Does working out really damage our bodies?

tomED

Just a little question that will ignite ideas from everyone (i hope...)

But I just read a post on Biceps

One guy said "That routine you showed me was great, it must have worked, my arms are killing me".

Surely if you are constantly putting your body under this type of strain it is damaging something.

Correct me if im wrong, but muscle mass is because of mintue tears in the muscle.

How do we know that this is not damaging our bodies.

For example if we were to sit in a chair uncorrectly everyday we would have a bad back, should we think - ah thats great it must have worked sitting like that all day..... even though in latter life we'll be in bits with a bad back!

Before anyone tells me im a fruitcake!!! Im only posing the question, has research been done on this anywhere? Surely a constant barraige of a workout is doing some kind of damage to our delicate bodies.... or is it?

logic1

It's true alot of research has been done on this.

What we must understand that all pain is not the same. The pain you get from incorrect posture is not the same type of pain you get from working out just the same as the pain from a ligament or muscle strain is not the same as the pain from working out.

Nobody is sure exactly why you get pain after working out. There are alot of theories. One of the most wildly accept ones is the DOMS theory. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is an area of training nearly everyone will be familiar with. 24 to 48 hours after training you will have muscle pain and slight discomfort. It's not a sharp jolting pain more of a dull thud.

It was the theory years ago that this was from lactic acid buildup in the muscle which has since been disproven as all traces of lactic acid leave the muscle extremly soon after training and during recovery.

The main theories hold that this pain is from the stress that the muscle has been put through. iniscule tears in the fast and slow twitch muscle fibres have to be repaired, protein is synthesised and muscle built. This constant tearing and rebuilding is what gives us more muscle mass and it only seems logical that there will be a certain level of pain in the body while it is under stress.

Afaik it has never been proven that this type of muscle damage is detrimental to the body or even bad for you in the way that bad posture or unhealthy diet is bad for you.

It's simply a pain which must be indured while the body is developed.

Some links on DOMS:

http://www.frsa.com/doms.html

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1999/01_99/muscle.htm

http://info.getbulky.com/medical/DOMS.html

.logic.

tomED

couldnt have asked for a better reply than that. Thanks for the links.

It has always been something I thought about!

Cheers!

Jak

Logic pretty much hit the main point - there are types of pain and soreness that are all entirely distinct. There is pain from injury and pain from use and fatigue.

In terms of muscle growth and fitness - The human body is designed to adapt for survival. It develops according to the stresses we put on it. We are not indestructible or indefatiguable hence we get tired, however our bodies gradually adapt and once they think that this is the new norm, they develop accordingly.

I have argued with people who say the level of training I do puts enormous stress on me - but I firmly believe that the body adapts and while from an outside perspective it looks a little extreme, I find it all very controlled. You just need to be gradual - think years not months in your approach to training.

Also there is little debate over the benefits in terms of heart and general healthiness of structured routine weight training.

JAK.

tomED

Originally posted by Jak
Also there is little debate over the benefits in terms of heart and general healthiness of structured routine weight training.

Can you elaborate - sounds like an interesting topic of conversation!

Thanks

Jak

I have work to do so - No.

It shouldn't be hard to find the literature yourself if you look for it.

tomED

LOL

jaysus i was only asking - just letting you know that I was intereseted in what you were saying....

jaysus people can get very touchy in here can't they....

Thanks anyway
Tom

tunney

Also there is little debate over the benefits in terms of heart and general healthiness of structured routine weight training.

Are you implying that there IS debate over whether it is good for you or that there ISN'T any debating that it is good for you?

Confused

logic1

Originally posted by tunney
Are you implying that there IS debate over whether it is good for you or that there ISN'T any debating that it is good for you?

Confused

I think he means there's very little debate, most people confirm that it is infact good for you

.logic.

tunney

What I reckoned he meant, but you never know Cheers