The health benefits of building muscle.
There are over 600 muscles in the human body which are used for movement,
storing glycogen fuel, and protecting the joints and bones.
As we get older, our muscles tend to break down
which can lead to weakness in the body and a higher risk of arthritis.
To prevent this, you can build your muscles by performing resistance training,
eating muscle building foods and cutting out refined carbs from you diet.
In today's video we will look a 12 health benefits building muscle tissue,
and some healthy tips on how to do this properly.
1. Joint Health The main purpose
of muscle is to help you move around and co-ordinate your body.. Having stronger,
larger and healthier muscles helps to support the joints and protect them from weakening,
especially with age. Muscle has a protective effect against arthritis.
2. Hormones It has recently been
discovered that skeletal muscle is actually an endocrine organ, which acts like gland tissue.
When exercising, muscles release myokines - small proteins which
lower inflammation throughout the body and are very protective and healing.
3. Blood Sugars
The larger muscles you have, the more storage space your body has for sugars
in the form of glycogen. This helps to keep blood sugars under control, and reduces the
risk of type 2 and type 1 diabetes. It also reduces the risk of becoming overweight.
4. Age Protection As we get older, our bodies become weaker
against diseases and infections. However, having larger muscles helps your body to heal faster.
Muscles are storage units for amino acids, which are used to replenish damaged tissues in the body
and provide energy. Having more muscle mass lowers mortality, and can help you to live longer.
5. Resistance Training If you wish to build muscle, performing
resistance training using weights is the best way to grow them. Lifting weights exposes your muscle
cells to a higher workload than they are used to, which causes small tears in the muscle. This
triggers hypertrophy, where your body uses protein to build the muscle tissue stronger and larger.
6. Bone Support Physical tension
and resistance training for muscle also improves your bone density.
Your body uses proteins, calcium, magnesium, Vitamins D and K to strengthen your bones. This
also lowers the risk of osteoporosis and osteopenia (bone pain) with age.
7. Brain Health Studies show that
having larger muscles and strength also improves brain health and cognitive function.
Muscles excrete BDNF, and other anti-inflammatory proteins which help those with schizophrenia,
depression, bipolar disorder and Alzheimer's disease.
8. Energy Boost The mitochondria are the small
energy factories found within your cells. Building stronger muscles helps them to store my myoglobin,
a protein which stores oxygen and feeds it to your mitochondria.
This boosts your energy levels and makes you feel more alive.
9. Weight Management Muscle tissue burns 3x as
much calories per pound as body fat does. So as you grow more muscle, your body burns extra fuel
which can help you to maintain a healthy weight. This naturally increases your metabolic rate.
10. Posture Building muscle,
especially in the middle back helps to maintain a natural posture. This keeps your back straight
and helps to protect against rounded/hunched shoulders.
If you work on a computer all day, it is highly recommended to do this.
11. Confidence Maintaining a natural posture
has also been linked to improving confidence levels. Standing tall and in a confident pose
is shown to boost your emotional state making you feel comfortable in your own skin.
12. Inflammation When you start to exercise and move your muscles,
your muscle cells release a very powerful protein called interleukin 6 (IL-6). This
reduces inflammation in the body and fights all kind of diseases, and boosts the immune system.
Resistance Training
The best way to build muscle is by performing resistance training, using weights.
There are all kinds of different exercises that you can do which target different muscle groups
in the body. You can use barbells, dumbbells, weight plates, kettle bells and much more.
When you take part in muscle training and weight lifting, your muscles are placed under stress.
This causes micro tears in the muscle fibres, which the body repairs and makes them larger.
This is a type of healthy stress which helps your muscles to handle more stress in the future,
making you stronger and healthier.
Herbs & Spices
There are certain herbs and spices that you can consume when trying to build muscle,
to speed up the recovery process.
We highly recommend turmeric to reduce pain and swelling when exercising.
Fenugreek seeds are amazing for building muscles faster,
because they increase your muscles uptake of creatine.
Ashwagandha is also a fantastic herb which helps to balance hormones in the
body and boost human growth hormone (HGH) for faster muscle growth.
We also recommend consuming Matcha Green Tea as a replacement for coffee,
as this helps your body to use sugar fuel more efficiently.
Muscle Growth Diet
There are all kinds of diets out there to follow when building muscle,
however many people consume the wrong foods. We highly recommend following a healthy ketogenic
diet and intermittent fasting plan. This diet involves consuming only whole natural
foods found in nature, with a minimal amount of processed carbohydrates.
Intermittent Fasting is a simple diet trick which
involves eating all of your calories in an 8 hour window during the day.
This spikes (HGH) human growth hormone which rapidly boosts your muscle growth.
We also recommend consuming heavy amounts of cruciferous vegetables
every single day in the form of a salad. These supply thousands of plant compounds
that improve your muscle building efforts, and help to speed up recovery.
The Protein Myth
Your body can build at most around 227g of muscle each week,
so if you eat too much protein trying to build muscle, you will gain excess fat too.
Many bodybuilders consume too much protein
which can be hard to digest, and is not needed by the body.
When you are training for muscle growth,
you need 0.8g - 1g of protein per pound of body weight on a daily basis.
For example if you were 180 pounds you would need to consume 144 - 180g of protein per
day provide the amino acids your muscles need.
This is not an incredibly high amount of protein,
and there is no need to purchase foods with added proteins.
Simply get your protein and healthy fats from natural sources, such as grass fed beef, salmon,
sardines, pasture raised eggs and cheese.
If you consume too much protein, your body will simply convert this to sugar
in a process called gluconeogenesis.
Stress & Sleep
When we become stressed, our bodies release a hormone called cortisol.
If this is elevated over time, your muscle tissues begin to break down and are converted into sugar.
Getting enough sleep is essential for regulating cortisol, and keeping your stress levels down.
Make sleep a priority in your life, even if you have to take
a nap occasionally. The more sleep you get, the healthier your hormone balance will be.
We also build the most muscle whilst we sleep, because sleep increases human growth hormone,
triggering protein synthesis, muscle growth and the metabolism of amino acids.
In our previous video we discussed the healthiest muscle building foods. We
also cover the healthiest minerals and nutrients for muscle growth.
Be sure to select our "Muscle Health" playlist at the end to learn more.
Thank you very much for listening, a like is always appreciated and remember to subscribe
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