There are some things we need to discuss around the topic of building muscle, especially if you’re someone who hasn’t made it a big priority (yet).
Your muscle mass has been accurately described as your body’s equivalent of both your 401K and your health insurance. That’s some important stuff! A 401K pays dividends down the line and your health insurance covers you in case of a medical situation.
Well, your muscle mass does the same. It pays dividends down the line and offers significant protection in case of acute or chronic health situations.
It bums me out that so many people have overlooked the critical nature of building muscle (so far). Here are a few things I’d love for you to keep in mind before you continue thinking you don’t want to get “bulky” or put on weight.
Things You Need to Know About Building Muscle
- Your muscle (or lack thereof) is your body’s only storage space for amino acids. These amino acids are necessary for things like manufacturing immune cells and red blood cells. So, if you don’t have adequate muscular reserve, you are immunocompromised. More muscle means you’re better equipped to keep yourself healthy and fight off minor or serious health challenges that come your way.
- More muscle means more energy. Less muscle means less energy. Cells within your muscles contain a higher concentration of mitochondria than cells in other types of tissue. Mitochondria are little energy factories within our cells. They literally make energy.
- If you aren’t actively working to build muscle (or at least maintain it), you’ll lose anywhere from 3-8% of your muscle per decade beginning in your 30s. That has a significant compounding effect that influences your immunity, your metabolism, posture, bone density, energy, physical abilities and more.
- More muscle is better for your metabolism and your carbohydrate tolerance. I did an entire episode on the carbohydrate tolerance piece of it, so tune in to episode 1141 for all the details. From a metabolism standpoint – muscle requires 3x more energy than other types of tissues, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you need to eat to maintain your weight. The less muscle you have, the less you need to eat to maintain your weight. On the carbohydrate tolerance side of things, muscle serves as the storage site for excess glucose. The more muscle you have, the more carbohydrates/sugar you can store. The less muscle you have, more likely carbs and sugars are going to be converted to and stored as fat. That’s very much the cliffnotes version, so listen to episode 1141 of the Primal Potential podcast for the nuance and detailed explanation.
We haven’t even touched on the impact on your physical appearance, your functional capabilities, reduced risk of injury, longevity or the fact that muscle is anti-inflammatory. To be honest, I was sold with just the convo about energy and carbohydrate tolerance. 🤷🏻♀️😂
Here’s a really important point to keep in mind in this conversation about building strength: a lot of people think they’re building strength because they use weights during their workouts. That’s not true. In fact, many people are training muscular endurance and not muscular strength.
My sense is that right now you have a lot of questions like:
- How do I know if I’m building muscular endurance or muscular strength?
- Am I too old?
- Can I do it if I have a bad back or bad knees?
- How heavy do I have to lift?
- Do I need to below to a gym?
- What types of movements should I be doing?
- What about my pilates/yoga/bootcamp? Is that sufficient?
The good news is that I did a full training on this topic with one of the most effective trainers in the country and you can listen to the replay on the podcast. We answer all those questions and more. It’s episode 1145 of the Primal Potential podcast and it’s worth every second of listening time.
>>> Listen to this episode <<< Seriously – you can’t skip this episode if you’re someone who values health, energy and longevity.
In the episode we talk about a 5-week coaching, training, fitness and education program we’re kicking off called Strong Foundations. It will include workouts, workout tutorials, movement demos, scaling options, modifications, tips on selecting a weight that is appropriate for you, nutrition information and more. You will learn more in episode 1145 but you can also sign up and grab your spot at primalpotential.com/strongfoundation/