Healthy Muscles Matter (2023)

Healthy Muscles Matter (1)

Did you know you have more than 600 muscles in your body? These muscles help you move, lift things, pump blood through your body, and even help you breathe.

When you think about your muscles, you probably think most about the ones you can control. These are yourvoluntary (VOL-uhn-ter-ee) muscles, which means you can control their movements. They are also calledskeletal(SKEL-i-tl) muscles, because they attach to your bones and work together with your bones to help you walk, run, play an instrument,or cook a meal. The muscles of your mouth and throat even help you talk!

(Video) Muscle matters: Dr Brendan Egan at TEDxUCD

Keeping your muscles healthy will help you to be able to walk, run, jump, lift things, play sports, and do all the other things you love to do. Exercising, getting enough rest, and eating a balanced diet will help to keep your muscles healthy for life.

Why healthy muscles matter to you

Healthy muscles let you move freely and keep your body strong.

Healthy muscles let you move freely and keep your body strong. They help you to enjoy playing sports, dancing, walking the dog, swimming, and other fun activities. And they help you do those other (not so fun) things that you have to do, like making the bed, vacuuming the carpet, or mowing the lawn.

(Video) Why Muscle Is Key For Longevity | Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

Strong muscles also help to keep your joints in good shape. If the muscles around your knee, for example, get weak, you may be more likely to injure that knee. Strong muscles also help you keep your balance, so you are less likely to slip or fall.

And remember—the activities that make your skeletal muscles strong will also help to keep your heart muscle strong!

(Video) Healthy Muscles Matter

Different kinds of muscles have different jobs

Skeletalmuscles are connected to your bones by tough cords of tissue calledtendons(TEN-duhns). As the muscle contracts, it pulls on the tendon, which moves the bone. Bones are connected to other bones byligaments(LIG-uh-muhnts), which are like tendons and help hold your skeleton together.

Smoothmuscles are also called involuntary muscles since you have no control over them. Smooth muscles work in your digestive system to move food along and push waste out of your body. They also help keep your eyes focused without your having to think about it.

(Video) MDUK Muscles Matter 2022: Spinal Muscular Atrophy (adult focus)

Cardiac(KAR-dee-ak) muscle. Did you know your heart is also a muscle? It is a specialized type of involuntary muscle. It pumps blood through your body, changing its speed to keep up with the demands you put on it. It pumps more slowly when you’re sitting or lying down, and faster when you’re running or playing sports and your skeletal muscles need more blood to help them do their work.

FAQs

Why do healthy muscles matter to you? ›

Healthy muscles let you move freely and keep your body strong. They help you to enjoy playing sports, dancing, walking the dog, swimming, and other fun activities. And they help you do those other (not so fun) things that you have to do, like making the bed, vacuuming the carpet, or mowing the lawn.

What do muscles need to be healthy? ›

To keep your muscles healthy and strong, keep the following eight tips in mind.
  • A High-Protein Diet. ...
  • Quality Supplements. ...
  • Resistance Training. ...
  • An Active Lifestyle. ...
  • Healthy Bones. ...
  • Hormonal Balance. ...
  • Anti-Inflammatory Foods. ...
  • Cutting Back on Alcohol.
Mar 29, 2022

What are the 3 types of muscles? ›

The 3 types of muscle tissue are cardiac, smooth, and skeletal. Cardiac muscle cells are located in the walls of the heart, appear striped (striated), and are under involuntary control.

How did Hally's environment change her traits? ›

4. How did Hally's environment change her traits? Hally's environment made her not very energetic or strong anymore.

Why is it important to maintain muscle? ›

Maintaining strength is essential for healthy aging. “Loss of muscle with aging can limit people's ability to function in their home environment and live independently,” Kohrt says. “Just being able to get up out of a chair or go up and down stairs requires a fair amount of muscle strength.”

Why is mind to muscle important? ›

Mind-muscle connection allows you to focus your effort on a specific muscle, meaning the secondary muscles will not be used as much and, in turn, you will not be able to lift as much. Perform each exercise with lighter weight and focus your mental energy on the specific muscle you want to target.

What is the most important muscle to keep healthy and strong? ›

The human heart is the most incredible muscle in the body, beating about 100,000 times to send 3,600 gallons of blood through 75,000 miles of blood vessels each day.

What are the 3 most important muscles? ›

What Are the 5 Most Important Muscles Groups?
  1. Shoulder and back muscles. Slouching over our screens and sitting too much makes it crucial to work your shoulder and back muscles. ...
  2. Chest and arm muscles. ...
  3. Abdominal muscles. ...
  4. Leg muscles. ...
  5. Calves muscles.

What are functions of muscle? ›

Muscles allow a person to move, speak, and chew. They control heartbeat, breathing, and digestion. Other seemingly unrelated functions, including temperature regulation and vision, also rely on the muscular system. Keep reading to discover much more about the muscular system and how it controls the body.

