What is lean muscle mass?
Lean muscle mass is the amount of muscle on your body minus the fat. It's the weight of your muscles without including excess body fat or bone mass.
Having more lean muscle is very beneficial for your health and fitness. Here's why lean muscle mass is so important:
- Burns calories. Muscle is metabolically active tissue that burns calories even at rest. The more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate. This helps you maintain weight loss by burning more calories around the clock.
- Supports bone health. The mechanical force of muscle contractions puts stress on your bones, signaling them to become stronger. More muscle mass protects against osteoporosis.
- Helps manage blood sugar. Muscle helps regulate blood sugar by using it for fuel. More muscle may reduce insulin resistance.
- Boosts athletic performance. Lean muscle enables you to move faster, lift heavier weights, and improves reaction times. It supports better sports performance at any age.
- Enhances immune function. Amino acids in muscle help fuel and build immune cells. Muscle may help ward off infections and assist in a quicker recovery.
- Improves hormone balance. Muscle contributes to healthy levels of key hormones like testosterone and growth hormone. This regulates energy, mood, libido, and cognition.
- Increases metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat. Gaining just 2-3 pounds of lean muscle could help you burn an extra 100 calories per day!
Now that you know why lean muscle matters, let's discuss how to build and maintain it. The Hormone Harmony recommends a combination of strength training, proper nutrition, and hormone optimization.
Strength training with weights or resistance bands at least 2-3 times per week is crucial. Focus on compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and presses that work multiple large muscles.
Make sure to consume enough protein - about 0.5-0.7 grams per pound of body weight daily. Whey protein supplements can help meet your needs.
Hormones like testosterone and growth hormone play key roles in building and maintaining lean muscle as you age. The Hormone Harmony offers advanced hormone replacement therapy to help patients optimize hormones for better body composition and fitness.
In summary, building lean muscle provides huge benefits for your health, metabolism, performance and more. A regimen focused on strength training, proper protein intake, and hormone balance is the best way to boost lean muscle at any age.