MOST adults know that the average person adds about one pound of body weight every year on the bathroom scale. Most adults periodically address this problem by following calorie-restricted diets. many also try various forms of endurance exercise (walking, jogging, cycling, dancing, skipping rope, etc.) to help reduce their weight by burning additional calories. For some reason, many of these adults ignore strength training believing they will become larger rather than smaller.
Unfortunately, most adults misunderstand the basic facts regarding body weight and body composition. While it is true that we add an average of one pound of body weight on a yearly basis the fact is that we annually lose about 0.5 pounds of muscle and gain 1.5 pounds of fat. That is, our body weight changes by one pound but our body composition changes by two pounds in the wrong direction.
What is even less understood is that the muscle loss is largely responsible for the fat gain. Muscle is very active tissue both during exercise and at rest. A pound of
muscle uses about 45 calories per day for maintenance processes. So, a loss of muscle tissue means a lower calorie utilization and a reduced resting metabolism.
Assuming we eat about the same number of daily calories, those that were previously used for muscle maintenance now go into fat storage. As an analogy, consider that our muscles are similar to the engine of an automobile. Losing muscle tissue is much like going from an eight-cylinder engine to a six or a four-cylinder. We have less power (strength) and use less fuel (calories).
More specifically our resting metabolic rate decreases about 0.5 percent per year in response to our diminishing muscle mass. This is just one of the degenerative processes associated with aging that is actually related to muscle loss. If we maintain our muscle mass then we can better maintain our metabolic rate, bone mass, physical ability and personal appearance throughout our mid-life years. Unfortunately in our modernized and mechanized society, our daily activities involved too little muscle effort to provide strength benefits. Even regular endurance exercise does not prevent muscle loss. A 10-year study of Americans best masters distance runners showed a five-pound muscle loss between their mid 40s and mid 50s. For all practical purposes the only way to maintain our muscle mass is to perform regular strength exercise. Consider the following specific
benefits of a sensible strength training program:
•Muscle maintenance
A basic strength training program (25 minutes of
exercise, two or three days per week) has been shown to add about three pounds of muscle after two months of training. Strength training can effectively replace
muscle lost over the years from lack of use. Age does not seem to be a barrier with respect to muscle replacement. Senior research subject including men and
women in their 80s add muscle tissue at about the same rate as younger adults.
•Metabolic maintenance
If we add muscle tissue our metabolic rate must
increase. Three pounds of new muscle may raise our daily energy requirements by 135 calories due to the high maintenance requirements of muscle tissue. If we perform a regular strength exercise we may not need to reduce our food intake to maintain body weight during mid-life years.
•Bone maintenance
Muscle and metabolism are not the only things that work together. Our bone proteins called osteoproteins respond to resistance exercise in the same manner as our muscle proteins or myoproteins. That is, the stress applied to our muscles by strength training transferred through our tendons to our bones. Increases in muscle mass are accompanied by increases in bone density. Greater bone density means greater tensile (breaking) strength which is important for injury prevention. Of course, stronger, denser bones are also more resistant to osteoporosis (bone thinning). The bones become brittle due to lack of muscle exercise. Having osteoporosis is not only a painful bone disease but also a life threatening because once you lost your density you are anytime candidate to leave your life in a wheelchair. When you are not able to walk your heart and muscle become weaker and weaker until you succumb to death and rest in peace.
•Physical ability
Our ability to perform any physical activity is dependent on our muscle strength. Because muscles are the engines of our body they provide the power to lift heavy objects or bicycle 20 kilometers or more. Therefore, stronger muscles are advantageous for everyday living and for athletic pursuits. You may not be a world champion or the strongest person in the world but acquiring strength give us the full confident that we can be functional in our movement and whenever strength is needed in our daily activity. For example, if your maximum biceps strength is 25 pounds then lifting a 25 pound bag of dog food is an all out effort. If you increase your maximum biceps strength to 50 pounds, then lifting a 25 pound bag of food is a relatively easy task.
The same process holds true for bicycling. Every push on the pedal requires a certain percentage of your maximum quadriceps (front thigh muscle) strength. As you strengthen your thigh muscles, the same pedal push takes less effort and you can cycle longer without
fatigue. Of course, as you become stronger, you can also shift to a higher gear and cycle faster with the same
effort level as before.
Similarly, every athletic event involves performance power. Because performance equals muscle force multiplied by movement of speed, an increase in muscle strength enhances our athletic potential. That’s the main reason why athletes excel in their performance because their muscles are stronger and in good condition. In
every specific sport activity, strength training is a must.
•Personal appearance
In my more than three decades of experience as a fitness coach, it’s on the record that less than 10 percent of people exercise enough to receive any fitness benefits. Nonetheless, we are clearly concerned about our personal appearance, as evidenced by the fact that almost 40 to 50 percent of men and women are just presently dieting. Unfortunately, dieting deals with only half of our personal appearance problem, namely too much fat. An equally important problem is too little muscle and sagging. Most diets result in muscle loss which is why we don’t usually look good and feel good or function our best after dieting. Most people who are dieting only without exercise looks haggard and feel weak. There are a couple of diet plans in the market who advised their clients not to exercise until they finish their diet duration. Some even weigh their food in a food scales. Most of them feel weak and sag and being deprived. That’s why I’m against this diet plan because it’s not a natural way of eating. The moment you stop this diet most the dieters go back to their original eating habit because by nature you cannot live throughout your lifetime depriving yourself of the way you eat. It’s not natural and only temporary. And once you stop this diet plan most go back to their original weight and some even increase double with their body weight.
The reason for this unsuccessful diet plan is because they neglect to exercise their muscles and become
inactive. Inactive muscle causes your metabolism to slow down. Well exercise, develop muscle serve as a very effective fat burner. No one can beat the muscle in fat burning. They are the best fat burner.
Without question, strength training belongs in the personal appearance equation. Strength training is the only means for replacing and maintaining our muscle tissue. Strong muscles present a fit, firm appearance, whereas weak muscles present an unfit, soft appearance.