What is the strongest muscle in the human body? ›

The strongest muscle based on its weight is the masseter. With all muscles of the jaw working together it can close the teeth with a force as great as 55 pounds (25 kilograms) on the incisors or 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) on the molars.

How many muscles are in your body? ›

Summary. There are about 600 muscles in the human body. The three main types of muscle include skeletal, smooth and cardiac. The brain, nerves and skeletal muscles work together to cause movement – this is collectively known as the neuromuscular system.

What do we learn about Hally's father? ›

Hally's father is also a crippled, alcoholic, ad racist World War II veteran. As the play unfolds, we learn that, when he was a younger boy, Hally's troubled family life often drove him to spend time with his mother's black workers, and .

What is the central lesson of the story will the wolf? ›

The central lesson is that wolves help each other survive when they stay in packs.

How old is Hally what race is he why has he come to the St George's Park Tea Room? ›

Hally is a seventeen-year old white South African boy growing up in Port Elizabeth, SouthAfrica. He spends his afternoons in his mother's cafe, the St. George's Park Tea Room, conversing with waiters Sam and Willie. He has spent a great part of his youth with these men.

What happens if you don't maintain muscle? ›

There would be a loss of strength, loss of neuromuscular coordination, a loss of endurance, and an increase in injury risk. Muscle atrophy isn't just about losing size, it will also be a loss in strength.

What does it mean to maintain muscle? ›

The main distinction between building versus maintaining muscle mass is determined by how hard you work. For maintenance, all you have to do is exercise the muscles to mild exhaustion as discussed last week. When building muscle, on the other hand, you must attack the muscles with gut-busting workouts.

How do you connect your muscles to your mind? ›

Use Visualization – Picture the muscles contracting and relaxing in your mind as you count and perform the exercise. This brings your attention to focus eliminating external distractions and noises. Use Cues – Focusing on cues during an exercise can draw your attention to muscles to enhance activation.

What muscles work without us thinking? ›

What Are Smooth Muscles? Smooth muscles — sometimes also called involuntary muscles — are usually in sheets, or layers, with one layer of muscle behind the other. You can't control this type of muscle. Your brain and body tell these muscles what to do without you even thinking about it.

Does thinking about your muscles make you stronger? ›

The Science Of Imagining: The Power of Visualisation

A study conducted by Brian Clark from Ohio University demonstrated that just sitting still and thinking about muscles working, might make you stronger. The study took 29 subjects and split them into two groups.

Which muscles are most important? ›

So which muscles need the most attention? You may have already guessed it, but the answer is the core muscles. The core is more than just the abdominals. The core group of muscles consist of the abs (all of them – including the obliques and deep transverse abdominus), the back, the glutes, and upper legs.

How many muscle is healthy? ›

According to Withings, normal ranges for muscle mass are: Ages 20-39: 75-89 percent for men, 63-75.5 percent for women. Ages 40-59: 73-86 percent for men, 62-73.5 percent for women.

What are 3 healthy benefits of muscular strength? ›

Strength training may enhance your quality of life and improve your ability to do everyday activities. Strength training can also protect your joints from injury. Building muscle also can contribute to better balance and may reduce your risk of falls. This can help you maintain independence as you age.

What is the 2nd strongest muscle in the body? ›

Second strongest muscle: Masseter is the second strongest muscle in the human body.

What are 3 things needed for muscle growth? ›

According to the exercise physiologist Brad Schoenfeld, there are three primary mechanisms of muscle growth: Muscle tension, metabolic stress and muscle damage. Oftentimes all of these factors are correlated with the amount of weight you lift.

How do I stop my muscles from wasting? ›

Disuse (physiologic) atrophy can be treated with regular exercise and better nutrition. Your healthcare provider may recommend physical therapy or an exercise plan. Even if you can't actively move certain joints in your body, you can do still exercises wearing a splint or brace.

What causes loss of muscle? ›

Scientists have found that a major reason people lose muscle is because they stop doing everyday activities that use muscle power, not just because they grow older. Muscular atrophy is the decrease in size and wasting of muscle tissue. Muscles that lose their nerve supply can atrophy and simply waste away.

How can I maintain my muscles without exercise? ›

Eat Plenty of Protein

So, making sure you're eating a high protein diet is crucial. In fact, research even suggests that higher protein intake can help maintain your muscle in a calorie deficit, while you lose body fat instead (11). In some cases, you can actually build muscle and lose fat at the same time.

What are the 4 Roles of muscles? ›

One of the most predominant characteristics of skeletal muscle tissue is its contractility and nearly all movement in the body is the result of muscle contraction. Four functions of muscle contraction are movement, posture, joint stability, and heat production.

How do muscles work short answer? ›

Muscles move body parts by contracting and then relaxing. Muscles can pull bones, but they can't push them back to the original position. So they work in pairs of flexors and extensors. The flexor contracts to bend a limb at a joint.

