The Worst Thing You Can Do for Muscles

There are some things we should NOT do to our muscles. One of the worst is to stop moving them.

Swedish and American scientists teamed up to find out just how bad complete bed rest is for muscles. In the study, they subjected eight men to a three-day period of lower-limb suspension (for one leg only).

They tracked how quickly the muscles started to break down – and saw significant increases in muscle loss after only three days of complete inactivity. They eventually identified this initial period as the time when muscle was lost most rapidly.

That’s bad news for anyone who breaks a limb, is laid up for several days, or for folks who decide they just don’t want to be active anymore.

If you get injured or sick, consult with your doctor on how you can limit muscle loss. If you are healthy, don’t let days go by without exercising. You’ll lose muscle faster than you can imagine. And you’ll have to work twice as hard to get it back.

The great thing about resistance training is that it is not only the best way to build strength and muscle, but you can get great results in as little as 10-15 minutes, three times per week. For example, choose one pushing exercise and one pulling exercise – maybe push-ups and dumbbell rows. Alternate between them for 3 sets. You can do this in 5-7 minutes.

Resistance training is fast, fun, and effective for helping you keep valuable muscle tissue.

[Ed. Note: Building muscle and burning fat doesn’t have to take hours of work. Fitness expert Craig Ballantyne has put together a Turbulence Training program that can help you get fit in three 45-minute workouts a week.]