers that innervate your heart, thus boosting your
heart rate. Your adrenal glands secrete epinephrine, a.k.a. adrenaline, along with some NE,
which travels via your blood to your heart to ramp up the rate and force of its contractions. NE
and EPI also increase the force of muscle contractions, resulting in greater strength. Your
testosterone starts to rise. Secreted from your testicles into your bloodstream, it travels
throughout your body to different tissues. It causes nerve signals to rush more rapidly to muscles,
thus, like NE and EPI, increasing the force of muscle contractions.

Boost Tactic

The more you focus on the set before you even begin, the more NE, EPI and testosterone you
will produce, allowing you to lift heavier weight and complete more reps. In addition, targeting
the muscles you’ll work in the set by performing an isometric hold can increase strength. This is
called postactivation potentiation, and it’s believed to work by ramping up the nervous system so
it fires more rapidly during the set.

As an example of how to perform this hold before barbell curls, position a Smith machine bar at
a height that replicates the curl’s halfway point (arms at 90 degrees). So it won’t move, load the
bar with more weight than you can curl once. Then, as if doing a curl, pull up against the
stationary bar (without unhooking it) as hard as you can for 20 seconds. Rest for two to three
minutes, then do your set of barbell curls.

Start Of The Set

As you begin the first of a probable 10 reps, you have high energy and are pain free, and the
weight feels relatively light. Your muscles must contract to move the weight. Contraction occurs
in muscle fibers when specialized structural proteins called actin and myosin interact with each
other. The motor nerves send a signal that causes sodium to enter muscle fibers and potassium to
rush out. This process, known as depolarization, basically changes the electrical charge of the
fibers and triggers the release of calcium into the cells, causing the myosin to attach to the actin
so it can pull it in. This shortens the muscles and moves the weight. The farther the myosin pulls
in the actin, the more the muscles contract.

During the first rep, your motor nerves call primarily on slow-twitch fibers.

These are much weaker than the bigger fast-twitch fibers, but since fast-twitch fibers fatigue
rapidly, the body knows to save them for when a set gets tough. The slow-twitch fibers contract
by pulling the actin in farther and farther until the weight is lifted as high as desired. As you
lower the weight, the muscles resist it by allowing the actin to slide slowly back toward its
original position.

Boost Tactic
Focus on the working muscles. Research shows that athletes who focus in that way during a set
can recruit more muscle fibers.

The Midpoint
With each progressive rep, the weight becomes increasingly harder to lift. At the midpoint, you
notice your strength and energy starting to wane and feel the first hints of pain. As the body
exhausts slow-twitch muscle fibers, it recruits more of them and also starts to get help from fast-
twitch fibers. Myosin requires energy to keep these fibers contracting rep after rep. This is
supplied in the form of adenosine triphosphate, which is created in the muscle primarily by
creatine phosphate. Creatine donates high-energy phosphate to form ATP, and ATP then passes
it on to myosin to attach to actin and pull it in. During weight lifting, the muscles also make ATP
by breaking down glucose in a chemical reaction known as glycolysis.

Many bodybuilders believe that each rep they perform brings more blood to working muscles,
thus giving them a pump.

In fact, reps actually squeeze blood out of muscles. When a muscle contracts, it creates so much
pressure on the tiny blood vessels that feed its fibers that it reduces blood flow to itself. Although
muscle blood flow increases after a set, the pump you feel during a set is due to water. Each
contraction produces more metabolic waste products, and sodium collects in the muscles. This
buildup causes water from outside the cells, as well as water from the blood, to rush into muscle
cells, as if filling a water balloon.

Boost Tactic:

To increase intermuscular creatine during exercise, ingest five grams of creatine within 30
minutes of your workout (along with 20 g of protein and 20-40 g of slow-digesting carbs). To
augment blood flow to the muscles, take 3-5 g of arginine 30-60 minutes before the workout.
Enhanced blood flow means more water is delivered to the muscles between sets and then drawn
into the muscles for a greater pump. Creatine, glutamine and taurine also draw water into
muscles.

Near Failure
You start to falter on the seventh rep, struggling to move the weight up at your previous brisk
pace. Your energy is quickly diminishing. A rapidly rising burning sensation floods your
working muscles as you grind out the eighth rep. The immense power you felt just two reps ago
is now gone. The ninth rep is harder still, but you gut it out, running through the stop signs. By
the 10th rep, the lactic-acid-induced pain has your muscles blasting off nerve impulses like
frantic 911 calls, demanding you halt the set. You seem to have virtually no strength or energy
left, but you clench your eyes shut, trying your best to block out the pain and focus on your
muscles. The weight slowly rises a 10th time.

