What is it?
Muscle mass refers to the set of muscles and these are formed by fibers that have the characteristic of contracting and stretching, is part of the muscular system in the human body and is a component of the muscular system, whose cellular composition is largely by filamentous proteins. There are three types of muscles in the body, skeletal striatum, cardiac striatum and smooth. Due to its great specificity, the components of muscle cells are given different denominations in which the cytosol is sarcoplasma, the cell membrane is the sarcolema and the endoplasmic reticulum is the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
What’s muscle mass for?
Among the functions that the muscle performs, those of support, stability, movement, contraction and energy/force production by transforming chemical energy into mechanics are predominant. Recent studies also illustrate the endocrine function of the muscle in which the production and release of substances such as prostaglandins and mycins occurs, the latter, released in the post-exercise period that acts on signaling the process of muscle hypertrophy
How does muscle mass work?
The muscle is formed by thousands of organized muscle fibers that form the bundles and that are covered by the epimisium, the perimysium is composed of septa of connective tissue that divides the muscle bundles and still between the fibers there is a thin layer of connective tissue called endomysium that irrigates the muscle through its blood capillaries. In addition to this cellular organization, the muscle is controlled by the nervous system and regulated by some nutrients, such as calcium, an indispensable mineral for the process of muscle contraction, a process that generates energy expenditure.
When do you need to supplement?
With regard to muscle supplementation, whey protein and creatine are the two most widely used supplements whose level of scientific evidence is extremely high to support their use. In this sense, for maintenance, muscle mass gain and also strength, supplementation of these components can be indicated, in addition to the association with regular strength training.
Reference
McGlory, C., van Vliet, S., Stokes, T., Mittendorfer, B., & Phillips, S. M. (2019). The impact of exercise and nutrition on the regulation of skeletal muscle mass. The Journal of physiology
, 597
(5), 1251–1258. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP275443
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