10X stronger exercise – ד"ר בריאות (2024)

I always thought that to change how my body looks, all it takes is sports, I can eat everything, and be in any mental and social state I want. Over the years, I have realized that exercise would take you from healthy to healthier and is not the key to health. COVID pandemic,for most of us,transformed the way we think about our lives . I signed up for several programs at MindValley, a great online university for personal development, which helped me upgrade my way of thinking and transform physically. I lost 20 kilograms, managed to get the body of my dreams, and most importantly, my energy levels skyrocketed. I was so happy with what I achieved that I set a goal to help everyone who wants to maintain optimal health, and in 2021 I was certified as a health & fitness coach. I want in this article to share with you some tips for maintaining health and the things I have done and led me to where I am today.

It is crucial to understand that healthy muscle mass and mass are the main thing that has to do with longevity in good health (1). From age 30 onward, our muscle mass decreases over time. About 5% of muscle mass is lost in a decade (2). If you start exercising from age 30 (and did nothing before), you can slow down the rate of decline until the age of 70 by about 15% (actually earning 3 decades). The type of muscle strengthening training is the most important for older people because muscle quality is strongly correlated with survival (3). Also, adults can train as it can be adapted to almost any physiological condition. So if longevity is important to you, you should consider improving the quality of your muscles.

I know many of you are here reading in the hope to lose weight. So, first of all, active muscle tissue helps us reduce fat tissue mass in the body. Muscle consumes sugar and carbohydrates that enter our bodies and do not become fat stored in adipose tissue. Recent discoveries show that muscle tissue releases substances (myokines) that delay adipose tissue building (4). Also, if we increase the percentage of muscle mass, we automatically decrease the percentage of adipose tissue – it's a matter of numbers. For example, if I weigh 100 pounds with 70% muscle and 27% fat (everything else is bone), then if I increase my muscle percentage to 75%, I will automatically be at 22% fat. Aside from the numbers, understand that even if your weight is still 100 kg, you look fitter, and your energy levels rise due to a preferred metabolism in muscle tissue. Therefore weight alone is not a sufficient measure of health.

Muscle tissue has a role in balancing sugar (5). When we have trained muscle, it takes in more sugar from the blood for energy expenditure (activity of- and creation of energy stores). This lowers the amount of sugar in the blood. If our muscles are untrained, more sugar circulates in the blood, and due to lack of use, it is stored as energy in adipose tissue. Moreover, a high amount of blood sugar can lead to the disease of the last fifty years – diabetes. If we constantly flood the blood with sugar, it forces the hormone insulin (whose job is to get sugar into the cells) to consistently activate its receptor. At some point, this can lead to reduced sensitivity of the receptor to the hormone and then slowly develops insulin resistance leading to diabetes. Increasing muscle mass can, in some cases, dramatically improve and even cure diabetes (5).

Muscle tissue is the protector of our bones and joints. The muscle wraps around the bone and directly helps with shock absorption, correct movement, and more … Studies have recently revealed that there is a dialogue between muscle tissue and bone and can change with age (6). The reduction in muscle mass and the weakening of the bone in aging without training can lead to osteosarcopenia (low minerals in the bone and weak muscle tissue). This is a dire situation that limits and makes older people dependent. In addition, it also leaves them with a high chance of falling, a significant risk factor for death in old age. In any case, one can lower the risk that all of this will happen to very low if we maintain our muscle mass throughout life.

Quality muscle tissue creates the result of an excellent appearance and keeps us looking young and shapely. This, of course, contributes to our self-confidence. When we look good and feel good, our mood is good. If high-waisted pants get on you, it's likely to contribute to your self-confidence. In addition, muscle tissue keeps us upright. Our posture directly affects our emotions. It is known that when we bend our heads down, it indicates a bad emotional state. When we are upright with our heads up, it affects us for the good.