Muscle Mass

What is it?

Muscle mass Is the total weight of all the muscle tissue in your body, including water content in the muscle tissue. It includes the skeletal muscles such as biceps, hamstrings and quads, smooth muscle such as the muscle in your heart and other internal organs including liver, lungs and kidneys and the water content in all of these.

Why is it important?

It is an advantage to have a higher muscle mass because muscles work like engines and consume energy. When you increase your muscle mass you burn more energy (and fat). This also leads to an increase in your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Muscle mass also declines with age past the age of 25 in some individuals leading to increased health risk.

Any recommendations?

Set goals and aim to maintain or increase your muscle mass. Include strength and conditioning exercises into your routine.