“How do I build muscle?” Pt. 1

A question I’ve been asked frequently by my clients and athletes alike. This question cannot be answered in one exhaustive blog post unfortunately. Instead, I’m going to address this question in a 4-part series beginning with today’s post. I’ll begin by explaining the importance of building muscle, or the “why” behind our motivation for building them in the first place.

Why is building muscle important?

You may be asking yourself, “why is building muscle important to me? I’m not a bodybuilder and don’t plan on becoming one.” Well let me breakdown a few reasons why it matters for everyone regardless of their goals:

1-Increased Lifespan/Decreasing Risk of Injury

One of the most important reasons for building muscle is to increase longevity of lifespan. Having a body composition that consists of a healthy ratio of fat mass to muscle mass can prove to be a determining factor in risk of injury/falling. As we age it is important to stay active to slow the aging process and maintain the organ systems of the body. Elderly, and even younger, people who experience frequent injuries that leave them sedentary and unable to exercise regularly can develop other more severe health complications. These complications can compound into major issues that can play an impactful role in our longevity and can sometimes decrease lifespan.

2-Joint Health

Another reason building muscle is important is maintaining joint health. Muscles are essentially elastic pulley systems that manipulate our skeletal frame through space (movement). Muscles are attached to our bones via tendons. If we are to avoid tendon and joint injuries it is imperative to build and maintain muscular strength. If muscles are too weak to handle a given load or stretch it can lead to tendon tears and reduced range of motion in our joints. This can further lead to chronic pain and take us away from activities that we love to do (hiking, sports, gardening, etc.).

3-Increased Basal Metabolic Rate

A lesser known reason building muscle is important is that it helps us burn more calories. Oftentimes people attempting to lose weight fixate too much on burning as many calories as they can through high intensity exercises or exhaustive steady state cardio. What many don’t know is that increasing one’s muscle mass can increase one’s basal metabolic rate. In other words the more muscle we have the more calories we burn just by existing. Given this conclusion it is important to maintain a healthy level of muscle mass to maintain an appropriate weight and body composition.

4-Mental and Emotional Wellness

Lastly, but not least, building muscle or working out in general can improve our emotional and mental wellbeing. You’ve probably heard the saying, “if you look good, you feel good.” While this statement is no guarantee there is some merit to it. Negative opinions about one’s self image can be extremely detrimental to their confidence, emotions, and motivation. Given what we know from the previous sections not only will building muscle alter the composition of our body but also the composition of our minds. Working out can be a great way to stimulate your mind and provide a release of “feel good” hormones known as endorphins. This means working out can help you fight and overcome those feelings of self-doubt, anxiety, and stress. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Muscle Building series where I talk about how to actually strength train to prioritize building muscle.