NAME: CONEJAR MARYELLE JUHANNAH D.

DATE: 08/11/2021

Weightlifter Jamal has been practicing many hours a day, and his muscles have
gotten noticeably bigger. He tells you that his muscle cells are “multiplying like
crazy and making him get stronger and stronger.” Do you believe his
explanation? Why or why not?

No, I don’t believe Weightlifter Jamal’s sentiments. The man seems to harbor
a misconception with regards to how muscle cells work. Muscle cells lose their
ability to undergo cell division after birth. Therefore, the increase in size is not due
to an increase in the number of muscle cells but rather is due to enlargement of
the existing muscle fibers. We have this term called “Muscle hypertrophy”. Muscle
hypertrophy is a term for the growth and increase of the size of muscle cells. The
most common type of muscular hypertrophy occurs as a result of physical exercise
such as weight lifting, and the term is often associated with weight training. During
hypertrophy, contractile elements enlarge and the extracellular matrix expands to
support growth. Muscles often increase in volume after a long-term strength
training. This enlargement can occur from forceful, repetitive muscular activity. It
will cause the muscle fibers to increase their production of internal structures such
as mitochondria and myofibrils and produce an increase in the muscle fiber
diameter. Hence, with the presented facts above, this proves that Weightlifter
Jamal’s ideals are wrong and needs correcting.