Lean muscle mass

What is lean muscle mass?

Lean muscle mass is the weight of your muscles without including fat or water weight. It consists of three main types of muscles:

1. Skeletal Muscles - Attached to the bones and responsible for body movements. These are the muscles we typically refer to when we talk about building muscle mass.


2. Smooth Muscles - Found in organs and blood vessels. They contract involuntarily to assist with blood flow and digestion.


3. Cardiac Muscle - Forms the heart wall and works to pump blood to the rest of the body.

The more skeletal muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. This is because muscle is an active tissue that burns calories even at rest. The more muscle mass you carry, the more calories your body burns.

Some benefits of increasing lean muscle mass include:

• Boosted metabolism and increased calorie burn


• Greater strength and exercise capacity


• Enhanced athletic performance


• Injury resilience


• Improved glucose uptake and regulation


• Higher bone mineral density

There are a few options to safely increase your lean muscle mass. The most effective strategy is resistance training with challenging weights 2-3 times per week along with meeting daily protein intake goals.

For optimal muscle growth, make sure you:

• Follow a progressive overload training program


• Prioritize recovery with plenty of sleep and low stress


• Meet protein needs (0.5-1g per pound of body weight daily)

By improving your lean muscle mass, you'll look better, perform better, feel healthier, and burn more calories at rest. It is one of the best investments you can make in your overall health and longevity. Let me know if you have any other questions!