You don't have to look like a professional body builder to have a healthy muscular system. In fact, excessive amounts of weight training can damage your muscles if you aren't careful. You need a healthy muscular system to feel strong and to make daily movement easier, but there are other types of muscles, such as the smooth muscles that work behind the scenes. This means a healthy muscular system properly controls digestion, eye movements, heart beats, uterine contractions and other tasks you might not normally associate with muscle.
Strengthen Your Muscles
Skeletal muscles are the kind you typically think of when you want to build muscle. They're the muscles that you control and that get bigger and stronger with regular exercise. If your skeletal muscles are strong, you're less likely to experience falls, bone breaks and other injuries associated with weakness. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends performing 10 strength training exercises per week to help to build overall muscle strength. Start slowly and build your program over time. Lifting too much weight can cause serious muscle injuries. Physical activity, such as walking, swimming and running also help to strengthen muscle. Warming up slowly and performing light stretches before and after workouts helps to prevent muscle strain and injury. Give your muscles adequate rest between workouts and avoid working the same muscle groups every day to balance building strength with caring for your muscles.
Get Adequare Nutrition
Protein is the nutritional buzzword associated with muscle growth and care. According to a 2001 study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, consuming protein after workouts helps muscles to recover more quickly and grow slightly faster. This is good news for athletes and body builders, but average exercisers are likely to get enough protein from their daily diets to meet their muscle's needs. Protein after workouts isn't a substitute for a well-balanced diet. For example, without minerals, your muscles couldn't receive electrical impulses to help them move. Without vitamins and minerals, they couldn't repair damaged cells, absorb fluids, attach to bone and perform their daily functions. Aim to eat a wide variety of foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables and lean proteins. Hydrate before and after each workout to prevent dehydration, which leads to muscle weakness.
Practice Good Posture
Proper posture and body alignment helps prevent muscle strain and injury according to The Cleveland Clinic. It also Allows your muscles to work properly and follow natural, comfortable paths of movement. Posture refers both to how you sit and how you stand. When you practice poop posture, muscles become fatigues from holding unnatural positions and joints and ligaments feel stretched and stiff. Work to keep your shoulders directly over your hips and your hips over knees and your knees over your ankles. This helps to support proper spinal alignment and doesn't cause muscles that normally aren't called into play to work overtime supporting your back and shoulders.
References
- American College of Sports Medicine: Physical Activity and Public Health Guidelines
- "International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism": Exercise, Protein Metabolism and Muscle Growth", 2001
- Kid's Health: Your Muscles
- U. S. Food and Drug Administration: Appendix F: Calculate the Percent Daily Value for the Appropriate Nutrients
- Cleveland Clinic: Posture for a Healthy Back
