Use it or Lose it
Use it or Lose it.
5 healthy habits for building and maintaining muscle and strength.
Maintenance of muscle mass and strength is important, especially as we get older. Skeletal muscle is not only important for daily functional movement and balance, but also plays a role in illness prevention and improving overall metabolic activity. The natural loss of muscle mass as we age (known as sarcopenia) is associated with all-cause mortality and linked to many chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension and insulin resistance.
We’ve summarised 5 healthy habits that are manageable every day to ensure you have the best chance of maintaining muscle mass.
Daily resistance training.
Use it or lose it! Use the muscles every day ideally through resistance training to
improve muscle cell turnover and growth. This doesn’t necessarily mean lifting heavy weights in a gym and can be through bodyweight exercises and resistance band training as they’re also both great ways to stretch the muscles and stimulate growth.
2. Eat enough protein
Amino acids from protein are essential for muscle repair and growth. The Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) recommends eating 1.2 – 1.6g per kg of body weight of lean protein sources every day (increasing to 2g per kg for individuals over 65). These can come from sources such as lean animal meats, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes and nuts.
3. Sleep.
Sleep is essential for allowing both muscular repair, removal of waste products and balancing of hormones that are vital for muscle health. Aim for a consistent bed time and around 8 hours each night of quality sleep.
4. Improve VO2 capacity to improve muscle health.
Improving your VO2 max (or the amount of oxygen you can utilise in your muscles) increases oxygen saturation of the muscle and helps processes such as metabolism. Improve VO2 max through various forms of cardio training and HIIT (high intensity interval training).
5. Be consistent.
Start by dedicating consistent time in your daily schedule to train and moving. When you find exercises that you enjoy and fit your routine, the muscle maintenance will follow.
Remember
Taking time out of a busy schedule to dedicate to maintaining muscle and strength can be tricky, but small consistent steps are all it takes to improve muscle health and our overall longevity over time.
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