How to increase muscle mass with a simple exercise as effective as weight lifting

For increase muscle mass You need to follow a healthy diet and exercise. And despite what many think, specialists advise a a practice as simple and effective as weight lifting.

As we age, lean muscle mass naturally decreases. If you don’t take steps to replace the lean muscle mass you lose over time, your body fat percentage will increase, they highlight Mayo Clinica non-profit organization dedicated to clinical practice, training and research.

In this way, they warn, muscle strengthening is the solution to preserving and improving one’s mass at any stage of life.

What are the benefits of gaining muscle mass

This explains the amount of benefits that strong muscles provide Fitiathe App specialized in exercises and health:

• Development of strong bones. By placing force on your bones, muscle strengthening increases bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.

• Weight control. Strengthening muscles can help you control or reduce weight by increasing your metabolism and burning more calories.

• Improved quality of life. Strengthening your muscles can improve your quality of life and your ability to carry out daily activities. It also contributes to better balance and reduces the risk of falls.

• Treatment of chronic conditions. Increasing muscle mass can reduce the signs and symptoms of conditions such as arthritis, back pain, obesity, heart disease, depression and diabetes.

• Improves intellectual abilities. According to some research, regular muscle strengthening and aerobic exercise can improve learning in older adults.

Anyway, It is always important to consult a doctor and a personal trainer so that they can provide the best advice as appropriate.

What exercise is as effective for building muscle mass as weight lifting?

A study has shown that we can increase our muscle mass with simple exercise, which can be as effective as weight lifting.

The key is stretching. That final part of our training, which is often directly ignored.

The scientific work, published in el European Journal of Applied Physiologycompared how a strength training routine and a stretching routine could be beneficial when it comes to gaining muscle mass.

And to the amazement of many, the result was that, in both groups, the same muscle thickness was acquired.

What must be clear is that this conclusion This doesn’t mean giving up strength training and all you need to do is stretch to get a physique like that of the Hulk.

This means there’s no point in being so obsessed with lifting weights and incorporating work related to other aspects of fitness into our routines.

How did the scientific study on stretching and muscle mass go?

The experimental work was conducted with 81 participants who already had training experience.

They were divided into three groups: one did static stretching, another had to do resistance training and the last one did not follow any protocol, the published study reflects.

The first group had to practice 15 minutes of chest stretches (pectoralis major), four days a week for 8 weeks. They used specific machines to be able to withstand the intense pace for the established time.

Those who did strength training followed a traditional chest exercise routine, in 3 weekly sessions for 8 weeks. The results were measured by studying maximum isometric strength, muscle thickness and shoulder range of motion.

The results proved it In both cases there was a significant improvement in strength, muscle thickness and flexibility.

But even more surprising is that there were almost no differences between the results of both, which is why it was concluded that a stretching routine could be just as effective for gaining strength and muscle as a strength routine, they concluded.

As expected, the stretching group won. greater flexibility of the other, both for the exercise itself and for the intensity.

The study is useful to confirm how important and effective all the stretches are. And not only to prevent injuries and increase muscle mass, but also as a key factor in helping us do so gain strength.

Therefore, you don’t need to spend eternal 15 minutes sitting working intensely on your pectorals. Simply perform some stretches and add them to our weekly routines to improve strength.