What are 4 important functions of muscles? ›

Muscles allow a person to move, speak, and chew. They control heartbeat, breathing, and digestion. Other seemingly unrelated functions, including temperature regulation and vision, also rely on the muscular system.

What's the weakest muscle in your body? ›

The Stapedius, the smallest skeletal muscle in the human body, which is about 1 mm in length, is regarded to be the weakest muscle. It originates from a prominence known as the pyramidal eminence at the posterior edge of the tympanic cavity. It inserts into the stapes' neck.

What muscles grow the fastest? ›

What muscles develop the fastest? Phasic muscles like the pectorals, rhomboid muscles, glutes, and the trapezius muscles.

What is the hardest muscle to get? ›

5 OF THE HARDEST TO TRAIN BODY AREAS
  • Obliques. Pretty much everyone does the standard ab crunches, but crunches aren't going to develop your obliques. ...
  • Calves. ...
  • Forearms. ...
  • Triceps. ...
  • Lower stomach.

Which muscle is responsible for the heart to beat? ›

Cardiac muscle tissue is one of the three types of muscle in your body. It's only found in your heart, where it's involved in coordinated contractions that keep your heart beating.

Which muscle makes up the heart? ›

Cardiac muscle makes up the thick middle layer of the heart and is surrounded by a thin outer layer called the epicardium or visceral pericardium and an inner endocardium.

What is the relationship between Sam and Hally? ›

However, Sam's superiority over Hally's father is obvious through the contrast between their relationships with Hally. Ironically, it is evident that, most of the time, the relationship between Hally and Sam is closer to a father-son relationship than that between Hally and his father.

Why is Hally called Master Harold? ›

Hally is short for Harold; it's his childhood nickname, what Sam calls him. Willie, however, calls him "Master Harold," a term of respect that indicates Hally's superiority over Willie.

What race is Hally in Master Harold and the Boys? ›

Hally is a "seventeen-year-old white boy" (193). In some ways he's a typical high school kid; he draws funny pictures of his teachers, complains about his homework, and gets into philosophical debates with his buddy Sam.

What is the lesson message of the story? ›

It is the message the writer is trying to convey through the story. Often the theme of a story is a broad message about life. The theme of a story is important because a story's theme is part of the reason why the author wrote the story.

What is the central message of this story? ›

The central idea is the central, unifying element of the story, which ties together all of the other elements of fiction used by the author to tell the story. The central idea can be best described as the dominant impression or the universal, generic truth found in the story.

What is the lesson that the story is trying to teach? ›

A theme is the message, or lesson, that the reader learns by reading the story. Sometimes a story has a particular kind of message, known as a moral. A moral is a type of message that teaches a reader a life lesson, such as what is right or wrong, how to make decisions, or how to treat other people.

What ethnicity is St George? ›

Saint George was a soldier of Cappadocian Greek origin and member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian, who was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith.

What is the significance of Master Harold and the Boys? ›

“Master Harold”…and the boys is a multifaceted, stirring testament to the cruelty of apartheid in South Africa. It is Athol Fugard's most frequently performed and most popular play. Based on events from Fugard's life, Master Harold is renowned for its evocation of painful memories from South Africa's troubled history.

What are the benefits of good muscle fitness to a person? ›

Increased muscle mass: Muscle mass naturally decreases with age, but strength training can help reverse the trend. Stronger bones: Strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of fractures. Joint flexibility: Strength training helps joints stay flexible and can reduce the symptoms of arthritis.

How do strong muscles help you look better and prevent health problems? ›

How do strong muscles help you look better and prevent health problems? They give the body a firm appearance and can prevent back problems and weak bones.

What are the five benefits of strong muscles? ›

Benefits of Muscular Strength and Endurance
  • Increase your ability to do activities like opening doors, lifting boxes or chopping wood without getting tired.
  • Reduce the risk of injury.
  • Help you keep a healthy body weight.
  • Lead to healthier, stronger muscles and bones.
  • Improve confidence and how you feel about yourself.

Do muscles make you healthy? ›

Muscles are often described as the “engine” of your body's fat and calorie burning mechanism. Increased muscle mass can lead to less body fat, a stronger immune system, improved energy levels, and reduced stress.

Does muscles mean healthy? ›

Muscle is the health factor that's rarely talked about. Your muscle health plays an increasingly important role in strength, energy and ability to live a healthier, more active life. Muscle mass can impact a person's strength, energy, mobility, and overall health.

Videos

1. Muscles Matter - Masonic Cancer Center
(Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota)
2. Natural Ways to Improve Your Muscle Health!
(11Alive)
3. MDUK Muscles Matter 2020 - LGMD seminar
(Muscular Dystrophy UK)
4. Why Muscles Matter: The Science of Myokines & Exercise | Dr Paul Taylor | The Proof Clips EP 229
(The Proof with Simon Hill)
5. MDUK Muscles Matter 2021 - SMA (paediatric focus)
(Muscular Dystrophy UK)
6. Muscles Matter 2022: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Adults)
(Muscular Dystrophy UK)

References

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