Often simplified by the term “protein synthesis”, muscle growth is actually a highly complex process involving .Muscle hypertrophy, the correct scientific term for the way we adult humans build skeletal muscle, actually requires the fusion of new cells (called satellite cells) with existing muscle fibers. Since this discovery of satellite cells in 1961, a great deal of research into the mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy has been undertaken. Scientists have come to understand that unlike normal muscle cells, these satellite cells can be regenerated throughout adult life. Furthermore, they serve not as functional units of their own, but provide some of the necessary components to repair and rebuild damaged muscle cells. These satellite cells are normally dormant, and sit resting in small indentations on the outer surface of the muscle fibers, waiting for something to trigger them into activation.