Muscle tissue makes up about 40% of body weight. This means that 20-30 kg of an adult’s weight comes from muscles. In total, humans have more than 400 muscles.
Which muscle is the largest?
The diaphragm separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities. This muscle is flat and thin, like a dome, and attaches to the ribs and spine.
One of the fastest movements is blinking the eyes. It occurs in just 40 milliseconds by contracting the orbicularis muscle. In the thickness of the cartilage of the eyelids there are special glands that protect them from sticking and promote the adhesion of dust particles. During sleep, this mechanism protects the cornea of the eye from drying out the tear fluid that moistens it. Otherwise, when we woke up, we would not be able to separate our eyelids.
When a person is awake, reflex contractions of the eyelid muscles (blinking) wet outer surface eyeball. In this case, it is mainly the upper eyelid that moves. There are 100-150 eyelashes on it, and half as many on the lower eyelid. In addition, there are no muscles in the lower eyelid that could lift it.
Which muscles are the strongest?
The chewing muscles are the most strong muscles. A person has four on each side. The face has facial muscles and chewing muscles. They differ in their structure. Facial muscles they begin on bone formations, and with the opposite end they are woven into the connective tissue, the mucous membrane and the skin. Therefore, when these muscles contract, folds and pits are formed on the face. The chewing muscles are attached to the bones, like all other muscles of the trunk and limbs.
You've probably seen in the circus how an acrobat, hanging upside down under a big top, holds a special device in his teeth, the second end of which not only holds his partner, but also allows her to rotate around a vertical axis. By the way, trying to do this using outstretched arms rather than jaws is practically futile. Even those who do not participate in such tricks know that sometimes it is easier to pull a stubborn cork out of a bottle with your teeth than with your hands.
A person may encounter the need to determine muscle mass in a situation where he has decided to correct his figure and say goodbye to fat deposits. To do this, he needs to find out the percentage of fat mass and lean mass; the second includes muscles, skeleton, and organs. How to determine the percentage of muscles in the human body, and what is the norm for their content in the human body?
Proper nutrition for gaining muscle mass
Muscle weight determination
If a caliper is missing, it can be easily replaced with a caliper. Before you begin to determine muscle mass in the human body, you need to be aware of what body measurements will need to be taken to begin with and take into account all sorts of nuances of this process.
You should start the calculation by taking measurements using a centimeter, which will need to measure four circles:
- Shoulder.
- Forearm.
- Shin.
- Hip.
Measuring body volumes using a centimeter
It is very important to get the right result, and you can achieve it by using the following tips:
- It is recommended to measure the shoulder only in a calm state, so you should not strain your muscles during the measurement process. You should try to measure the shoulder in the place where most of the muscles are located.
- When taking measurements from the forearm, care must be taken to ensure that the arm is not tense and hangs freely.
- To measure the lower leg, it is necessary to take measurements from the calves, preferably in the place where they are most visible.
- When measuring your hip, you need to stand straight so that your body weight is evenly distributed on your two legs. Then you should take measurements with a centimeter, covering the thigh under the gluteal fold
Body measurements in centimeters
After the required indicators have been taken, for further calculations you will also need to find out the subcutaneous fat folds. A caliper will help you do this. Based on the data obtained, it is possible to calculate what muscle mass in humans.
In order to understand the calculations, you can use the following decoding:
- M is the muscle mass of the body, which we need to calculate.
- L is an indicator that characterizes the height of men. For this formula, it is recommended to take height in centimeters.
M - this is muscle mass of the body
- r – to calculate this indicator, you need to perform three steps. The first step is to calculate the sum of the four indicators obtained at the very beginning of determining the mass - this is the coverage of the shoulder, forearm, lower leg and thigh. The resulting amount must be divided by 25, 12. The second step is similar to the first, because it also requires finding out the sum of the indicators and dividing it by 100. In the second step, measurements of subcutaneous fat folds are taken for calculation. The essence of the third action is to obtain the difference between the first action and the second. This difference is the indicator r, which will need to be substituted into the formula given above.
- K is a constant indicator that is equal to 6.5.
This is how chest circumference is measured
Using this formula, provided that the calculations have been carried out correctly, it is possible to determine the weight of muscles in the human body. There is another formula with which it is quite easy to determine the percentage of muscle mass in the body of men and women. According to this formula, the percentage of lean body mass for men and women is calculated as the lean body mass obtained using the Matejka formula, divided by the P value. The resulting value is multiplied by 100 to obtain the percentage of muscles in the body of men and women. The number P in this formula indicates the person’s weight, which must be indicated in kilograms.
