There is constant talk of these “micro-traumas” when it comes to regeneration-based training. But what is that actually?
What does the word even mean?
You may know the word “trauma” from car accidents. The term means quite simply: an injury caused by the use of force. The word “micro” stands for something very small. So: micro-traumas are very small injuries. Concretely: those that have been caused by a hard and intensive training session within the framework of your build-up training.
Muscle injury? Where?
As I said, it is about tiny injuries, not torn muscles or tendons. But how can you imagine this exactly?
Each of your muscles consists of an incredible number of muscle fibers, also called muscle cells. Imagine these fibers like a water hose, which contains many thin rubber bands inside. These ribbons are responsible for the contraction of the muscle fibre, and this is how strength is generated.
If you train a muscle very intensively, the smallest tears can occur: in the tube itself as well as in the rubber bands. But that is not bad because: Exactly these tiny injuries stimulate the muscle to build up – and as a result there is more strength or more mass. Or even both.
Repair before construction
Before your muscle can become stronger or thicker, these micro-traumas must be repaired. Only then does the trained muscle try to develop more strength or mass. In other words: If the repair is not carried out completely, there will be no build-up at all.
So the next hard training before the repair work is completed breaks off the build-up that is currently taking place. You really want that? That would be fine if you want to prepare your body to cope with excessive demands. But then you should also realize that your build-up training is not really optimal.
