Issue #330: The Power of Muscle
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, April 16th.
Stat of the Day
You can lose up to 12% of your current strength from just one week of sitting around and not doing anything - just one week! (source)
Learn
The Power of Muscle
The most common question I get these days is -
“Just tell me - what are the top 3 things for health?”
My response*:
Move
Breathe
Laugh
To be more specific - the key part of Move is Lifting.
It’s not about getting ready for the World’s Strongest Man contest.
But it does mean you’ve got to focus on your strength - the health of our skeletal-muscular organ is one of the highest predictors of longevity and most valuable tools to surviving just about anything.
Why is this true?
The benefits go beyond just being strong. Healthy muscles do five (5) really cool things.
First - muscle contraction boosts our mitochondria - the energy power plants in all of our cells that we always talk about because they truly drive great metabolic health. Healthy muscles make it more efficient to convert nutrients into energy. One reason why we aren’t as tired when we feel strong.
Second - when we feel the pump, our muscles help get glucose (our main fuel from carbs) into our cells without the need for insulin to act as the carrier. This is huge because it’s when insulin is constantly too high that we end up with metabolic dysfunction.
What’s awesome - the benefit of having stored glycogen in our muscle lasts up to two days after your workout. It gives us added energy for our next workout. This becomes a flywheel where the healthy muscle can then perform better and take in more glycogen to then further perform better and…you get it.
“We aren’t over fat; we’re just under-muscled.”
Third - our muscles store amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). When you get sick or hurt, these amino acids help get us all patched up. This build up of more amino acids is literally why there’s such a strong correlation between strong muscle strength and longevity.
Fourth - healthy muscles keep out the fat. If we don’t use our muscles then fat gets stored inside (think about the excess fat you cut out of a highly marbled piece of meat compared to a lean cut with no fat). This “intramuscular adipose tissue” (IMAT) is a high predictor of everything from cardiovascular problems to diabetes.
Finally - muscles release proteins called myokines that help us achieve optimal health. Some myokines (cathepsin B and irisin) boost our brain health by crossing the blood-brain barrier to increase our BDNF, others (IL-6 and IL-15) give a jolt to our immune system when we get sick, and might even help mitigate autoimmune diseases.
All this is why Dr. Gabrielle Lyon says that our health crisis isn’t about too much fat (obesity) - it’s about too little muscle.
So don’t skip those lifting sessions - you gotta be strong to live a long and healthy life.
*You can’t cover everything with just 3 words. This answer doesn’t cover sleep, which is the foundation of health, and what you should eat. But my thinking here is that the more you do these 3 things, the better you’ll sleep and make decisions on food.
Got feedback? Connect with us at team@thrive25.com
Try
Backup Plan
To optimize your longevity - you should do resistance training 2-3x per week - at a minimum.
But life sometimes gets in the way of going to the gym - kids, work travel, summer vacation, etc.
So make it a goal - what’s the minimum you’re committed to doing? Think of it as your backup plan - when you can’t make it for a full workout you’re still going to do “XXX.”
Try to do something to strengthen your upper body (chest, back, arms), lower body (quads, hamstrings, glutes), and core (abs, lower back).
Here’s an example, even if I don’t make it to the gym today, I’m going to make sure that I do:
25 push-ups
25 squats
25 pull-ups
25 reverse lunges
25 bird dogs
2 min plank hold
This might be in-between calls, maybe when I get home before dinner - but I’m not going to bed tonight without getting stronger.
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In the News
Caitlin is #1 Again: #1 in all-time NCAA scoring and #1 in our hearts, Caitlin Clark was selected #1 by the Indiana Fever following last year’s #1 Aliyah Boston to try to win the Fever another championship. (ESPN)
Data for Data’s Sake: Are wearables helpful? They can get you off the couch and help you achieve your goals, but they create a lot of noise too. (NYTimes)
Ultra Processed: Recent scientific studies have linked ultra processed foods (UPFs) with serious health issues like diabetes, obesity - even cancer. UPFs are laced with extra salt, added sugar and fat and are engineered to taste great, and are marketed to make us addicted. While these studies can’t prove causation, experts believe reducing UPF in your diet is essential for overall wellbeing. (CNBC)
Living in Space: Microscopic tardigrades (aka, water bears) can survive in the harshest environments, even outer space, thanks to biostasis. Human cells injected with tardigrade proteins mimicked the behavior. This could have major implications for human longevity. (Source)
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We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25, Inc. does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.