The percentage of lean body mass for men and women is different. So, for a woman, the norm is 35% of the total body weight. But the norm for men is slightly higher and is about 43%.
Of course, with regular physical activity And proper nutrition In the body of an athlete, the processes of increasing muscle mass are more activated than in a person who has nothing to do with sports. Therefore, the norm for an athlete is 50% muscle of the total body weight.
Measurement
In addition to calculating muscle mass, you can measure the progress of its growth, and this is quite simple to do. Moreover, for this you will not need fancy instruments and so on, because in in this case The measurement will be carried out by observation. Armed with a centimeter and a camera, you can get started. In order to track the progress of muscle growth you need to:
- Measure your muscle condition every week. This will allow you to track even their slight increase. By recording the obtained indicators, the athlete will see progress every week. Measurements must be taken directly in the area of those muscles to which the maximum load is directed.
Measure your muscle condition every week
- Using a camera you can also track the trend of muscle mass growth. By taking photos every week and comparing them with previous photos, the changes can be clearly seen.
- You should also pay attention to things like lifting more weight or working with equipment that weighs more than what you previously worked with in the gym. If an athlete notes that the weight of the barbell or dumbbell has increased, then this may also indicate that changes have occurred in the body, muscle mass has increased.
In most cases, people who direct all their efforts to increase their weight notice its growth when their usual clothes become tight for them. If we are talking about shirts and T-shirts, then discomfort when wearing them occurs in the shoulders. The pants also become tight in the legs.
There is concern that bodybuilding or big set muscle mass negatively affects the heart. I am a certified personal trainer and part-time bodybuilder. My cholesterol levels and blood pressure are within normal limits. Skeptics insist that the harmful effects of bodybuilding on the heart with excess muscle mass will make themselves felt in the future.
I would like to understand how these people came up with the idea that bodybuilding is bad for the heart, because they have not done any research to support this myth. Steroid use, which is common among bodybuilders, can have negative effects on the heart. However, this article only applies to natural bodybuilders and other athletes who build muscle entirely naturally.
Is there research showing that lifting weights is good for your heart? Yes, I have!
A report published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that lifting weights improves heart muscle health. Research conducted by author Barry Franklin, Ph.D., states: “We now have a clearer understanding that weight-lifting training can significantly reduce some factors that influence the risk of heart disease, including lipid and cholesterol levels, blood pressure, obesity and glucose metabolism."
You might be thinking, “Okay, this all applies to lifting weights. But what about bodybuilding and building big muscles?” The minutes of the American Heart Association's Scientific Council meeting, where weight lifting was discussed, recommended the following: one set of exercises of 8-15 repetitions, including 8-10 different standard exercises, 2-3 times a week.
They will train much more than indicated above, especially with regard to the number of approaches. However, if the recommendations of the ACA protocol are followed at the most intense level, then a person (if he is genetically predisposed and follows a maintenance diet) can become quite muscular. If a person chooses to lift weights, which makes doing 8-15 reps of the exercises quite difficult, then he is not intending to develop the muscle as much as he would if he chose resistance exercises, which makes doing 8-15 reps almost impossible.
In addition, rest time between sets of exercises, which is not specified in the ASA report, plays an important role in muscle development. No matter how diligently a person adheres to this protocol, he will not become ridiculously large, although he may become quite muscular enough to be skeptical that all that muscle is harming his heart.
Other studies show that weight-lifting training helps lower resting blood pressure (Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association). Lead author Dr. George A. Kelly suggests: "Even if this reduction in blood pressure is small, it may reduce an individual's risk of heart disease and angina."
Although these studies do not analyze bodybuilding regimens, anyone can conclude that a few steps of strength training on the way to the world of bodybuilding will not lead to heart damage. And why on earth should they lead to this?
One person on a bodybuilding forum said that he had heard from someone that having too much muscle increases body mass, and that this extra weight eventually leads to a deformed heart... the heart muscle gets stretched out due to excess weight, whether it is muscle mass or fat mass . According to this theory, more tall people have a greater risk of developing heart disease because tall people are generally heavier than short people.
Of course, being tall is not a risk factor for heart disease! Body obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease. Franklin said, "The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate, and the more calories you can burn every day." Competitive bodybuilders, and those who are competitive bodybuilders at heart, have a low percentage of body fat relative to their total body weight.
