Why is muscle important?
It is not just about looks
When you think of muscle mass, what is the first thing that pops into your head?
For some, it might be an image of a lean, sculpted bodybuilder or a professional athlete with bulging muscles everywhere. While having a lot of muscle is a desired “aesthetic” for some people, having muscle is a lot more than just looking good. There are a range of health benefits that you can achieve from either building or maintaining a healthy amount of muscle mass.
In this blog, we are going to cover why having muscle is important as well as nutrition and exercise strategies to build or maintain your muscle mass.
What is muscle mass?
Muscle 101
Humans have three types of muscle: skeletal, smooth, and cardiac.
Smooth muscle: Refers to the muscles that make up your internal organs (e.g., gastrointestinal tract, bladder etc).
Cardiac muscle: Found in the walls of the heart and enable your heart to pump blood around your body.
Skeletal muscle: Attached to your bones, tendons, and nerves and enable us to move and control movement. When you hear about “building muscle” or “lean muscle” it is referring to skeletal muscle mass.
While smooth and cardiac muscle obviously plays hugely important roles in our health, for the purpose of this article the main focus will be around skeletal muscle mass.
Why are muscles important for health?
To maintain strength to perform everyday tasks
By our mid 30s we hit our peak skeletal muscle mass, and we then lose as much as 3% to 5% per decade [1].
Muscle loss is faster after the age of 60 years old, declining at a rapid rate of 3-5% per year [1].
With this loss of muscle, there is a large loss of strength that comes as a consequence [1].
Individuals in their 80s often lose up to 50% of their muscle mass [2].
Not only does this impair our ability to perform everyday tasks like walking, standing, and getting out of a chair, it also makes people more susceptible to chronic diseases [2].
This age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength is known as sarcopenia. The most common causes of sarcopenia are inactivity and not eating enough protein, which we will discuss later on.
Figure 1: Muscle mass declines throughout the lifespan, as measured by skeletal muscle cross-sectional area (CSA). McLeod et al. [13]
2. To boost your bone density
Having a higher amount of muscle mass has shown to be a consistent predictor of better bone health in men and women [3].
When we contract our muscles, it creates a force on the bone which stimulates the bone to get stronger, and there have been several studies that have shown a positive relationship between muscle size and bone density and strength [4, 5].
For example, in the “Mediterranean Intensive Oxidant Study”, researchers found that those with lower amounts of skeletal muscle mass were more likely to have weaker and thinner bones [4].
Keeping your bones strong and healthy as you age requires the maintenance of adequate muscle mass and function.
3. Protects you from diabetes and insulin resistance
Our skeletal muscle works together with insulin to clear glucose (sugars) from the blood to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
Insulin resistance is usually the first step to the progression of diabetes.
As insulin is the key that unlocks the door to allow glucose to enter into your body cells, insulin resistance is when the key cannot reach the door.
In a 2012 study, researchers found that higher muscle mass was associated with better insulin sensitivity and a lower risk of developing diabetes [6].
They also found that for every 10% increase in skeletal muscle mass, there was an 11% decrease in insulin resistance [6].
How to build muscle
Lift some weights
Fortunately, you don’t have to spend hours in the gym to build muscle mass- unless you want to!
According to the Australian Physical Activity Guidelines, adults should engage in at least two strength-training sessions per week, alongside aerobic exercise that raises their heart rate to maintain strength and strong bones [7].
You build muscle when you put them under intense strain through exercise.
The strain causes microscopic tears in your muscle fibres, then when they get repaired, new fibres are added, which over time builds thicker and stronger muscles.
When you think of strength training, you probably think of dumbbells and barbells while these tools are valuable, they are certainly not the only way to promote muscle growth.
You can include some basic body weight exercises like push ups, pull-ups, squats or any other movement that require little equipment.
The most important thing is to find something you enjoy and that you are more likely to stick to.
2. Eat enough protein
There is truth in the saying ‘you are what you eat.”
Eating enough protein - the building blocks of muscle - is essential for healthy muscles. Though generally essential, there are several guidelines for protein consumption:
Total protein: aim for 1.6-2.2 g/kg of bodyweight of protein per day. Aim towards the higher end if you are vegetarian or vegan [8].
Protein distribution across the day: When you distribute your protein throughout the day you allow for more chances to achieve muscle protein synthesis (muscle building). Aim for 0.4g/kg of bodyweight every 3 hours [8].
Protein quality: Aim for good quality sources of protein for example lean meats, dairy, tofu, fish and eggs. These protein sources contain all the amino acids you need for muscle building.
Protein timing: If you are already nailing your protein distribution, it is likely that your protein timing isn’t an issue. Best practice is to consume protein within 1-2 hours post training, this becomes more important if you have trained fasted [9].
3. Check your vitamin D status
Low vitamin D levels have been associated with muscle weakness and low muscle mass [9]. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that one in four Australian adults are vitamin D deficient (<50nmol/L), with 7% having a moderate or severe deficiency (<29 nmol/L). Foods such as oily fish and eggs contain some vitamin D though they only contribute a small amount to your overall vitamin D levels.
