Lean Mass Gain > Weight Loss
We are constantly bombarded with marketing from the fitness community encouraging us to be more active and eat healthy, all so we can… what? Lose weight, look better, feel better, be happier? Sure, those things are significant for their own reasons, but learning about the how’s and why’s behind fitness is incredibly important. It isn’t as simple as just losing weight to look or feel better, though physique and overall health will come with the sweat equity. What happens as we exercise and fuel our body appropriately is so much more than the superficial rites of passage it may produce. I’m here to tell you all about lean mass and why it makes the world go round… and more importantly, why increasing lean body mass should be your fitness focus above all else.
To get started, let’s specify what lean mass is. Lean mass refers to bones, muscles, water, ligaments, tendons and organs; lean mass excludes body fat. Lean mass is important because it is a strong indicator of health, strength, and metabolism. Namely, the more lean body mass you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate - aka the more calories you burn at rest. This is a really important detail to remember, because the more fat you replace with muscle, the more calories you burn doing absolutely nothing. Muscle tissue requires work to maintain. It burns 4.5-7 calories per pound per day, approximately 20% of calories burned, while fat burns 2-3 calories per pound (~5% of total daily calories). When workouts are performed strategically, this, coupled with the afterburn effect of certain types of exercise, can equate to compounded calories burned over the course of a couple days post workout.
Benefits of a higher ratio of lean mass:
Increased metabolism (more calories burned = more weight lost)
Stronger bones (Bone density for the win)
Improved body composition (Decreased risk of obesity-related conditions, yes please!)
Increased joint support
Increased muscular endurance (More time spent being active without exhaustion)
Injury prevention (Body primed for performance)
Improved mental health (reduction of stress) - (The main reason fitness is my #1 hobby)
There are other health benefits to having a high ratio of lean body mass, including decreased blood pressure, improved insulin sensitivity, enhanced cardio health, and a decreased risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes or cancer.
The reason bodybuilders can eat so much despite having very little body fat is because building muscle takes work, and maintaining muscle takes work too - in the form of lifting heavy and fueling densely. When you take the focus off of what you’re trying to get rid of, or what you don’t want, and start funneling your energy toward what you do want to create, the process becomes a little simpler. The hard work no longer seems like it’s futile, but rather the race is run to promote longevity and quality of life over vanity. Stop being so hyper-focused on your six pack and start doing the training it takes to produce a well balanced body with a higher ratio of muscle.
The importance of building a well rounded body is one reason I’m a hybrid athlete. I am not a master of one type of exercise, though I do specialize in HIIT and Core coaching. It is beneficial for everyone to integrate different types of fitness into their regular programming to achieve the maximum benefit. Strength training is super important and should be completed 3-5x/week. In addition, cardio training should be done 30 minutes per day - this could be low intensity steady state cardio, or something more intense like a distance run or HIIT workout (which combines resistance training and cardio). Another win: All of these things are going to increase bone density and strength, as well as produce that feel good dopamine hit we all crave from a good workout. Adding in more intense workouts like HIIT can be done based on preference, but a couple times a week will do. A HIIT workout can increase metabolism for up to 48 hour post workout!
Fitness isn’t just a status marker, or even a separation from disciplined to undisciplined. Like anything, body recomposition takes time, but as far as longevity and quality are concerned, all of our lives quite literally depend on it, and increasing lean body mass is the “cheat code” everyone has been looking for.