Building a Muscular Body for Health and Longevity
Did you know that as we age, we "disintegrate"? Nursing homes are full of folks who did not age well.
Building muscle strength is protective for our health. Frailty is destructive to our health.
Muscle is a functional metabolic organ and poor muscle strength is an independent predictor of poor health outcomes for the elderly who do not engage in proper strength training.
Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the body by mass-30% to 50% of total body mass-depending on fitness level. Muscle is considered an endocrine organ contributing to metabolic function, hormone regulation and disease prevention. Muscle plays a part in preventing Type 2 diabetes because it plays a role in glucose metabolism. Muscle controls glucose and lipid levels, which results in reduced risk of diabetes. Muscle loss results in reduced glucose clearance, which then increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Energy expenditure, or calorie burn, is related to how muscular you are as well, with exercise playing a more minor role.
Most people in westernized countries lose muscle as they age. This is referred to as sarcopenia. The average muscle mass of a young healthy person ranges from 77 to 110 lbs. Contrast that to an elderly woman that has not engaged in strength training with only around 29 lbs. of muscle mass.
Muscle burns more calories than fat. A young person loses around 0.5% muscle mass per year. By the time we are in our 50s-60s, it accelerates to 3% per year. It is an imperceptible change which leads to that moment in life when we wake up one day and say, "how did I get so overweight and out of shape?!" Sarcopenia has been happening!
Early signs include not being able to climb stairs like we used to, not being able to lift something heavy that never gave us trouble in the past, and falls, to name a few. This all leads to a loss of independence.
Life spans are shorter for people who are not muscular and recovery from diseases can take longer due to complications that develop in older and frail people. During illness, the body depends on nutrients stored in muscle to promote better immune response and tissue repair. People with limited muscle reserves therefore have a harder time recovering from illness, including cancer.
The only solution to this is strength training. Eating a high protein diet does not help. Muscle mass also contributes to lower levels of inflammation and muscle releases myokines like interleukin 6 that lowers inflammation. Inflammation is a major influence in promoting all of the diseases that we don't want to get, like cardiovascular disease, arthritis, cancer.
Aerobic exercise helps, but strength training helps more! Another benefit of strength training is that it directly stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis and improves mitochondrial function, which impacts energy production and improves the function leading to increased endurance and lower risk of disease and lower risk of early death.
Strength training is key to preventing osteoporosis and improving bone mass if you have already lost some bone mass.
Just walking is not enough because strength training impacts bones that walking does not, like hips and spine. 10,000 steps a day does not build strength, or even aerobic capacity. You are just "marking time".
Be willing to do what needs to be done for your long-term health. It's fun to be a strong person.
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