Not everyone has the same reaction to seeing new muscle pop up on their body. Some like it: “Great, I’m getting jacked!” Some are disappointed: “Oh no, I’m getting heavy.” But everyone should know that building muscle has its benefits, outside of looks and in spite of looks. Here are seven ways your newfound muscle is a big plus for both your health and your fitness goals.
Strength and muscle size go hand in hand
Being strong makes us more athletic, more efficient in everyday life, and can help prevent injury, as I’ll talk about shortly. So if you see some muscle growth, that tells you that you are making progress in strength.
And, yes, size and strength is attached. We’ve all met people who are stronger than they look, and this leads to a myth that there are different “types” of muscle or strength, such as that bodybuilders’ muscles are filled with water or fat instead of contractile tissue. (I’m not sure where this myth comes from, but it’s absolutely not true. A muscle is a muscle.) Think of it this way: the bigger the muscle, the harder it can contract. But what do you do? to do It is a matter of skill with muscle. Gymnasts are strong, but not every strong person can do a backflip. Boxers are strong, but not every strong person is capable of delivering a knockout punch.
If you train to build muscle size, you will increase your strength. And if you train to build strength, chances are you’ll increase your muscle size. That doesn’t mean you have to be huge if you don’t want to be; Your diet is key It determines whether you look “bigger” or not. But whenever you’re challenging your body to get stronger and fitter, it’s reasonable to expect at least some muscle growth.
Muscles burn more calories
The effect of muscle on our calorie burn is one of the most frequently cited benefits of gaining muscle mass, and frankly, I think it’s one of the least important. But let’s dive in, because I know you’re wondering about it.
The more muscles you have on your body, the more calories you burn, even at rest. Muscle is a metabolically “expensive” tissue, using a lot of your food as fuel, which means you can eat more food. Besides just being able to enjoy more food, this also improves your nutrition! The more you burn, the better you can eat. You have a “budget” of calories to fit in lots of vitamins, protein, fiber and other useful nutrients.
Every pound of muscle you gain Burn an extra 10 or more calories each day while resting-So if you gain 10 pounds of muscle over a few years of strength training, you’re burning an extra 100 calories per day. This may not contribute much to your daily calorie burn, but it’s something. What is less appreciated is that the more muscle you have, the more likely you are to go for harder workouts, thus burning. still more Calories
I burn about 500 more calories a day now than I did years ago, when I was sedentary, and I certainly haven’t gained 50 pounds of muscle. But the more muscle you have, the more work you can do and it snowballs. remember, Exercise is good for your healthSo the more your body can handle it, the healthier your heart and your metabolism can be.
Even if you don’t lose weight, muscle benefits your health
Losing weight benefits our health, especially for people with diabetes, other health conditions and/or a high BMI. Losing weight can be tough, but gaining muscle can help with some of the same health outcomes, whether you lose weight or not.
for example, This study It has been found that having more muscle mass has lower mortality, less fat and less chance of diabetes. People with a high BMI and high muscle mass, in this study, were healthier than those with a similarly high BMI but low muscle mass. So even if the muscle is gained does not Come with less body fat, it still helps you stay healthy. Researchers have also hypothesized that some of the health outcomes we associate with high body fat may actually have more to do with low muscle mass.
Muscles keep us in better shape as we age
Getting weaker and weaker as you age is dangerous. Extreme loss of muscle mass is called sarcopenia, and it’s a well-known factor in all sorts of things you want to avoid. The less muscle mass you have, the greater your risk of falling, breaking bones, being unable to live independently, and generally poor health. There are older adults with fewer muscles More likely to die When they have conditions like kidney disease and heart failure, and they have a hard time coping with treatments like chemotherapy.
This isn’t just a problem for the gray-haired crowd: Starting around the age of 30, we lose 3-8% of our muscle mass every decade, If We don’t train to keep it. The rate of loss usually increases after age 60—but, again, people who strength train tend to hang on to their muscles. If you start strength training at an older age, you may also build More You had more muscles than you did in your youth.
Even if you haven’t reached the age of 30, consider putting yourself in the bank of muscle that you can use later. Someone who is strong at age 25 is building muscles (and habits that keep them exercising!) that keep them from getting weak at age 75.
Strength training improves bone density
In addition to sarcopenia, osteoporosis (decreased bone mineral density) also contributes to the risk of catastrophic fractures and loss of independence, especially as we age. Loss of muscle mass and loss of bone density is known as “”.Musculoskeletal Aging,” is an event that is at least partially preventable with strength training.
What do you think so far?
Bone gets stronger when you put weight on it, which is why “weight-bearing” activities are usually recommended for people at risk for osteoporosis. It does not refer to weight training, but refers to activities where you are supporting your own weight. Walking, running and jumping are weight bearing. Swimming is not weight bearing.
But weight training does Also improves bone density. Unless you’re great at walking or jumping on your hands (which, I should note, requires a lot of strength and muscle), it’s a good way to get healthy stress on the bones of your upper body. Do plenty of resistance training. It may include training with barbells, dumbbells, resistance machines, or other equipment.
Strong muscles can prevent injury
Injury prevention is a large and nebulous topic, so it is difficult to point to specific evidence that strength training in general Reduces injuries in general. But ask any good coach, or any good physical therapist, and they’ll tell you that they encourage their players and patients to build strength to prevent injuries and recover from them when they occur.
strength training Gives you strong muscles, bones and connective tissue like tendons. In the context of sports, stronger athletes seem to be more resistant to injury. And even in everyday life – let’s say a person who might slip and fall – being strong and agile makes it easier to avoid unexpected obstacles. You may also have an easier time catching yourself when you start to fall. There is also evidence that exercise, including strength training, is a useful tool Manage back pain, Arthritisand other conditions.
Muscles make you better at running, yoga and other activities
Maybe you’re cool with exercise, but still a little skeptical about the benefits of strength training in particular. All you have to do is run a trail, take a barre class, maybe do yoga. Well, muscles help with those things too.
If you are a runner, for example, Strength training helps prevent injuries (Including painful “overuse” injuries like shin splints and knee pain). More muscle in your legs also means a better ability to run up hills on those trails and dodge rocks and tree roots going down. Stronger runners tend to be better runners.
Or let’s say you are more into yoga. More strength and muscle will help you do more advanced poses, do medium-difficulty ones with more confidence, and easy ones with true ease. Or to put it another way: In the middle of a yoga class, one never thinks, “I wish I had less core strength.”
You get the idea. Rock climbing is more fun when you have more upper body muscle. Cycling is more fun when your legs are strong. Even outside of the formal sports world, muscle helps you carry mulch in your garden, load your suitcase overhead without endangering your fellow airplane passengers, and move a friend without spending the next two days on the couch popping Advil. So when you notice that your body is gaining some muscle, just think of all the opportunities it opens up for you – not just how it looks.
