Muscle is not just about shape, it’s a key indicator of health, and to a certain extent it can help reduce the risk of death. So what are the other benefits of “saving muscle”? How can we slow down the rate of muscle aging in our daily lives?
Today we will study together: why is it important to “save muscle” to live a long life? Some trivia about muscle how to prevent muscle aging?
01 It’s important to save muscle for a long life.
A 2022 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the top journal in the field of sports science, found:
Just 30-60 minutes per week (about 5-8 minutes per day) of muscle-strengthening exercise is enough to significantly reduce the risk of death.
Like human bone mass, muscle mass and strength increase during late adolescence and early adulthood, said Yang Yizhuo, a lecturer at the Center for Innovation in Body-Medicine Integration at the Capital Institute of Physical Education and Sports, in an article published in Health China in 2023;
However, from the age of 50 onwards, muscle mass and strength will begin to decline significantly to some extent, and there may also be a loss of muscle strength and function.
Muscle is the largest endocrine organ in the human body, when people exercise muscle contraction, can secrete a variety of healthful exercise factors, to a certain extent, to help the human body to regulate blood lipids, blood sugar and other organ functions.
So what are the benefits of “saving muscle”?
1、Helps fight disease
A 2008 study published in the medical journal The Lancet showed that cancer patients with low muscle mass experience more complications, longer hospital stays and lower survival rates.
Researchers believe that boosting muscle mass through nutritional intervention can improve the treatment and prognosis of cancer patients to some extent.
2、Helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
Skeletal muscle mass is also associated with the risk of heart disease and stroke.
A 2019 study showed that people with the highest skeletal muscle mass in middle age had an 81% lower risk of cardiovascular disease (such as heart attacks) compared to those with the lowest skeletal muscle mass.
3、Helps prevent bone fractures
Muscles, as the body’s calcium reservoir, can help store free calcium ions in the blood to a certain extent, so that the calcium that is replenished can really exist in the body and avoid osteoporosis.
4、Avoiding obesity and keeping the body in good health
“Store muscle” can also save a weight loss costs.
Strength exercises to burn fat to a certain extent far more efficient than jogging such as aerobic exercise;
And practiced muscle shape will be relatively better, can make the body shape more firm and shapely, to a certain extent, easier to maintain the weight loss effect, not easy to rebound.
02 Trivia about muscles
1、No one muscle starts and stops at a bone
Muscles must be across the joints (starting and ending points are on two bones) in order to complete the function. If the bones of the human body is a lever, the joints are the center point, and muscle is to provide tension to allow the bones to be able to rotate around the joints of the important components.
2、There are almost no two muscles that are exactly the same shape.
Guys can hardly find two muscles from the body with exactly the same shape, even if the left and right are completely symmetrical, it is also very difficult to find.
Because the shape of each skeletal muscle, according to its location in the body parts as well as different functions and molding growth, but also according to the frequency of your use, how much work to do, action habits and other morphological changes.
3、”Muscle” is not to increase the number of muscle fibers
Usually, “muscle” is not to increase the number of muscle fibers, but to increase the cross-sectional area of muscle cells, or activate more muscle fibers at the same time, so as to improve the efficiency of a sports unit.
03 How to prevent muscle aging
To prevent muscle aging, it is recommended that little ones do the following:
1、As much as possible, intake of eggs, milk and soy products
Protein is one of the most important raw materials for muscle synthesis.
Eat three meals well, and increase the intake of high-quality protein foods appropriately under the premise of avoiding excessive sugar, salt and fat.
Animal food protein content and quality are higher than plant food;
It is recommended that the elderly population can appropriately increase the intake of milk, eggs, lean meat, poultry, fish, shrimp and soybean products according to their own specific conditions, and ensure sufficient staple food, vegetables and fruits to meet the requirements of a balanced diet.
In addition, eating as much food rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, selenium, zinc and omega-3 fatty acids as possible in daily life, such as kiwifruit, spinach and carrots, can help prevent muscle decay.
2、It is recommended to use a combination of multiple exercise modalities
For the prevention of sarcopenia, exercise refers to a complete, extremely individualized program that should include:
Strength training to increase muscle weight appropriately (also known as resistance exercise, e.g., a variety of training using barbells, dumbbells, and other equipment targeting large muscle groups such as the chest, shoulders, back, and legs);
Various exercises to improve muscle mass, flexibility and balance (e.g., various mat exercises);
Aerobic exercises to improve physical fitness and cardiorespiratory fitness (most commonly known as jogging or longer distance walking).