This makes all the details of their muscle structure more visible, creating the illusion of even the weakest bodybuilders large quantity muscles. Low body fat (in the "athletic" range) does not lead to heart problems. Franklin adds that for typical healthy adults at low risk of heart disease, lifting weights is safe.
Who Shouldn't Do Regular Weight Lifting?
Franklin believes that people with unstable angina, uncontrolled arrhythmia and uncontrolled blood pressure. However, those who criticize bodybuilding or excessive muscle mass believe that these activities are harmful to the heart of healthy people or can become unhealthy over time.
According to the American Heart Association, the following risks for the development of heart disease include obesity, smoking, hypertension, high levels of “bad” cholesterol, hyperlipidemia (exceeding the level of fat in the blood), diabetes, constant mental stress, excessive consumption of fatty foods, hereditary predisposition and... . lack of physical activity.
Other risks for developing heart disease include a body mass index over 25, constant increased level blood sugar (prediabetes), insomnia, sleep duration at night 6 hours or less or 9 hours or more, apnea syndrome (sudden cessation of breathing during sleep). Does a bodybuilder or person with large muscle mass fit these criteria?
Large muscle mass does not lead to any of these risk conditions.
Men and women who work hard to increase muscle mass are very conscious about eating healthy. Although they do consider cheating with their food intake, the bulk of their diet remains healthy, so all their food is highly refined, with significant restrictions on white sugar, white flour products, saturated fats, trans fats and other ingredients harmful to health.
Regarding the idea that the heart is deformed by body weight when there is a lot of muscle mass, understand that the heart of such a person is well conditioned as a result of bodybuilding, as well as the heart exercises that accompany the entire bodybuilding lifestyle.
Bodybuilding and a healthy heart- Video
May 21st, 2014 , 10:00 am
Many people who decide to lose weight correctly, that is, with the help of fitness, often explain the fact that the scales have frozen by saying that muscles are heavier than fat. Allegedly, their weight is due to the fact that when they exercise, they replace fat with muscles that weigh more.
Is this really true? Let's figure it out.
After a month in the rocking chair, you begin to look arrogantly at the chickens that keep running to the scales.
You are not like that. You understand that weight loss and fat loss are two different things. Weight loss can occur not only due to fat loss, but also due to the loss of muscle mass, water, and feces.
You robotically repeat that you are “flooded” with PMS and milk, and “the scale arrow is not an indicator, because muscles are heavier than fat.”
Chill out, chickens. The scale arrow is an indicator even for me. Not to mention your flabby asses.
Yes, I really don’t like the question: “Lena, what is your weight?”
For this very reason:
Yes, we have all seen this picture, but only fools understood it this way: “If I go to the gym and my weight stays the same, this means that I am losing fat, and instead I am building muscle, the weight of which is equal to the weight of the lost fat.” .
Such a situation is impossible in principle.
Losing fat is always much easier and faster than gaining muscle mass. Muscles grow very slowly.
Fat also - especially at a certain stage - goes away slowly. And, nevertheless, fat loss and muscle gain are incomparable things in terms of speed. Muscle growth in both women and men always occurs slower than fat loss. In women it is twice as slow as in men.
A woman who is not new to the gym and who trains there conscientiously can gain about 50 grams of muscle mass per week. And this is an excellent indicator.
A healthy person, if he sets a goal to lose weight and does everything right, can easily lose from 500 grams to 1 kg of fat per week.
So if the needle on your scale stays the same for a long period of time (weeks 3-4), this does not mean that by training you are replacing fat tissue with muscle tissue, but that you are unable to lose weight. fat.
Hens, forget the statement that muscles are heavier than fat, and never try it on yourself. Don't embarrass yourself.
You have no idea how ridiculous it sounds coming out of your mouth, considering that fat loss happens in one way and only one way: when you burn more calories than you consume. With a calorie deficit, there can be no talk of any increase in muscle mass.
Exceptions:
1) Those who have just started losing weight. This is a matter of the first two weeks, not four or more.
2) Those who use steroids.
If you're working out and the weight isn't coming off, you're probably just eating too much. Even if you exercise a lot, you eat even more. That's why your weight doesn't move.
Do you want a beautiful body? Be smart. Use your head, and don’t replicate misinterpreted truths by flapping your wings.
If you are actively training, but you are unable to burn fat and the numbers on the scale remain motionless, as if all this time you have been serenely lying on the couch, do not be discouraged and read this material - we will tell you why this happens.
