Muscle mass is very important when it comes to fitness, health and weight-loss. Increased muscle mass means faster metabolism; faster metabolism means faster calorie burn, better digestive system and increased efficiency of internal organs e.g liver, kidneys etc. Increased muscle mass also strengthens the connective tissues which in turn increases bone density. This reduces risk of injury during workouts and multiple muscle-related diseases like osteoporosis. In addition, apart from the appearance benefits, more toned, leaner physique, better posture etc, more muscle can enhance your sleep quality, lower blood sugar, improve mental health.
Muscle can be increased with regular aerobic exercise. his means any workout that gets your heart pumping and works all your major muscle groups. People looking to increase muscle mass usually enroll in a gym, but you will have to agree with me that that can be pretty intimidating with all the complicated equipments and bulky fitness freaks around. Because of that, we, at trainers, have compiled five sports you can do-and enjoy-to build muscle mass and improve your overall health.
1.Football
This sport mainly involves running and sprinting (which are two of the most common forms of aerobic exercise). These activate your quadriceps, oblique muscles, pelvic floor muscles, thigh, abs and lower leg muscles, glutes and hamstrings extending the muscles and flexing the joints for optimum movement and strengthening. This sport drastically accelerates the metabolic rate so calories are being burned even after the game. This is known as the “After-burn effect”
2.Gymnastics
It takes a lot of Muscle strength to do the moves that gymnasts do. The moves gymnasts do, be it in the rings, on the floor or the uneven bars promote muscle growth especially on the upper body. When they flip, spring, leap, they activate major muscle groups like the abdominal muscles, shoulder muscles, back muscles and arm muscles. Hip abductors and adductors are also used and other main muscles located in the lower body, making gymnastics a total body conditioning sport.
3.Wrestling
All you need is a wrestling gear, an open space and a partner. It might require a bit of technique to minimize risk of injury to yourself and partner. And it is definitely a total body conditioning exercise, it activates all the muscles in the body, major or minor. From the shoulder muscles to the arm muscles to the abdominal muscles to the back muscles to the quadriceps to everything.
4.Bouldering
This is fun. The strength training only involves lifting your own body weight so that limits your muscle conditioning which in turn limit muscle growth. This means the muscle you gain will lead you to a lean, chiseled physique and not the huge, bulky muscle size that most athletes are prone to have. However, it does activate most major muscle groups in the body.
5.Swimming
It might be a low impact sport but it develops a wide range of major muscle groups in the body. The forearm muscles, glutes, lower and upper back muscles, shoulder and deltoid muscles and hamstrings to mention a few. Your swimming technique, however is an important factor that contributes to the muscle growth rate.
Conclusion
The logic behind growing muscle mass is simple; work the muscles, activate them. It is also important to remember that nutrition plays a huge role in muscle growth. The most important nutrient being protein (sources are bread, dairy products, cereal, rice etc).
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