Dopamine and serotonin are neurotransmitters in your brain that play a role in human behavior. Neurotransmitters transport nerve impulses between cells and help maintain a healthy brain and mood. Serotonin may play a role in relieving depression, reducing anxiety and decreasing sleep problems.

Exercises consist of a joint movement against resistance in the form of weight, body weight or gravity. Isolation movements target one muscle group while compound movements work more than one. While the target muscle group contracts, opposing muscle groups stretch and relax.

Your foot is a relatively small part of your body, but it contains close to 25 percent of all of your body's bones. Since your feet are responsible for bearing your weight and helping you move, breaking a bone can be very painful.

Lactic acid, or lactate, is a substance produced in your muscles when you need to move quickly or engage in certain other types of physical exertion. The buildup of this substance triggers pain in active muscles and decreases your chances of causing long-term muscle damage.

An upper thoracic hump is also known as kyphosis, or an abnormal curvature in the upper back causing it to appear rounded. The condition is also known as a dowager’s hump because it often occurs in older, postmenopausal women.

Some men carry excess fat on their chest, giving them pointy pecs, or "man boobs." Flabby pecs detract from the chiseled, muscular appearance prized by many men. Reducing the size of pointy pecs requires a combination of dietary changes, strength training exercises and cardiovascular activity.

While weight lifting provides the stimulus that elicits gains in muscle strength and size, the foods you eat are what fuel those developments. If you’re aggressive with your workouts, but don’t consume the right foods, you’ll significantly limit your size and strength gains.

Testosterone is the primary muscle-building hormone in your body, and increasing your strength with a low level of testosterone can be challenging.

If you are a female considering a bodybuilding regimen, it is important to understand you have a few physiological disadvantages compared to your male counterparts. You have much lower levels of the hormone testosterone than men, which makes it challenging to gain muscle.

Building muscle and getting stronger does not mandate daily workouts. In fact, recovery is the crucial period of time where your muscle fibers actually repair and rebuild, helping you improve your muscle mass and strength. Taking time off between your workouts affords the rest you need after fatiguing your muscles.

Weightlifting exercises such as the bench press and biceps curls put extra strain on your wrist. If you use improper form, too much weight or lift weights too frequently, you can experience wrist pain known as tendinitis. Tendinitis indicates the tendons that connect muscle to bone have become inflamed.

There are any number of supplements that you can use in your quest to build muscle. But the most effective post-workout recovery drink is the one you make yourself.