Despite not being able to last longer than our fatter counterparts through an ice age, in most other scenarios muscles are the answer! Here’s 7 reasons to acquire more muscle.
1. It looks fantastic… Toned – muscle!
‘Toned’, is a word thrown around by many in the health and fitness world, what it actually refers to is the building up of muscle and decrease in body fat which makes the muscles more visible. Let’s face it, it looks fantastic. Many might think vascular and the shredded look isn’t for them but the simple ‘toned’ look with some muscle at a slightly below average body fat is hard to refute.
Wherever you stand on muscle, it is hard to ignore the hard-work it takes, which in itself is a huge accomplishment.
2. Muscle – Strength – functionality
The process of building muscle can be long and scary, but on the way you’ll have tried many moves such as squats, lunges and overhead presses. Movements which will increase your strength and are functional which means they can help with everyday activities. So long as you’ve worked the whole body evenly you’ll be quite an individual on all platforms for sports and games.
To take it up a notch try to add one functional movement such farmers walks into every session and complete it at the end. They are great for muscle building and fat burning too!
3. Clothes fit better
Who wants to wear out a t-shirt with a tire hanging out? With the emergence of slim fit clothing and fitness clothing getting tighter and tighter people are becoming more self conscious, muscle will help you! Building muscle and having an impressive physique shows on a daily basis and there isn’t nothing quite like shoulders filling out a top or great curves in your favourite jeans.
Try to work on shoulders from all angles including plenty of side raises for width! Also hit your glutes regularly with glute bridges to fill out your clothes in the right places.
4. Burn more fat at rest
There is nothing more appealing to people wanting to burn fat than to hear the words ‘burn fat at rest’, and whilst we’re all excited by the way that sounds, we must build muscle first. Muscle cells requires more energy even whilst sitting relaxed in your living rooms than fat cells. Making them a great fat burner.
The more muscle you carry, the more calories you burn at rest so get in the weights room with an effective training routine and get building!
5. People take you seriously
Drop your ego, before you start broadening your chest, this isn’t referring to having one over on others. There is a whole lineage of wonderful attributes associated with an impressive physique including consistency, dedication, hard worker, time management skills and better habits. Quite frankly if a good physique isn’t recognised by an interviewer in any scenario they’ve missed out on an individual with a great skill set.
Most people will appreciate the time and effort it takes, don’t let it fill your head too much though!
6. Strength training for joints, not just muscles
In order to build muscle resistance training is essential, be it through weights or your own bodyweight. The great thing is in the process you build stronger connective tissue (bones and joints). This is critical for pushing away joint based problems such as arthritis and osteoporosis and even simple joint weakness which can come with age.
Three for the price of one! The journey to muscles will help many other areas of your body and give you super strong bones, connective tissue as well as muscles.
7. Build muscle for a healthy heart
If you have ever moved furniture, you’ll know that lifting something heavy makes your heart work harder, so it is obvious that using your muscles strengthens your heart.
Research from many countries shows that regular weight training can help fend off the major heart attackers by improving cholesterol levels, blood pressure and by reducing body fat. In a study of 44,000 men, researchers at Harvard found that those who lifted weights for 30 minutes or more a week reduced their risk of heart disease by 23 percent.
Happy muscle building!