What Are The Health Benefits Of Being Muscular?

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A lot of people out there seem to think getting big and strong is all about what you look like in the mirror.

And while that may be one of the benefits, there are many other health benefits that come from being muscular!

If you’re interested in learning more then let’s get started!

Increases Bone Density & Connective Tissue

To build muscle mass, you need to put ever-increasing stress on your body. Through this process, your bones and connective tissue increase in density as well.

The more muscle you have, the stronger your connective tissue and bones tend to be. This prevents injury, makes you more durable, and allows you to recover from injuries much faster than those with less muscle.

Every time you jump, run, or fall, your body has to absorb the impact somehow. With more muscle mass and stronger tendons and ligaments, your body is going to shrug it off much easier.

Bottom line: if you have a choice between stronger or weaker internal structures, you definitely want them to be stronger!

Reduces Risk Of Injury

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Knee, hip, shoulder, and elbow injuries are ever-present in this world. You can help prevent them simply by having more muscle mass.

As I just explained, the process of building muscle requires your bones and connective tissues to increase in strength and durability as well.

On top of that, the muscle itself acts on your joints with increased stabilization and support.

Your low back, hips, shoulders, knees, elbows, wrists, and everything in between need this support, or injuries are just waiting to happen!

Watch a new athlete try to run and jump, it looks like they have no body awareness or strength to keep their joints stacked and supported.

The more muscle athletes build the more supported their entire bodies will be.

If you have a choice between going for a run or focusing on building muscle and strength your entire life, guess which one will reduce your risk of injury into old age?

Building muscle of course!

If you want to live a long life free of common injuries, focus on strength training and build some muscle!

More Muscle=Stronger Body

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Man or woman, the more muscle you have, the greater your strength potential will be. Keeping yourself safe is an amazing benefit no matter who you are.

The more muscle you build the stronger your body is going to be. This is a basic fact that everybody should know.

It’s almost impossible to get stronger without building SOME muscle mass. The signals your body needs from strength training are virtually the same after all.

A stronger body is less prone to injury, absorbs impact like a spring, and allows you to handle basic human tasks such as walking, lifting objects, and fighting off oppressors.

That last one is a big one! If two combatants have equal skills, the stronger one will most likely win in most scenarios.

This is incredibly important for women as well! The more muscle and strength you have the better chances you have of fighting off any man attempting to do you harm!

Think about this the next time you skip the weights ladies, it could save your life someday.

Build more muscle and get stronger!

Helps Maintain Healthy Body Weight

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Maintaining your body weight gets harder as you get older, being active and having more muscle keeps your metabolism elevated for life!

Compared to body fat, lean muscle tissue is much more metabolically active!

Christopher Wharton, Ph.D., a researcher with the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University states that “10 pounds of muscle would burn 50 calories in a day spent at rest, while 10 pounds of fat would burn 20 calories.”

If you have 100 lbs of muscle on your body this would be an extra 500 calories burnt per day while doing nothing!

On the flip side, 100 lbs of fat would only burn 200 calories per day. This is a huge difference!

By seeing this comparison, it really helps explain how leaner, more muscular individuals can get away with “eating so much food”.

They worked hard to build muscle and stay active, this allows them to eat more food and stay leaner than those with more fat and less muscle mass.

If you’re not sure what is more important for building muscle, check out my guide on whether carbs or protein matter more!

If you want to consume more calories and maintain your body weight, focus on building more muscle and staying active.

Decreases Age-Related Issues

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I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of this guy all around the internet before. His name is Andreas Cahling, he’s still kicking ass and looking awesome! Plus he’s 67 years old as well! If this isn’t motivation to start building muscle now I don’t know what is!

There are so many negative health effects of getting older.

Some of these health detriments are:

  • High blood pressure, heart disease
  • Bones and connective tissue shrink in size and density
  • Muscles lose strength, endurance, and flexibility
  • Metabolism starts slowing down
  • The risk of injury goes up due to a decrease in durability

These are just some of the many negative health effects caused by aging. All of these are massively affected by exercise and having a more muscular and stronger body.

