Most of us would like to live a long and healthy life, so we look for the best methods to maintain our youth and wellness for as long as possible. We don’t just want to live longer with an average to poor quality of health; we want to live longer with a high quality of health and a high level of functional capacity.

Building and maintaining lean muscle is one of the most powerful forms of “anti-aging medicine” available. Research shows that adults who incorporate resistance training two or more times per week experience improved insulin sensitivity, healthier hormone balance, and a dramatic reduction in risk for chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis. Muscle isn’t just aesthetic; it’s a biochemical factory that produces anti-inflammatory molecules and metabolic regulators that help keep every system in the body younger.

To minimize the common ailments as the years accumulate and be able to live with peak performance, there is a “fitness” element you can build and maintain, and it’s so important your life literally depends on it.

This one thing is the protection of your lean muscle tissue, and it’s more important than “cardio” activity.

Toned Muscle Matters –

1. Metabolism (the speed of your inner engine)

There is nothing else you can do (apart from exercise) and most certainly nothing you can eat that will actually boost your metabolism. The health of your metabolism is vital for staying lean, healthy, and youthful.

Muscle tissue acts like a “metabolic command center.” Every pound of muscle you build becomes a living engine that burns calories even while you sleep. As we age, the natural decline in muscle mass, called sarcopenia, can slow metabolism by up to 30%, making weight management far more difficult. The good news is that strength training reverses this process, helping you stay metabolically active and hormonally balanced well into your later decades.

2. Strength

Throughout adult life, strength is far more important than “cardio” fitness.

People don’t fall and break a hip because they lack cardio fitness. They don’t get put in nursing homes and wheelchairs because they can’t run or jog. They lose physical function and become disabled because they lose their muscle and strength.

3. A Great Reason to Eat Well

It’s also the ability to burn more calories. It’s a win-win.

You get to eat more to build and maintain your lean muscle mass. This will not happen with “cardio” type activity.

4. Functional Strength

Whether it’s carrying groceries, doing everyday tasks and activities, or carrying children, the more toned muscle tissue you have, the easier those tasks and activities will be.

Lean mass equal POWER to live a full, active life.

5. Stronger Immunity

Everybody knows that toned muscle tissue is necessary for strength, but not many people are aware that it also serves as the body’s armor and defense system against killer diseases and illness.

Research is showing even a 1 percent loss in lean body mass (LBM) corresponds with impaired immune function. This is not a good thing when we are surrounded by a skyrocketing rate of chronic lifestyle diseases, many of which can easily take us out of the game of life.

Our muscle tissue represents 40–50 percent of our body weight and serves as the storage depot and important reservoir for the proteins that supply the necessary fuel and building blocks to the immune system. This supply of protein is essential to produce new antibodies and white blood cells to fight off infections and find and destroy cancer cells.

In addition, resistance exercise has been shown to enhance circulation and lymphatic flow, two key components of a strong immune system.

As you lift, push, and pull, you’re literally pumping vitality through your tissues, flushing toxins, and encouraging the regeneration of healthy new cells. Over time, this process not only strengthens the immune response but also supports clearer thinking, faster recovery, and a sense of well-being that radiates through the body.

When you work your muscles with strength training exercise, it raises the heart rate, which speeds the circulation of protective antibodies and natural killer cells, raising white blood cell counts anywhere from 50–300 percent after an exercise session. So toned muscle matters… it matters A LOT!

Making the right lifestyle changes, particularly in the area of proper strengthening exercise, can postpone, sometimes for decades, the “Disability Zone,” as it is known. Your choices can greatly improve your odds of approaching the ideal: a health span that matches your life span, and the earlier in life you get started, the better.

The choices you make today could make the difference in not only how long you live but how well you look, feel, and live tomorrow.

A year from now you may have more functional strength, more energy, be more fit, and have fewer aches and pains than you did five years ago.

Resistance training tones muscle tissue, strengthens bones, boosts energy levels, speeds up metabolism (to assist with weight loss), and improves balance, coordination, and posture. So there is plenty of evidence that performing a couple of quality strengthening exercise sessions each week is very beneficial to health. What’s not to love about that?

There’s no time like now to start your journey to health and fitness…and muscles are mandatory!

Everything you need to discover and live your best life can be found at:

Self-Improvement Gifts  a Library of Free resources that will help you with all your health and fitness needs.