Maintaining muscle despite standing still? With this you can

Veröffentlicht am: August 01, 2024
Alexander Schmidt
Alexander Schmidt

Physiotherapist

What happens to us when we move less? Do our muscles stay as they are or does rapid muscle loss set in immediately?

Especially in times like now (COVID-19 pandemic), we generally move less as we are at home more and should avoid going outside as much as possible. But what impact does this have on our muscles? Because they are essential for every movement we make. Together with our bones, they give our body the strength it needs to function.

 

➤ Muscles break down much faster than we can build them up!

Standstill is fatal

Even healthy young people between the ages of 20 and 30 lose up to 1.4 kg of muscle mass in a single week of bed rest. In the first two weeks, they lose up to 2.5% of their muscle mass. Up to day 23 even up to 10 %!

It is therefore essential to find ways in which you can continuously promote and maintain your muscle mass.

This is particularly essential as we get older. Because muscles serve as a long-term reserve. If we don't have any, we have a serious problem maintaining our bodily functions.

So if you generally do little exercise or become inactive due to illness or injury, for example, you should have a good reserve muscle mass. This has always been important to improve our chances of survival.

That should give you food for thought:

 "You can do a lot more damage in a week of downtime than you can achieve improvements in six months with training."

Inactivity is devastating for our health and especially for our muscles. But how can we counteract this? 

To explain this, we first need to understand what laws our muscles are actually subject to.

The 4 laws of muscles:

1. "You are what you eat."

We break down and rebuild one to two percent of our muscles every day - depending on what we eat and whether we exercise. However, this also means that your muscle mass is completely renewed every two to three months. For you, this means: "You are what you have just eaten."

Studies show that 55.3% of the proteins you have just consumed are in circulation as amino acids within 5 hours of eating. These amino acids then serve as building blocks for the development of our muscles. Proteins from food are therefore essential for muscle building. 

2. exercise for more muscles

It's not just food that is crucial for building muscle. Research shows that exercise before eating increases the sensitivity of the muscles to protein signals. So if you exercise before eating, you also increase your muscle building.

3. if you don't move, you lose (muscles)!

Conversely, muscles lose their sensitivity to protein signals during periods of inactivity, such as a sedentary lifestyle. This lifestyle means that you spend most of the day either at your desk or on the couch. You burn about as many calories as if you were lying down all day, as you are not increasing your basal metabolic rate (energy expenditure at rest).

So it's not just about increasing protein in the diet. Because without sufficient exercise, any protein intake is worthless. Muscle loss does not happen evenly. The greatest loss occurs after short periods of considerable inactivity, such as bed rest or after an illness. Even during periods of inactivity, every movement counts, such as standing up briefly.

4 The animal kingdom shows us how: Chew thoroughly!

In a study, experts compared the absorption of amino acids via minced beef or steak. The result was that minced beef was absorbed faster overall. 61% of the amino acids from the minced meat could be found in the bloodstream after six hours, compared to 49% with steak. Better absorption also leads to faster muscle growth. However, as people get older, they are less able to chew their food, which makes absorption more difficult.

 

➤ Proteins are the key to your muscles!

So what should you do to build muscle and prevent it from breaking down?

1. get enough protein from your diet:

For example, pasture-raised beef, pulses (lentils, beans, lupins) or pseudocereals (quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat) are good sources of protein. 

2. exercise regularly.

This has a particularly positive effect on muscle building before eating. For example, go for a walk before dinner (if possible) or start a sports session from home. There are now plenty of apps and online courses for this. If you make a habit of it, it will be easier for you to stick to it in future.

3. concentrated protein power in the form of food supplements

  • Whey protein: This protein is isolated from whey and is primarily used to build muscle mass and strength.
  • Spirulina: The seaweed contains up to 3x more protein than beef. Spirulina is considered the king of proteins, with a protein content of almost 70 %.

4. the plus for your muscles

  • Magnesium: the mineral reliably helps with muscle cramps and muscle pain.
  • MSM: supports your body in the formation of new tissue for joints and muscles and their regeneration. MSM is found in every fiber of our body.
  • L-carnitine: helps build muscle and increases maximum oxygen uptake in the muscles. This reduces strain and muscle damage.

➤ Spirulina has a 3x higher protein content than beef!

Conclusion

So to protect your muscles from rapid breakdown and deterioration even in challenging times, you should bear two things in mind:

  • Exercise regularly!
  • And consume protein - whether as food or a dietary supplement!

This guarantees that you can keep your muscle reserves for difficult times and even build up new muscle mass - because standing still is the worst thing you can do right now!

 

Sources (in English):

Tieland, M., Dirks, M. L., Van der Zwaluw, N., Verdijk, L. B., Van de Rest, O., De Groot, L. C. et al. (2012, October). Protein Supplementation Increases Muscle Mass Gain During Prolonged Resistance-Type Exercise Training in Frail Elderly People: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 13(8):713-9, doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2012.05.020

Parry, S. M. & Puthucheary, Z. A. (2015, October). The impact of extended bed rest on the musculoskeletal system in the critical care environment. Extreme Physiology & Medicine, 4: 16, doi: 10.1186/s13728-015-0036-7

Groen, B. B., Horstman, A. M., Hamer, H. M., De Haan, M., Van Kranenburg, J., Bierau, J., et al. (2015, November). Post-Prandial Protein Handlung: You Are What You Just Ate. PLoS One, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141582