Some of the health effects building muscle can solve as you get older are:

  • Improving the function of your cardiovascular system.
  • Strengthening bone and connective tissue density and support
  • Maintaining muscle mass
  • Metabolism doesn’t slow down as fast due to increased muscle mass
  • Durability improves as your lean muscle tissue, bone, and connective tissue density improves

By focusing on strength and muscle building from a young age and beyond, you can prevent and potentially reverse age-related issues.

So many age-related health effects occur due to inactivity. You can prevent many of them by remaining active and maintaining your muscle mass.

If you’re interested in seeing some of the best older athlete physiques and strength potential, check out this article here.

Get started now and watch as your quality of life improves forever!

Improves Confidence & Mental Health

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Improving my mental health is one of the greatest things I owe to strength and conditioning.

This is probably one of the most important health benefits building muscle has. By building more muscle, your physique will look better and you’ll have much more confidence.

On top of that, your mental health will improve due to your positive self-image. This is one of the most important things strength training can do for you. If you only get vain benefits from building muscle, you’re missing out on one of the most important ones.

Going into the gym, and improving my mental and physical health is the best thing I have ever done for myself. And my clients agree!

Many of them have mental health disorders such as anxiety and panic attacks, myself included.

The better you feel in your skin the better your entire life is going to be. Building confidence and mental fortitude is the #1 most important health benefit you can achieve from building muscle and strength.

If you think going to the gym is all about getting bigger abs and biceps, you’re missing out on an entire world of positive benefits.

The longer you do this, the more you get from it. If you suffer from mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, focusing on strength training is going to help your condition.

Don’t quit, fight against it and never stop!

Recover From Injuries Much Faster

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Recovering from injuries gets easier when you get stronger!

I’ve heard these stories time and time again, stronger people with more muscle mass recover from injuries much quicker than those that have lesser amounts.

I said before how having more muscle mass on your body helps prevent injury. Because of the increased support and durability you have, your body will recover quicker from injury.

You’ve built a system of strength through your entire body that isn’t easily broken. Even something as simple as twisting your ankle won’t keep you down if it’s something minor.

I recently had a really bad fall at Yosemite National Park a couple of months ago. I slide, twisted my ankle and knee up under my body, and had to limp all the way down the mountain.

If I didn’t build muscle and strength through years of strength training, it’s possible I would still be limping to this day. But because of my training history, it was better within a couple of weeks!

Bottom line: if you want to recover from surgeries or prevent/heal from injuries faster, get stronger and build some muscle. It literally benefits your body from head to toe!

Increased Energy

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If you want to jump off the walls like her, get stronger and build as much muscle as you can!

This is such an amazing benefit I had to save it for last!

What do you notice when you see people with less muscle mass?

Lack of energy usually!

Whether you’re overweight or underweight, if you lack muscle mass you will have decreased energy levels overall.

Because of this, it makes sense that having more muscle, to a point, will improve your energy levels!

Think of it this way, the more muscle and strength you have, the easier simple tasks such as walking or lifting things become.

If you’re overweight without much muscle, you’re going to suffer from less energy constantly. Your body has to move around excess weight without much strength to rely on.

Another individual that is also overweight but with more strength and muscle to support will have more energy! This is a very basic understanding of it but that’s fine for the purposes of this article.

What this all boils down to is this, increasing your muscle and strength increases your energy levels. If this sounds like something you’re interested in, go build some muscle and see how much more energetic you become!

Conclusion

If you want to be in better shape and improve your overall health, nothing will do that better than strength training. Although cardio is great for burning calories and staying healthy, strength training has many more benefits that cardio lacks.

Like I always say, if you have a choice between building muscle and doing cardio, focus on building muscle! Just kidding, that’s the first time I’ve ever said that but I digress!

The more muscular you are, the better the health benefits you’ll receive. And it really is difficult to get “too muscular” so don’t worry about that.

Eat a healthy diet with attention to protein, carbs around workouts, and healthy fats. Do cardio a couple of times a week to get the health benefits and of course, focus most of your efforts on getting stronger and building more lean muscle tissue.

What do you guys think? Are you convinced that building a bunch of muscle is not important? Or do you agree it should be one of your main goals no matter who you are?

Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time,

-Dante Redgrave

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