Build muscle to stay healthy.

Building strength and muscular mass is about functional health and better quality of life. Which is one of the main reasons why muscles are so important to the human body. The aesthetics is often a happy bonus. The type of training required to build strength and improve muscle composition is so important that we make it the backbone of every workout at Epoch Fitness. 

How to build muscle mass and strength.

Building muscle and strength training does not mean spending all your time in the gym. The principles of strength training are pretty simple. In order to build muscle and strength you need to challenge that muscle. This is done using a variety of exercises performed for a certain number of times a few times a week. As simple as it sounds THAT IS IT. Yes, you can take it further as there are endless methods and variations to working out. But the basics are simple and more importantly far more relevant to those who have little time and have more pressing commitments outside the gym. Advantages to being muscular are listed below. Here are 10 reasons why everyone, without exception should build muscle and strength.

10 reasons why everyone should workout to build strength and muscle.

Here are 10 reasons why working to maintain and build muscle is vital for long term health and wellbeing.

1. Increased metabolism

Good metabolism is essential to preventing weight gain, staying healthy and improving body composition. Nothing is more effective to keeping your metabolism revved up as muscle. While we naturally develop optimum amount of muscle mass by the time we hit puberty it tends to fluctuate depending on our activity levels, lifestyle and age. Strength training exercises such as push ups, squats and rows help to increase and maintain muscle mass and improve your metabolic rate. And no Epoch Fitness workout is complete without these.

2. To be more active with friends and family.

Yes, you have to be active to stay active. Building strength and muscle means that you are able to maintain energy and a good level of daily activity without tiring. Be it walking, playing with you kids or staying active with your friends, a good level of muscular strength and mass is essential.

3. Better Posture

Don’t worry about looking good in your one piece. Being able to sit at your desk or stand without your back or neck hurting is what it’s all about. Strong body musculature and body awareness support your posture and reduce fatigue and discomfort that daily grind places on our posture. Build muscle and become a posture champion.

4. Functional fitness

Functional fitness is ability to take on anything that life throws at you. Sitting at a desk, standing, carrying shopping, climbing stairs and even walking requires muscle strength, mass, flexibility and mobility. Calisthenics is a great way to maintain all the essential elements of functional fitness and is the largest component of all workouts at Epoch Fitness.

5. Ageing like a champion.

Maintaining and building muscle mass means we stay strong and active as we age. This contributes to functional fitness (see above), stronger bones, reduced risks and symptoms of conditions such as osteoporosis and arthritis, fewer falls and fractures. Result? Better quality of life at an age when we have the time to enjoy it most. Do 10 squats right now!

6. Prevent muscle loss

Muscle mass can reduce for many reasons. Lifestyle, natural biological processes, certain medical conditions can contribute to loss of muscle mass. Strength training is an antidote that helps to prevent muscle loss by building and maintaining muscle mass.

7. Improved fitness.

Strength training is a great way to improve your fitness. Not just muscular strength and endurance but also your cardiovascular strength. While strength training may not necessarily make you a better runner, when done correctly it improves lung capacity and strength of you heart muscle. Strength training such as circuit training with minimal rests between exercises challenges your metabolism to greater degree than conventional bodybuilding workouts making you both strong, fit and healthy. Boom! Not sure where to start check out our Dynamic Reformer Pilates or Epoch HiiT sessions.

9. Mental health and well-being

Strength training, exercise and just more movement in general has long been shown to improve mood and wellbeing. Strength training is often a powerful way to improve confidence and reduce symptoms of depression. Mental health or lack of it is an important issue that effects most people at some stage of their life. Exercise and increased physical activity should be THE first step before reaching for pharmaceutical alternatives.

10. Look good naked.

Look good naked.

How can Epoch Fitness hep you build strength and muscle.

At Epoch Fitness we structure our workouts to bring all the benefits of strength training and muscle building to our clients in the most efficient way possible. We use compound exercise to engage as many muscle groups as possible. Our Dynamic Reformer Pilates sessions combine athletic conditioning, flexibility and reformer Pilates. Our HiiT sessions layer more intensive cardiovascular intervals for those who want to further challenge their levels of fitness.

With healthy wishes,

Dmitri and the team.