Exercise is a great way to build muscle. Muscle mass plays a critical role in fitness and makes many areas of life better. It can make improvements in lives both physically and mentally. It can be said that muscle is the best medicine.

Muscles are needed for everyday functions such as to get out of a chair, walk upstairs, and lift our little ones. They also help with posture and with the pumping of blood throughout the body.

Muscle and Fat

With muscle, bodies burn energy and fat continually. Muscles are metabolically faster than fat. So, when muscles are engaged, they burn more calories to perform various functions.  As muscle mass increases, the body can burn more calories.  You might have heard that muscle weighs more than fat.  That is not true.  A pound of muscle and a pound of fat weight the same.  The difference between the two is their density. Muscle is denser than fat which means it takes up less space.  As an example, if the body lost 10 pounds of fat and gained 10 pounds of muscle, a person could have a smaller body (takes up less space).

Muscle and Aging

Maintaining and growing muscle mass is one of the keys to aging in a healthy manner.  Muscle can help to counter the frailty of aging. A few of the reasons are that muscle:

• Builds strength and stamina
• Supports joints
• Helps with bone density

Building Muscles

Weekly strength training is the road to success.  Building muscle can include a variety of activities:

• Lifting weights
• Resistance bands
• Body weight activities

Strength training breaks down muscles and protein helps to build them back up.  So, it is important to increase protein intake.  As muscle mass increases, so does the need for protein.  Eating healthy proteins can also lead to building muscle.

Use a variety of ways to increase muscle mass especially as we age.  Building muscle is the best medicine for the body.