DAMAGE AS THE STIMULUS TO GROWTH

How do we grow? My theory:

When you damage yourself, your body learns to re-build itself, and become STRONGER than it was before [super-compensation].

Don’t be afraid of damage or pain

interesting with weight lifting:

You are intentionally trying to damage or “tear” your muscle fibers, in order to stimulate your body’s growth hormones.

Why I love feeling sore the day after

“DOMS”— delayed onset muscle soreness. It seems to be a good sign that we had a “good workout session”.

I find this interesting, because bodybuilders LOVE the feeling of DOMS. In fact, when we no longer feel DOMS, we get concerned or worried that “we didn’t push ourselves hard enough”, or the workout was too easy.

Seek the micro-trauma

Too much trauma is bad. But small doses of trauma are good — which are a stimulus to growth. Micro trauma:

Small doses of trauma which stimulate growth.

The tricky thing is this:

Knowing the dose.

For example, what’s the line when beneficial micro trauma (hormesis) is good for us, and when too much trauma can destroy us (beyond repair?)

Strive to increase your “one rep max” week over week