Any load, be it cardio or strength training, can promote muscle gain and loss excess fat, so the fact that the scales have frozen does not mean that all efforts are in vain. The thing is that muscles are more dense than fat. Thus, one kilogram of muscle is significantly less in volume than one kilogram of fat, but they have the same mass.
What is heavier - muscle or fat?
Have you ever heard the statement that a kilogram of muscle weighs more than one kilogram of fat? Here we should immediately make a reservation that in this case we are talking about comparing the mass of two bodies, and not about weight, as is commonly believed. Thus, the mass of the two bodies is identical, and it’s all a matter of volume, since one kilogram of fat takes up four times more space than muscle tissue. That is, you can look and feel thin even if your body weight remains the same. Alas, the same thing “works” in the opposite direction - you can look and feel plump, despite the fact that the scale arrow will remain motionless. This is especially typical for older people, since muscles tend to decrease in size with age, because the process of restoring damaged muscle cells is much slower than in youth. In addition, with age, a person, as a rule, begins to move less, and this, in turn, significantly affects the increase in fatty tissue in the body.
In any case, excess fat can be a factor contributing to the development of serious diseases such as stroke, coronary artery disease and diabetes. It is difficult to determine the optimal ratio of fat and muscle in the body for each person - for this it is necessary to conduct special research, since the final indicator will depend on the person’s lifestyle, and on the characteristics of his body, and on the sport in which he plays. However, insufficient body fat is also undesirable, since a lack of fat can cause serious damage to the body, including reproductive function in women. It should be remembered that the ability to lead an active lifestyle largely depends on understanding the fact: the body needs both muscle and fat.
Igor Zavyalov
Honored Trainer of Russia, specialist in the field of sports and space medicine, legendary doctor who works not only with athletes (he was a doctor and functional training coach for the Russian national basketball team, PBC CSKA, football Dynamo), but also with people from the list ForbesDo not forget that body weight consists not only of muscle and fat tissue - there are also bones, internal organs, liquid, glandular and nervous tissue. Therefore, I am against frequent weighing when it comes to determining the effectiveness of training and rational nutrition. Instead, use a measuring tape and your feelings - whether the clothes are becoming looser or, on the contrary, narrower. Yes, you can weigh the same at 50 years old as at 25, but only in youth did muscles prevail in these conditional 65 kilograms, and now fat prevailed, although the mass remained unchanged. And don't believe the claims that if you don't exercise, your muscles will turn into fat. No, muscles don't turn into fat, fat doesn't turn into muscle, bones don't turn into brain. Is it possible wooden house become stone? The same thing here - different materials, which cannot turn into each other in any way. If a person stops taking care of himself, fat mass naturally begins to predominate. Plus, with age, the body somehow gains fat mass and lose muscle - after 30 years, there are fewer muscle cells, metabolism slows down, and a person uses less energy. This is a natural mechanism, but not a death sentence. If you want to continue to be active, keep leading healthy image life and exercise, and the older you get, the more time you should devote to maintaining your physical fitness. You just need to do this consciously and under the guidance of a professional who can competently plan the load, taking into account your age.
Modern scales allow you to measure body composition and determine percentage muscle and fat mass. If you are not preparing for professional competitions, such scales will be quite enough to track not only muscle growth and fat burning, but also monitor fluid loss. This is important to consider to prevent dehydration. For example, many people wear special rubber suits for training, run for hours in them and then proudly say that they have lost three kilograms. Only they lost not fat, but water. Professional athletes even have this rule - they weigh themselves before the match and always after. This allows them to determine exactly how much fluid the body has lost. In order to restore water balance, they must drink water within two hours at the rate of 150% of lost body weight - they have “lost weight” by two kilograms, which means they need to drink three liters of water. If this is not done, the recovery process will take a long time and be less effective.
The average person can safely lose 500 grams of fat per week, or no more than two kilograms per month. Yes, you can lose weight faster, but it will no longer be safe, and you may experience a “reverse wave”, which is inevitable with sudden weight loss. Remember, the body will always take its toll. The main thing in this matter is to know your characteristics and tendencies and not go to extremes.
Yes, the numbers on the scale may remain stationary for a long time, but the ratio of muscle mass to fat mass will still change. So don’t give up swimming or daily workouts in the gym just because the scale arrow isn’t moving in the direction you want. Stop weighing yourself for a while and try to measure your results in other units, such as centimeters or the minutes you spend doing the plank.