Why do we pay so much attention to muscles during the InShape Lifestyle change? Well, the answer is simple: muscle is the key to our metabolic health, and unfortunately, this very important fact is unfairly overshadowed today.
More research supports that muscle mass gains reverse many measurable values of aging; this is due to improved insulin sensitivity of cells and an increase in functional capacity (read: strength).
Functional muscle mass is also a guarantee that we can be independent of others for a significant part of our lives, we are less likely to fall, but in general, being strong is not a bad strategy anyway.
And it’s not that we need the muscles of a professional bodybuilder to talk about health, but we need muscles, otherwise our bodies can’t function according to the original, ancient program.
However, it has recently been discovered that skeletal muscle is an endocrine organ, just like the ovaries or adrenal glands are. This is because skeletal muscles signal (through myokines) to tissues near and far during workout involving tension:
- fat cells to reduce visceral fat, and white adipose tissue to transform into beige or brown tissue,
- bones to increase bone density,
- inflammation in the immune system decreases,
- learning skills in the brain improve.
Having said that, it is well understood that the muscle mass on the body is not only responsible for movement and does not only look good in the mirror, but gives us way more benefits.
Unfortunately, there is little information available about the optimal musculoskeletal ratio for a man or woman, but we know from comprehensive research that, on average, 39% of a man’s body and 30% of a woman’s body were so-called skeletal muscles.
So it shouldn’t seem like a bad goal to shoot your own musculoskeletal muscle ratio higher than that, because who wants to be average, right?
Source:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10904038/