Last week, I discussed the proverbial “use-it-or-lose-it” concept as it pertains to muscle mass. Muscle is high-maintenance tissue, which means it requires a lot of energy to sustain it. In fact, since muscle makes up approximately 40 percent of the body’s total mass, it largely determines how many calories you burn each day, and those with more muscle mass burn more calories.

Because muscle is high-maintenance tissue, the body has mixed feelings about it. If the body perceives that the muscles are important, it doesn’t mind the high-maintenance fee. However, if the body thinks you aren’t using your muscles enough, and they are simply going along for the ride, it will take steps to reduce muscle mass.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to convince your body that your muscles are important, and all you have to do is make modest demands on your muscles regularly. Resistance training by lifting weights is an efficient way to do this. Everyday activities like climbing stairs, lifting and carrying weighty objects can help too.

When I discuss these issues, I always get questions from women who worry that if they lift weights, they will suddenly develop unsightly bulging muscles. (Not so.) Conversely, men often ask, what does it take to build more muscle? (A heck of a lot.) Let’s take a look.

Building muscle is very hard work

The main distinction between building versus maintaining muscle mass is determined by how hard you work. For maintenance, all you have to do is exercise the muscles to mild exhaustion as discussed last week. When building muscle, on the other hand, you must attack the muscles with gut-busting workouts. You must work the muscles hard enough to cause your body to believe it must make them bigger and stronger in order not only to survive the next attack, but to handle it with less stress.

The workouts you do must be so intense that they cause some trauma to the muscles. This is the key stimulus for change, because in response to the trauma, the body will not only repair the muscle, it will overcompensate, adding new muscle mass by increasing protein synthesis.

Protein synthesis is a complicated process controlled by the cell’s DNA. To make changes, you must persuade the DNA to take action. (This is where gut-busting workouts come in.) When the DNA is convinced you need more muscle mass, it creates a blueprint for the exact sequence of amino acids that are used to produce the additional desired protein. Amino acids (there are 20 to choose from) are gathered and transported to a construction site in the cell, where they are joined together by special (peptide) bonds. The end result is a larger (hypertrophied) muscle cell that is stronger.

When it comes to muscle protein synthesis, testosterone accelerates and amplifies the process, and that’s why men have more muscle mass.

Three-pronged approach

Building muscle is a three-pronged approach, and intensive training is only one prong. The second is good nutrition with ample dietary protein intake, approximately twice the normal protein requirement (0.36 grams x 2 = 0.72 grams per pound of body weight). And, since building muscle takes a lot of energy, total intake of nutrients must be increased as well. In general, approximately 20-25 nutrient-rich calories (kcals) per pound of body weight are needed. Nutrient-rich means you can’t count “hollow” calories from soft drinks, chips, treats and such. And, third, the body must get lots of rest, and especially sound sleep, because that’s the time for peak protein synthesis.

The bottom line is, maintaining muscle mass is relatively easy. All it takes is modest effort on a regular basis to keep most of your muscle mass intact, even into old age. Building muscle is an entirely different matter, and monumental effort is required.

Bryant Stamford is professor and chairman of the department of kinesiology and integrative physiology at Hanover College. To contact him, email stamford@hanover.edu.

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