Why Is It Important To Build Muscle?

1. Acts as a glucose sink

Having more muscle allows you to ingest more carbs because muscle is the primary location where glucose is stored as glycogen. You are at higher risk of insulin resistance if you do not have enough muscle.

2. Secretes myokines and anti aging hormones

Myokines act as cell signalers to enhance cellular communication. They are secreted when muscle is exercised, and have a positive effect on a multitude of systems of the body. Muscle is also a reservoir of hormones related to anti aging.

3. Protects against aging

muscle protects against aging in a variety of ways. If you get sick or develop a chronic disease, muscle gives you more of a buffer, and allows you to recover quicker. It also improves immunity, and protects against falls.

How To Prevent Muscle Loss

Muscle and sleep-

Sleep is critical for repair and recovery. Of course exercise is needed for the catabolic phase, but sleep is the anabolic phase. One night of sleep deprivation can decrease significantly blunt muscle protein synthesis, and can induce muscle loss.

Muscle and protein-

Protein consists of amino acids, both essential, and non essential. There are about 20 amino acids in total. Essential is classified as not being able to make it; thus we need to get it in our diet. Non essential means we can create it based on certain building blocks, so we don’t need as much in our diet. Sometimes non essential amino acids are conditionally essential. This means that if your sick, or have a health condition, you may need to consume some through diet. All protein gets broken down into amino acids, which are used for creating structure in our body. Everything from creating hormones, neurotransmitters, immunity, muscle protein synthesis, bone, and more. Of the 9 EAA, 3 of them are considered branched chain amino acids, or BCAAs. These consist of valine, leucine, and isoleucine. Many people take this in supplement form, but taking only 3 of the 9 will not get the results your looking for. The reason why these became popular is because of leucine, which is the main amino acid responsible for muscle protein synthesis. Our bodies want all 9 of them for muscle protein synthesis. If  were not getting them in supplements, our the right foods, we develop deficiencies, and could result in a host of problems. There are differences between protein found in meat, and protein found in plants. You definitely can get enough protein from both, but the types of amino acids are in question. It’s convenient to eat a steak, and get all of the amino acids your body needs, but in plants you would have to combine a lot of different foods. You can do it with plants, it’s just harder. How much protein do you actually need? I recommend .5-.8 grams per pound. You may even need more if your putting on a lot of mass. This report can help you get even more specific. Eating too much protein in a single sitting can lose benefits, it’s better to spread it out through the day.

Muscle and testesterone-

Testosterone is basically just an anabolic sex steroid hormone, mainly released in the Leydig cells of the testes in men (95%) and the ovaries and adrenal glands of women. Yes, testosterone is not just a male hormone, and women also produce, but at lower magnitude. Actually, men have roughly about 10 times more testosterone than women. Testosterone is derived from cholesterol. In the adult testicle, there is 700 feet of tubing called the seminiferous tubules. Sperm is made form pre curser germ cells that create 120 million sperm daily. This is called spermatogenesis. Muscle is a reservoir of anti aging hormones, such as testosterone. Lifting weights can stimulate short and long term testosterone production. Muscle is also known as your bodies fat burning machinery. Being over weight will reduce testosterone because fat is an endocrine organ that produces estrogen.