There’s more to muscle than meets the eye. Although muscle itself is most commonly associated with strength, the truth is that it is a dynamic part of our physique that does more than enable us to be able to carry heavy loads. Furthermore, muscle itself can actually enhance both your health and physique in a number of ways, which I’d like to cover in today’s post. So, if you’ve always steered clear of building muscle or are afraid of turning into an enormous bodybuilder, think again. Muscle itself is not easy to build, but the effort you invest consistently is well worth the benefits. Read on to find out the importance of muscle and what workouts I recommend you do at the ZGYM to get started!

Metabolism

There’s a controversy floating around that muscle increases metabolism. And while the statement is true to an extent, the rate at which your metabolism goes up is pretty small at best. The resting metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn at rest) of muscle is only 6 calories per pound. [1] However, the good news is that the more muscle you build (and maintain), the greater the number of calories you’re able to burn after a workout- particularly an intense one, like Tabata or HIIT training. [2] That’s due to the amount of energy your body requires in order to recover. Which is why if you’re really looking to get more bang for your buck with your workouts, consider adding on some muscle.

Want another reason for building muscle? Body composition. That pesky number on the scale alludes many of us. We focus solely on the scale that we often neglect other aspects such as mental health, internal health (digestion, hormones, metabolism), and, yes, the way our body looks. First of all, just because the scale claims you’ve lost a certain amount of weight doesn’t mean that the same success can be translated to how your body looks. In fact, when you lose weight, you want to know from which source you’re losing. Is it water? Is it fat? Or, is it muscle? You definitely do not want to be losing from the latter!

According to Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine, Gerardo Miranda-Comas, MD from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, “It is bad to lose muscle instead of fat, because muscles are the key players in body movement and function. With loss of muscle mass, strength and endurance are affected negatively, leading to decreased functional performance.” [3] Not only that, but you’ll be missing out on the (slight) metabolic advantage that comes from muscles. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) will start to drop, and some of the nutrients from your diet will be more likely stored and converted into fat cells. (If you had plenty of muscle, they’d go to them.) [4] If you’re an athlete or love to crush your workouts with me at the ZGYM, let this be a wakeup call!
To sum things up, with more muscle, the more active your metabolism becomes. It won’t go up to crazy heights, but it certainly does experience a boost (which is better than average or nothing). Losing muscle is, therefore, something you’ll want to prevent if weight loss is a goal since you’ll be losing whatever metabolic advantage you get from having enough muscle.

Total Body Benefits

Now it’s time to jump into the really juicy good things about muscle. Did you know that maintaining a healthy amount of muscle can actually help to prevent premature aging? Yes, indeed! The older we get, the more muscle we lose, thanks in large part to a process known as sarcopenia. Starting around our 30s, our body starts losing its muscle mass. For those of us who regularly keep in shape and are mindful of working our muscles, this isn’t as much a concern as it is for people who remain inactive. For them, as much as 3-5% of muscle mass can be lost every ten years after they turn 30. Between age 65 to 75, sarcopenia really takes off, resulting in weakness, reduced stamina, endurance, strength, balance, and coordination, therefore increasing the risk of age-related injuries like fractures and falls. [5]
If this is too much information to grasp, just know this: muscle = independence. Would you rather see yourself free and self-dependent when you get old, or are you ok with the prospect of someone holding your hand wherever you go?

Muscle itself comes bearing plenty of gifts. Did you know that it, with muscle, you can experience improvements or benefits in…:

• Bone density
• Tendons and joints
• Brain health
• Cholesterol
• Blood pressure
• Heart health
• Blood sugar
• Mental well-being
• Confidence and self-esteem
• Sleep
[6] [7] [8]

Clearly, muscle isn’t a one-trick-pony. And it’s not something only for bodybuilders and action heroes. Muscle itself plays a fundamental role in our inner and outer well-being. Our internal health benefits from head to toe, experiencing reductions in anxiety and a lack of confidence as well as better organ function. Sure, it’s cool to be able to lift and carry some heavy things, but what about preventing aging? That’s also something worth investing in!

Train Today

Ready to get started? The best way to build muscle is through resistance training. This is when you’re challenging your muscles with some form of weight for it to “resist” in the form of lifting or pulling. The weight itself can come from many sources. Bodyweight can definitely get you far- in fact, if you can’t even perform a number of exercises like squats and pushups with good form and execution, you’re better off working on bodyweight before graduating to the next examples. Otherwise, next to bodyweight, you’ve got dumbbells and kettlebells, which you’ll ideally be increasing in weight the stronger you get.
The ZGYM has plenty of series for building strength and muscle; choose depending on your level of fitness:

For Beginners:

Beginner Strength
Bodyweight Beginner

For Intermediate:

Guns & Pistols
Upper Body & Abs Basics

Intermediate to Advanced:

Upper Body & Abs Inferno
Killer Legs

Sources:

[1] 5. Wang, Z., Heshka, S., Zhang, K., Boozer, C.N., & Heymsfield, S.B. (2001). Resting energy expenditure: systematic organization and critique of prediction methods. Obesity Research, 9, 331-336
[2] Smith, J., & McNaughton, L. (1993). The effects of intensity of exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption and energy expenditure in moderately trained men and women. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 67, 420-425
[3] https://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/a25252107/losing-muscle-vs-fat/
[4] https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/whats-difference-between-weight-loss-and-fat-loss/
[5] https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/guide/sarcopenia-with-aging#1
[6] https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/build-muscle-better-health#1
[7] https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/7-benefits-strength-training-go-way-beyond-building-muscle-ncna845936
[8] https://tanita.eu/tanita-academy/understanding-your-measurements/muscle-mass