Each time you strength train a muscle, you’re causing micro-tears in the muscle fibers. But that’s a good thing, because when these tissues repair themselves, they rebuild stronger than before. Do this steadily and progressively, increasing the overall intensity from week to week, and your body will respond with new increases in strength and lean muscle mass. Do too much too soon, and you’ll wind up with an injury in the form of a muscle or tendon tear or strain. But if you never deviate from what you always do, you’ll never see any improvement (and you’ll be wasting your precious time as well.)
