Numerous studies show that eating plenty of protein can help increase muscle mass and strength. Protein is the building block of your muscles. Therefore, eating adequate amounts of protein helps you maintain your muscle mass and promotes muscle growth when you do strength training.
How Much Protein Do I Need?
According to https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/will-eating-more-protein-help-your-body-gain-muscle-faster The amount of protein you require depends on your weight and your daily caloric intake. Most Americans consume more than enough protein in their daily diets. A few specific groups of people are at risk for being protein-deficient, including elderly women and people with illnesses or eating disorders. A protein deficiency is defined as eating 50% to 75% of the recommended amount of daily protein, Butterfield explains.
Ideally, you should consume 0.36 grams of protein for every pound of body weight, according to recommended daily allowances (RDA) set by the Food and Nutrition Board. So if you weigh 170 pounds, you need about 61 grams of protein each day.
Protein should also make up approximately 15% of your total daily caloric intake, also according to the RDA. In a diet of 1,800 calories a day, for example, about 270 of those calories should come from protein.
It's Essential!!
You should also realize that protein is essential to our bodies' normal functions. It assists in synthesizing enzymes and hormones, maintaining fluid balance, and regulating such vital functions as building antibodies against infection, blood clotting, and scar formation.
Protein is also a building block for our muscles, bones, cartilage, skin, hair, and blood. Protein-rich foods include meat, cheese, milk, fish, and eggs. For vegetarians, protein can be found in soy products such as tofu as well as in combinations of foods, such as rice or corn with beans.
Strength training
You need to be hitting the weights at least three days per week. The research Trusted Source says that at the very least, training a minimum of two days per week is needed to maximize muscle growth. How you structure your workouts and the amount of days you devote to strength training depends on your current fitness level.
Also - To maintain muscle mass using body weight training is to train the muscle more frequently. This can mean instead of performing 4 hard sets of a certain move twice per week, you can perform 1-2 hard sets, 4-5 times per week.
According to https://powerplate.com/pages/how-50-vibrations-per-second-can-unlock-multiple-health-benefits Power Plate vibrates up to 50 times a second sending tiny vibrations through your body. These tiny micro vibrations activate more muscles, burn more calories, improve circulation, and assist muscle recovery. Power Plate’s vibrating surface actually forces your body to not only fight against regular gravity but also fight against vibrations. Independent studies have shown that working out on a Power Plate activates up to 138% more muscle fibers when compared to a standard workout (The American Chiropractor). Put more of your muscles to work and get better results by harnessing the power of micro vibrations.
Shrinking Sleep Time = Shrinking Muscles
It’s not only that getting enough sleep helps muscles grow. Without adequate sleep muscle mass decreases.
A study in 2011 examined how sleep deprivation affected muscle gains and recovery.1 The study followed individuals who were on a strict sleep schedule for 72 hours. During this time, one group was allowed 5.5 hours of sleep; another was allowed 8.5 hours per day. All individuals followed a calorie-regulated diet.
What researchers discovered was that the individuals who slept only 5.5 hours had 60% less muscle mass at the end of the study, while those who slept 8.5 hours had 40% more muscle mass.
Obviously, we can see the powerful effect that sleep has on muscle recovery and growth.
In our recent class with Valerie Willis from Natural Grocers in Lafayette, LA https://www.naturalgrocers.com/ she reminded us that preserving muscle mass means preserving health and quality of life!!!
It is never to late to support your muscle health. starting as soon as possible is the key to preserving muscle as you age!
The 3 best tips for preserving muscle mass are:
Eat and supplement correctly
Improve your muscular fitness with resistance training
Get a full nights rest
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