Our bodies make vitamin D from exposure to UVB from the sun, and is the most effective way of obtaining vitamin D. How much sunlight you need will depend on your skin type, location and lifestyle. Check out [Vitamin D | Cancer Council] for advice on getting healthy sun exposure to boost your vitamin D levels.
4. Eat more
Building muscle requires energy, so it is important to have enough of it.
To gain 1 kg of muscle requires between 350-450 calories extra per day in weight stable adults up to an additional 1000 calories per day for those that struggle to gain muscle [10]. This will allow for the increase of lean muscle tissue without notably increasing fat mass. However, calorie thresholds are highly individual and more or less may be required depending on how you respond.
5. Supplement wisely
There are so many supplements out on the market and it can be very overwhelming to know what is effective. Based on the current science, there are two supplements that are effective at helping build muscle: creatine and whey protein [11, 12].
While there is no shortage of supplements, keep in mind that muscle mass is really built by hard training and nutrition first; supplements are just the icing on the cake.
The last word on adding muscle
As you can see, having muscle is more than just looking good.
Maintaining and building muscle creates an “insurance” for us for when we get older.
It also can reduce low bone mass and prevent diabetes.
If you want help and guidance for building muscle mass, speak to our qualified nutritionists or dietitian for some personalised advice.
1 on 1 Nutrition Coaching with Fortitude Nutrition Coaching
Are you looking for an understanding and supportive human to talk with, to help with advice and guidance? An objective set of eyes to see what you could improve to move towards your goal in the easiest possible way?
We work with real people and get real results. Sign up for 1 on 1 Nutrition Coaching today and get the support, guidance and accountability of a Fortitude Nutrition Coach.
References:
[1] Volpi, E., Nazemi, R., & Fujita, S. (2004). Muscle tissue changes with aging. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 7(4), 405–410. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.mco.0000134362.76653.b2
[2] Metter EJ, Conwit R, Tobin J, Fozard JL. Age-associated loss of power and strength in the upper extremities in women and men. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1997 Sep;52(5):B267-76. doi: 10.1093/gerona/52a.5.b267. PMID: 9310077.
[3] Hong, A. R., & Kim, S. W. (2018). Effects of Resistance Exercise on Bone Health. Endocrinology and metabolism (Seoul, Korea), 33(4), 435–444. https://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2018.33.4.435
[4] Shin, H., Panton, L. B., Dutton, G. R., & Ilich, J. Z. (2011). Relationship of physical performance with body composition and bone mineral density in individuals over 60 years of age: a systematic review. Journal of aging research, 2011.
[5] Sutter, T., Toumi, H., Valery, A., El Hage, R., Pinti, A., & Lespessailles, E. (2019). Relationships between muscle mass, strength and regional bone mineral density in young men. PLoS One, 14(3), e0213681.
[6] Srikanthan P, Karlamangla AS. Relative muscle mass is inversely associated with insulin resistance and prediabetes. Findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Sep;96(9):2898-903. doi: 10.1210/jc.2011-0435.
[8] Huschtscha, Z., Parr, A., Porter, J., & Costa, R. J. (2021). The effects of a high-protein dairy milk beverage with or without progressive resistance training on fat-free mass, skeletal muscle strength and power, and functional performance in healthy active older adults: a 12-week randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Nutrition, 8.
[9] Huschtscha, Z., Parr, A., Porter, J., & Costa, R. J. (2021). Protein amount, quality and istribution in Active Older Adults and Its Effects on Outcomes of Fat Free Mass, Skeletal Muscle Strength and Power. IJSS. 11 (1): 6-17
[9] Gunton, J. E., & Girgis, C. M. (2018). Vitamin D and muscle. Bone reports, 8, 163-167.
[10] Slater, G. J., Dieter, B. P., Marsh, D. J., Helms, E. R., Shaw, G., & Iraki, J. (2019). Is an Energy Surplus Required to Maximize Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy Associated With Resistance Training. Frontiers in nutrition, 6, 131. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2019.00131
[11] Farshidfar, F., A Pinder, M., & B Myrie, S. (2017). Creatine supplementation and skeletal muscle metabolism for building muscle mass-review of the potential mechanisms of action. Current Protein and Peptide Science, 18(12), 1273-1287.
[12] Hayes, A., & Cribb, P. J. (2008). Effect of whey protein isolate on strength, body composition and muscle hypertrophy during resistance training. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care, 11(1), 40-44.
[13] McLeod, M., Breen, L., Hamilton, D.L. et al. Live strong and prosper: the importance of skeletal muscle strength for healthy ageing. Biogerontology 17, 497–510 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-015-9631-7
Why is muscle important? It’s not just about looks. Having muscle has a range of health benefits that we explore in this blog along with 5 tips to help you build muscle.