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Maintaining muscle mass is relatively easy, but building it is hard work. It takes a lot of energy to build muscle, so the total intake of nutrients must be increased. To build muscle, you must work the muscles hard enough to cause your body to believe it must make them bigger and stronger. However, to maintain muscle, all you have to do is exercise the muscles to mild exhaustion.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Maintaining muscle | Easy |
| Building muscle | Hard |
| Effort required to maintain muscle | Modest effort on a regular basis |
| Effort required to build muscle | Gut-busting workouts |
| Calories required to maintain muscle | 20-25 nutrient-rich calories per pound of body weight |
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What You'll Learn
Building muscle takes a lot of energy
To build muscle, you must work your muscles hard enough to cause your body to believe it must make them bigger and stronger. This means attacking the muscles with gut-busting workouts.
The body must get lots of rest, especially sound sleep, because that's when peak protein synthesis occurs. You also need to increase your total intake of nutrients. 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.
Muscle is high-maintenance tissue, which means it requires a lot of energy to sustain it. Muscle makes up approximately 40% of the body's total mass, so it largely determines how many calories you burn each day. Those with more muscle mass burn more calories.
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.
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Building muscle requires a lot of hard work
On the other hand, maintaining muscle mass is easy and only requires modest effort on a regular basis. All you have to do is exercise the muscles to mild exhaustion. This can be achieved through a training program focused on maintenance, which can look different from one for bodybuilding or strict weight loss.
The main distinction between building and maintaining muscle mass is determined by how hard you work. Building muscle requires a monumental effort, while maintaining muscle can be achieved with less intense workouts.
It's important to note that muscle is high-maintenance tissue, which means it requires a lot of energy to sustain it. Muscle makes up approximately 40 percent of the body’s total mass, so it largely determines how many calories you burn each day. Those with more muscle mass burn more calories. The body will reduce muscle mass if it perceives that the muscles are not being used enough.
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Maintaining muscle mass is easy
The main distinction between building and maintaining muscle mass is determined by how hard you work. For maintenance, all you have to do is exercise the muscles to mild exhaustion. When building muscle, on the other hand, you must work the muscles hard enough to cause your body to believe it must make them bigger and stronger.
Muscle is high-maintenance tissue, which means it requires a lot of energy to sustain it. In fact, since muscle makes up approximately 40% 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.
A training program focused on maintenance can look different from one for bodybuilding or strict weight loss.
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Modest effort is required to maintain muscle mass
Maintaining muscle mass is easy compared to building it, which requires a lot of hard work. To maintain muscle mass, all you need to do is exercise the muscles to mild exhaustion. This requires modest effort on a regular basis to keep most of your muscle mass intact, even into old age.
When building muscle, you must work the muscles hard enough to cause your body to believe it must make them bigger and stronger. This requires a lot of energy, and so the total intake of nutrients must be increased. 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.
The body must also get lots of rest, and especially sound sleep, because that’s the time for peak protein synthesis. A training program focused on maintenance can look different than one for bodybuilding or strict weight loss.
In general, muscle is high-maintenance tissue, which means it requires a lot of energy to sustain it. Muscle makes up approximately 40 percent of the body’s total mass, so it determines how many calories you burn each day. Those with more muscle mass burn more calories.
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The body must get lots of rest
Maintaining muscle mass is easy, but building it is hard work. To maintain muscle, you need to exercise the muscles to mild exhaustion. When building muscle, you need to work the muscles hard enough to cause your body to believe it must make them bigger and stronger.
In addition to rest, maintaining muscle mass requires a modest effort on a regular basis. This can include a training program focused on maintenance, which may look different from a program aimed at building muscle or strict weight loss.
Nutrition also plays a role in muscle maintenance. As muscle is high-maintenance tissue, requiring a lot of energy to sustain it, it's important to consume enough nutrient-rich calories. Approximately 20-25 nutrient-rich calories (kcals) per pound of body weight are needed. These nutrient-rich calories should come from healthy sources such as lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats, rather than “hollow” calories from soft drinks, chips, and treats.
Overall, maintaining muscle mass is relatively easy and can be achieved through a combination of regular exercise, adequate rest, and a balanced diet.
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Frequently asked questions
Maintaining muscle mass is easy, but building it is hard work.
You need to exercise the muscles to mild exhaustion.
Building muscle requires a lot of energy and a high intake of nutrients, whereas maintaining muscle only requires modest effort on a regular basis.
You need approximately 20-25 nutrient-rich calories (kcals) per pound of body weight.
