What is muscle maturity, anyway? A lot of people use this term as if they know what it means, but are they actually talking about the same thing?
If you’ve found yourself asking this question, you’re certainly not alone. Despite the importance people assign to this term, there’s no reliable dictionary definition of “muscle maturity” we can quote. Instead, even experienced bodybuilders and personal trainers have roughly similar, but generally vague, ideas of what it implies. They can point to muscle maturity in examples like photographs, but they have more than a little trouble agreeing on exactly what characteristics make one person’s muscles more mature than those of another.
Just because a concept can’t be described precisely doesn’t mean it’s useless, though. As we’ll see in just a minute, muscle maturity is really a fusion of several different bodybuilding goals. The reasons for “good” gains being described in this way are entirely practical, too.
Why “Muscle Maturity” Doesn’t Turn Up in Textbooks
For many people with a certain kind of curiosity, bodybuilding and strength training can easily lead to a quick-and-dirty kind of scientific education. Though their knowledge isn’t necessarily as broad and deep as that of somebody who actually studied subjects like biochemistry and anatomy at university, dedicated workout fanatics often find themselves somewhere beyond the cutting edge of conventional, peer-reviewed research.
In some cases, this is purely because of a willingness to experiment on their own bodies, even trying new workout plans and supplements that may seem dangerous or downright wacky to more systematic researchers. More importantly, though, the main difference is that of approach.
Scientists’ whole job description involves studying a subject carefully and impartially. As it turns out, due in part to the difficulty in even defining muscle maturity, they haven’t so far gone to much trouble to investigate it. Bodybuilders, on the other hand, aren’t objective: they’re right in the thick of it and more interested in what works than how it works.
Moreover, the ones sweating away in the gym don’t need to worry about statistical concepts like hypothesis testing and representative samples. They are much more likely to seek opinions and advice from people in the same boat, especially those who’ve already succeeded. As it turns out, muscle maturity describes several different facets of bodybuilding success.
Muscle Maturity: You’ll Know It When You See It
When you hear the word “maturity”, you may think of something like a fruit becoming ripe or red wine reaching its peak of flavor. The pessimists among us could also see it in a negative light: as a polite way of saying something has reached its pinnacle and can only go down from there.
Fortunately, muscle maturity refers to the former meaning much more than the latter. While it is true that, sometime after you turn 40 or 50 or 60 (opinions vary!), you’ll inevitably start to lose muscle mass, muscle maturity has nothing to do with your actual age.
Instead, the main thing determining muscle maturity is how long you’ve been training regularly – that is, making a real effort, not just going through the motions or only doing enough to maintain the physique you’ve managed to develop.
As you no doubt know, your first six months to a year of serious training is when you see the most dramatic changes in your body. Assuming you eat right during this period, you’ll shed a lot of excess fat, while your largest muscles with the most bulking potential grow like weeds.
This achievement is cause for celebration, certainly. However, someone at this stage still has a long way to go: big, young muscles definitely aren’t going to be conditioned to operate at their full potential. For instance, assuming that you’ve made these gains by mainly following a high resistance/low reps approach, they’re almost certainly going to lack staying power.
Even if they’re capable of exerting a lot of force (for one to five reps, anyway), these young muscles are probably also going to be somewhat flabby. Hardening them takes time, as the inescapable training cycle of strain and repair takes its course. Finally, muscle maturity also kind of implies a transformation involving your whole body. Even after a year or two of intensive bodybuilding, the support system comprised of your organs, nervous system, and hormonal balance hasn’t yet fully caught up with your new musculature; muscle maturity is a sign that this has finally happened.
The Elements of Muscle Maturity
If you’re still confused about what muscle maturity actually is, examples found in every fitness magazine or website should clear that right up. Nevertheless, it’s still hard to put into words. Look for photos of people with a certain gnarliness or graininess, though; it’s instantly obvious who has achieved muscle maturity and who’s still working towards it.
In slightly more technical terms, here’s what muscle maturity involves:
Greater Density
As your muscles work to lift weights, microscopic tears form within the bundles of fibers that comprise them. When you rest and recover, the body does a great job of healing these, leaving your muscles stronger and tougher than before.
Over time, these fibers become thicker and get packed closer together. Water and fat start to make up less of the bulk of what we commonly think of as solid muscle tissue. Even while at rest, mature muscles are firmer; in action, they are also more powerful than their size would suggest.
Fuller, Rounder Appearance
All muscle fibers in a group don’t develop at the same rate – different bundles of these fibers carry varying loads depending on what kind of strain they take during different phases of each motion. Keeping up your training plan and trying additional exercises that work the same muscles – hammer and supported curls, for instance – also help fill out each muscle group to its full potential.
Eventually, when such a varied workout routine is followed consistently, muscles appear more developed and sculpted. They are also noticeably different in shape from the muscles novice bodybuilders have to show, even if the latter are larger. In addition, their “tone” – technically defined as the amount of residual tension when the muscle is at rest – increases, meaning that they’re always somewhat taut and keep their form.
Better Definition
Such mature muscles also show deeper cuts between them, leading to a “striated” texture where clearly visible grooves and ridges bear testimony to long hours spent in the gym over the course of many years. Even if such muscles lack bulk, anybody who looks like this commands respect, and not just from judges at bodybuilding competitions!
This ripped appearance is partly the result of changes in the muscles themselves and partly because experienced bodybuilders carry less subcutaneous fat in the inner layer of the skin. This can be attributed to diet as well as both short-term and long-term hormonal changes associated with resistance training. However, developing a thinner skin, at least in the literal sense, is also a natural result of aging once you pass 60 or so. At least according to some, muscle maturity is basically a myth: nothing more than an age-related loss of padding under the skin that reveals muscles that have been there all along.
Improved Endurance
“Show muscles”, meaning those developed only for bulk, can apply a lot of force once or twice but quickly lose their strength. Mature muscles, by contrast, are significantly more robust and can keep going for much longer.
Part of this seasoning process involves “slow-twitch” muscle fibers developing alongside their thicker, more powerful but less resilient “fast-twitch” counterparts. This isn’t the whole story, however: your entire body, from your cardiovascular system to your nerves, gradually becomes accustomed to the demands of resistance training. The whole organism of your body works together to increase your muscular endurance, especially when you’ve been training consistently for a long time.
Final Thoughts – When Will Your Muscles Reach Maturity?
The good news is that, if you exercise rigorously for several years, support your body by allowing it the rest and nutrition it needs, and avoid all those things that prevent or even reverse muscle gains, you’re almost bound to end up in a state of muscle maturity. The bad news is that this doesn’t mean that you’ll end up looking like a model.
Sadly, nobody can escape the limitations of their genetics. Don’t, however, let this discourage you: while your physical potential may not quite match up to that of your bodybuilding idols, there’s no reason not to do all you can. After you’ve been working out for a while, it will most likely seem that your visible gains are at an end. This, however, is when great things are happening behind the scenes. Once you’ve achieved muscle maturity, your physique will truly be impressive, and all your hard work will seem worth it.
