Health benefits that comes with building of lean muscles
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
We’re fully aware of the health benefits exercising brings us, many of us go for jogs every alternate day, some of us every day, and some of us engage in a sport every now and then. Today, we share with you the importance of strength training and some of the health benefits we gain from building of lean muscle mass.
#1. STRONGER BONES
Studies have shown positive correlation between muscle size and bone density and strength – the building of lean muscle, through strength training increases bone density and strengthens tendons and ligaments, reducing the risks of developing osteoporosis and risk of bone fractures.
#2. REDUCED BODY FAT
It is obvious that when you build lean muscle mass, you’ll generally have a reduced amount of body fat, but did you know that your lean muscle mass directly affects your basal metabolic rate (BMR)? Your BMR is the rate at which your body burns calories at rest.
Our muscles burn two to three times the amount of calories our fat burns, so the more lean muscle mass we have, the more calories our body is burning to generate energy, decreasing the risk of developing several chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver due to the decrease in excessive fat accumulation and risk of obesity.
#3. DECREASED RISK OF INJURY
Building lean muscle mass leads to strong muscles and stronger bones, which in turn improves balance and reduces risk of suffering from injuries due to falls. Increased strength will also allow your body to be more resistant to injuries, and general aches and pains even if you do fall.
Now, what are some simple things you can do to effectively build lean muscle mass?
#1. REPETITIONS
If you’re just starting out and find it hard to do strength training with weights, try training without weights first and focus on repetitions. Repeating an action till fatigue is also an effective way of building muscle. According to one study, muscle contraction of any kind produces effective results.
Some simple exercises you can do are: Squats, Wall Sits, Planks, Crunches
#2. TARGET A VARIETY OF MUSCLE GROUPS
Instead of focusing on just one muscle group for each work out, go for workouts that work your entire body so that you’re training most of your muscles at one time. These exercises usually bring up your heart rate too, which brings in a hint of cardio, helping you to burn a little more fat.
Some simple exercises you can do are: Plank jacks, Burpees, Mountain climbers
#3. KNOW YOUR BODY
We all have different limits to how much exercise we can do, and how much strength we have. If you’re capable of doing 100 push ups, go ahead and add on more, however if you’re unable to do that, start off slow.
Every work out has its own modifications to make it a lower intensity work out, if doing a full push up is difficult for you, start off using your knees as a support or do it standing against the wall first and slowly increase the difficulty or intensity of your work out.
Now that you have the information you need, try mixing in a little bit of HIIT exercises or strength training in between your cardios!