5 Easy Steps To Healthy Muscles
Every muscle matters – all 657 of them. Keeping them happy, keeps you happy, which keeps us happy. Here’s how you can #fuel657
Your muscles are miraculous. From the smallest (tensor tympani in the ear) to the strongest (the masseter in your jaw) to the one that never rests (the heart), every muscle matters. We want to celebrate every one, not just the mirror muscles of the abs and arms that get all the attention. Looking after them is essential to staying active, healthy and happy. Speaking to The #fuel657 Journal, sports physiotherapist Mike Aunger, who runs leading London clinic Technique Physiotherapy and Sports Medicine explains the five key steps you can take today to keep your muscles healthy long after tomorrow.
Further reading: Let’s Drink To Your Muscle Health
1. Fuel your muscles
High fat, low fat, paleo or vegan. Whichever way you lean, two vital ingredients need to be included in your diet to keep your muscles moving. “Protein provides their raw materials, carbohydrate provides their fuel,” says Aunger. “Every day protein is used to rebuild our muscles, not just in the short window after exercise.” Muscle regeneration is akin to that of our skin. “On average,” says Upbeat nutritionist Sophie Enever, “every two to three weeks our skin is renewed; every two to three months our muscles renew. Without sufficient protein consumed across the day this regeneration cycle breaks down.”
There are two vital ingredients that need to be included in your diet to keep your muscles moving: protein and carbs.
Demands of both protein and carbs are higher the more active you are. “As a general rule with any exercise, carbs should be eaten at least 1.5–2 hours beforehand to fuel your workout (although your body will use up reserve stores in your body too) as well as afterwards to replace lost glycogen stores that help power muscular contractions,” says Aunger. “Protein should be eaten soon after finishing, when the muscles are at their most receptive to accept nutrients.” A bottle of Upbeat Active provides 13.5g of carbs and 20g of protein, striking an even balance whenever you need it most.
Use it or lose it.
2. Maintain your muscles
Use it or lose it. Remember that when it comes to your body’s prized 657 muscles. Sarcopenia, an indiscriminate disease that affects everybody eventually, is the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength caused by ageing. From birth to around your 30th birthday your muscles are capable of growing bigger and stronger but once you hit your fourth decade your muscles are on the slide, making your more at risk of injury and less equipped to handle the daily demands of everyday life.
“Physically inactive people can lose as much as 3–5% of muscle mass each decade but you can slow the decline with regular exercise and optimal protein nutrition,” says Aunger. Resistance exercise with weights will help, as well as strengthen your bones to delay the onset of osteoporosis (brittle bones) in later life, but you don’t have to camp out in the gym’s weights room. “Simple bodyweight exercises such as lunges, squats and wall press-ups are a great way to help maintain your muscles and keep them healthy.”
Inactivity is a modern day crisis.
3. Mobilise your muscles
Inactivity is a modern day crisis. It’s one of the ten leading risk factors for global mortality according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and “insufficient activity” increases risk of death by a harrowing 20–30%. The problem is becoming exasperated by jobs that keep us glued to our office chair all day. The solution? Turn your desk chair into your home gym with this simple drill.
The chair squat
“This is a great all-over body exercise any office worker or stay-at-home parent can do to stay mobile and activate all their major muscle groups,” says Aunger.
Stand up with your chair behind you. Put your hands out in front for balance and bend your knees to lower your bum to touch your chair, before driving back up to stand. “Aim to move slowly and just touch the seat so your muscles have to work harder to control your descent.” Aim for three goes of 10 repetitions twice a day to keep all your muscles and joints mobile — and the Grim Reaper at bay.
4. Stretch your muscles
Time is relentless. While our muscles are getting weaker they’re also getting tighter. “As we get older we lose our flexibility,” says Aunger. “This increases the risk of injury, makes it harder to get around and limits how effective exercise can be when we are being active.” Yoga helps maintain flexibility to keep your muscles supple while devoting a few minutes to stretching around exercise will be very worthwhile in the long run.
While our muscles are getting weaker they’re also getting tighter.
“Before your run or kick-about, do some dynamic drills such as leg and arm swings, spinal rotations, lunges and short sprints (always building from low to high intensity),” says Aunger. “Then after the final whistle or once you’ve passed the finish line, hold some gentle stretches of the main muscles worked for 10–15 seconds.” A little goes a long way.
5. Massage your muscles
Regular massage is one of life’s rare luxuries but you can enjoy the muscular benefits of a good rub down without emptying your bank account or visiting a Swedish retreat. A foam roller, a tube you roll on to massage tight muscles, should be a mandatory staple for every home, along with four walls, windows and a door. “Mobilising your muscles through massage or foam rolling will help maintain muscle flexibility, range of movement and healthy joints,” says Aunger.
A foam roller should be a mandatory staple for every home.
The trick is self-myofascial release (SMR) technique. Fascia, part of the connective tissue in muscles that provide support and protection, can become restricted due to overuse, trauma and, you guessed it, inactivity. It can cause inflammation, thickening the connective tissue, leading to pain, irritation and a general reluctance to get active. Applying pressure to tight muscles using a foam roller, even for just two minutes, can help free this taught fascia, increase range of motion, boost flexibility, allow you to get active and help keep your muscles in fine, healthy fettle.
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