The Muscle Myth: Some people think building muscle means you’ll look like a body builder. The body building industry that really gained steam in the 70’s created this dichotomy between being bulky and being lean. The outcome was if you wanted to be big and bulky lift weights, if you want to be lean and trim, do aerobics. The truth is, lifting weights will not turn you into some massive human. Those guys and gals are eating to be big, often 10,000 calories or more, plus the competitive bodybuilders aren’t just doing it by eating chicken and broccoli. This isn’t a knock on body building, it’s just making the point that lifting weights doesn’t mean you’re going to bulk up.
The benefits: First it’s the most efficient way to burn fat. When our bodies have the right amount of muscle we burn calories more efficiently. All of our systems in our body are going to work better with the right muscle mass. So what’s the right amount? For men we should be about 33-30% skeletal muscle mass as a percent of body weight, for women 24-30%. A simple IN Body scan can show you where you’re at. Also having muscle is what makes us strong and functional. The opposite of being strong, is being not strong. We’re more prone to injury, less capable, and we lose the ability to do every day activities. It’s so important to have a training program that focuses on building strength and muscle.
How do we get it? Well we train. I have found the best way to train is to do a combination of standard lifts including Squats, Press’s, and Lifts. While also incorporating functional movements using weights, sandbags, kettlebells, dumbbells, basically anything with some weight. In order to build the muscle, we need to challenge the muscle’s, put them on notice a little bit. This will damage the muscle and when it recovers it responds by becoming stronger. Again just because this happens doesn’t mean the response means growth. We can build a lean, strong body with low bodyfat. I’ll use myself for example, I have weighed about 175 for the past 20+ years, I lift weights all the time, I get sore, I get stronger, I don’t get huge because I don’t eat to get huge, but my muscle mass percentage is high for my bodyweight - this is what I want. I want to be lean, strong, and healthy, and maintain. One more quick note, this should probably be in the myth paragraph, heavy lifting, vs light lifting makes no difference on mass. You should do both, it’s good to go heavy sometimes lighter sometimes. The muscles are going to respond to both - by getting stronger.
Stay Strong,
Pat
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