FACT HEALTHY

Having a sufficient amount of muscle mass is important for everybody, no matter what your health or fat loss goals are. The reason why people associate muscle with health is because nine times of ten, those with enough muscle on their frame are in fact healthy. If you are just starting out (or in case you forgot), these are the 3 fundamental steps of how to build muscle.

1 - Resistance Training - Your muscles need (and want) a reason to grow. No reason equals any muscle. The goal of resistance training is to cause what is referred to as 'muscle hypertrophy'. This is a fancy way of saying that you have broken down the muscle fibers due to resistance. The way you choose to provide resistance to your muscles is up to you. The most effective way is through weight training. However, you are not limited to weight training. Body weight exercises, such as push-ups and swimming will produce similar results. One thing to keep in mind is to keep increasing the intensity, if you want to keep stimulating new growth.

2 - Nutrition - You have probably heard all of this before, but it needs to be repeated: Nutrition is the most important factor when it comes to gaining muscle. After breaking down the muscle fibers with resistance training, they need to be fed quality nutrients in order to grow back bigger and stronger. Protein is by far the most important nutrient that you should concern yourself with. Aim for at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day. This may seem like a lot, but if you plan your meals out, it is quite easy. Add in a protein supplement if you feel you cannot eat enough food.

3 - Rest - This is the third, and least talked about, step in how to build muscle. Your muscles grow when you are resting, which means that you need adequate sleep each night if you want to see results. Now when I mention 'rest', this doesn't just relate to actual sleep. The more that you rest a muscle (and feed it), the quicker it will rebuild. This means that you should avoid strenuous activity if possible while recovering from an intense exercise session.

Having enough lean muscle mass is a very important goal to have. Not only does it make us look good, it is very beneficial for your health. For example, the more muscle mass you have, the more fat you will burn while you are resting. So if you ever forget the fundamentals of muscle building due to being caught up in an information overload, keep these steps of how to build muscle in mind.

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The muscular system is vital to the human body. It is important from the point of view that it helps in movement. One can't imagine the consequences if we could move or grow! We would, in all probability wouldn't have existed in the first place. The muscle tissues in addition in making us move are even more important due to the following characteristics.

1. Excitability: What is our normal reaction when we touch a hot plate? We immediately withdraw the part in contact with the hot object. This is known as stimulus and the human body is programmed to respond to stimuli. The muscle tissues in our body send signals to the brain and the brain tells the body to move out - all this happens within a fraction of a second! Had this taken any longer, we would have burnt our hands, till the time our brain told us to remove the hand!

All this and more is possible because of the excitability function of the muscle tissues.

2. Contractile: In simple words, our muscles can contract. One might question the need for our muscles to contract. If our muscles wouldn't contract, then we wouldn't be able to lift things or sit. The folding of our muscles is actually contraction taking place and this is the body's unique self-accommodating system that helps the muscles be contained within the same frame rather than tearing out for space!

Also, due to this contraction, a power is developed in the muscles which give the energy to perform strenuous activities.

3. Extensibility: This is the opposite of the previous function. There has to be a similar opposite action in nature and that is best shown by this muscle functioning. After the muscle contracts, it must extend to release the energy which it had stored while contraction.

Think of it as when we stretch and when we pull things - without muscle extension, it would not have been possible. Also, extension of the muscles helps growth and is somewhat indirectly related to control of the body temperature (both contraction and extension in pair).

4. Elasticity: If our muscles weren't elastic, we would have been longer and taller with each extension! Think of the phenomena as a rubber band - it is elastic to a certain limit, beyond which, it breaks. Similarly, our muscles stretch to a certain limit without injury and then come back to its original shape and size. Elasticity of muscle fibers is extremely important.

5. Conductivity: The muscle tissues in our body conduct ion exchange and help carry electrical impulses from the brain and nerves to the body parts and vice-versa. This is achieved by the muscles maintaining a steady electrical field which facilitates the movement of charged ions.

MMA workouts will help maintain the above mentioned characteristics of the muscle tissues and keep you in good health.

Building muscle after 50 is not only possible, it is essential to good health and longevity. Muscle mass will naturally decline with age if you do not actively pursue activities to build muscle. Maintaining muscular fitness is a central key to overall health as you age.

One of the main reasons our bodies age is diminished production of testosterone and human growth hormone (HGH) due to advancing age. These hormones are needed in the body to maintain a youthful appearance from building muscle to maintaining energy levels to keeping your skin tight and supple. Testosterone and HGH are the hormones of vitality and youthfulness.

The only way to stimulate the body to create more of these hormones naturally is by lifting heavy weight. This can be through traditional weight training exercises, body weight training workouts, heavy work in the yard moving rocks and logs or any exercise involving moving a load or resistance through space. Pick it and put it down. Lift and carry. Push it. Drag it. Flip it. Any effort requiring heavy work from your muscles will stimulate testosterone and HGH production.

Keeping your muscles and aerobic capacity strong allows you to continue to perform at a high level no matter what your age. This is important to keep you in the game. As soon as something becomes too hard to enjoy, you stop doing it. We are all invigorated by a brisk walk in the woods. However, it is no longer fun when your conditioning isn't up to par. Now it feels like work. You stop doing it and your fitness decline is almost guaranteed. Keep training and building muscle after 50 years old to get the most out of every day.

Maintaining strength and fitness also promotes good balance and coordination. Loss of balance due to aging and inactivity is the number one cause of injuries in people over 60 years old. In fact, a fall due to loss of balance is the primary reason that elderly people end up in a nursing home. Don't allow yourself to get to this point. Get yourself fit and strong to prevent deterioration to the point where balance and coordination is affected.

The key to anti-aging and longevity is to keep the body young by promoting natural production of hormones. Building muscle after years old can only be done through heavy lifting work. Keep your muscles and endurance strong and balance skills honed by continuing to move your body through its intended range of motion. Keep moving, lifting and working to maintain your healthy body. Don't give in and become old.