During the final reps, your body starts calling on more fast-twitch muscle fibers, which exhaust
quickly, accounting for your feeling of boundless strength and energy dissipating so rapidly from
one rep to the next. The heavier the weight and the more reps you perform, the harder it is for the
myosin and actin to extend under the force of the weight, and, in some muscle fibers, the actin
literally rips away from the myosin, like Velcro being torn apart. This damages the muscle fibers
at the molecular level.

Glycolysis not only provides ATP, but it also creates lactic acid–traditionally seen as the great
villain in gyms everywhere, for it was the one metabolic byproduct that seemed to be responsible
for ending the set. Lactic acid is the reason your muscles burn during and after a grueling
workout. It creates an acidic environment, and it may indeed halt your set. It does, however, have
a good side: it seems to trigger growth hormone release. As lactic acid levels rise, so does your
GH response. Lactic acid is also a substrate that can be used for fuel. New research suggests
lactic acid may even help muscles contract more forcefully.

Boost Tactic

As you approach failure, you need to focus intensely on the task and fight through the pain.
Research shows that taking 200 milligrams of caffeine before workouts blunts muscle pain
during exercise. One study even found that caffeine reduces pain more effectively than aspirin.

Failure
After your final rep–when you cannot, no matter how hard you try, grind out one more–the fibers
have become fatigued and can no longer contract. The myosin and actin slowly struggle to
extend and return the weight back to the starting position, and some fibers may have ripped
apart.

New research suggests that a set may end for a reason other than lactic acid buildup. As was
mentioned, when muscles receive signals to contract, sodium is moved into the cells while
potassium flows out. As you perform more reps (and more sets during your workout), sodium
levels start to build up in muscles, while potassium levels continually decline.

Sodium/potassium pumps help offset these changes by moving electrolytes back in and out of the
cells, but during intense exercise, the pumps can’t keep up with the large changes in electrolyte
concentrations. The result is a decline in the amount of force muscles can produce, which leads
to fatigue and, ultimately, failure.

Boost Tactic

Take 600-1,000 mg of N-acetylcysteine before workouts to delay fatigue by enhancing

sodium/potassium pumps. Pushing a set beyond failure via techniques like forced reps and drop
sets ensures the recruitment of as many muscle fibers as possible, allowing for more muscle
growth.

Aftermath
After your set, the acidic environment caused by lactic acid is buffered mainly by bicarbonate,
thus rapidly diminishing or eliminating pain before your next one. Simultaneously, fat is burned
to produce ATP, which donates a phosphate to creatine and restores creatine phosphate levels,
giving you quick energy for another set. The spike in lactic acid levels at the end of your set
signals your body to release GH, which enhances fat burning and initiates muscle regeneration
and growth. Likewise, testosterone levels have risen during the set, which will further aid the
process of muscle regeneration and muscle building.

Cellular damage has also caused the muscle to flood with proteins which further break down the
damaged structures.

This starts an inflammatory cascade of white blood cells that serve numerous functions, such as
the removal of broken-down muscle tissue so that new and stronger tissue can be built up in its
place. That process takes a few days to complete; 24 to 48 hours after your workout, if you
suffered enough damage, you will likely feel the effects of calcium and prostaglandins, which
build up in the muscle fibers, sensitizing nerve cells that signal your brain and thus providing the
lingering ache known as delayed onset muscle soreness.

Boost Tactic

Postworkout, consume 40 g of whey protein and 60-100 g of fast-digesting carbs to enhance

muscle recovery and blunt DOMS. Taking 5-10 g of glutamine can help increase GH levels. A
massage may speed recovery, as can low-intensity activities (such as walking, cycling and
swimming).

The Next Set

A minute or two after your set, you’re ready to do it all over again. You grab the barbell, the
dumbbells or the handle once more. You focus entirely on the targeted muscles. The inevitable
pain is like a false fire alarm, extreme heat that never sparks a flame, so you vow not to let it
distract you. You know every set has to end, but you feel limitless strength and energy once
again. Hope springs eternal, and the life of a set is born anew as you lower the weight, launching
the first rep of the next set