Whenever overweight, FFMI, body fator even more generally speaking of health issues, eventually the language comes to the muscles or the muscle mass. As a matter, of course, we mention muscles or muscle building, but very few people know what the muscles are and what they are used for. The name ?? muscle ?? comes from Latin, for example, and simply means “little mouse”. The background of this trivialization is the appearance of a tense muscle under the skin that resembles a little mouse. In the case of muscles, doctors speak of an organ system that runs through the entire human body. A distinction is made between smooth and striated muscles, on the other hand, there are differences between the skeletal and heart muscles.

What are muscles and muscle mass made of?

Put simply, muscles consist of muscle tissue and this, in turn, consists of muscle cells or muscle fibers. However, if you go to “medias res”, a complex system of different cytological (cell biological) structures opens up, some of which are fundamentally different from other cells in the body. In addition, individual muscle types differ greatly from each other, with skeletal muscles mostly in the focus when it comes to muscle mass. These are the ones who can be trained and who can be specifically addressed.

Of course, there are also other ways of differentiating muscles. An example is an anatomical division into circular muscles, hollow muscles, feather-shaped, multi-headed and spindle-shaped muscles. Finally, muscles can also be broken down according to their function and muscle fiber types.

Which muscles are responsible for FFMI and muscle building?

If you simply want to deal with muscle building and want to increase your percentage of fat-free mass (FFM), you are dealing with the skeletal muscles. There are 656 muscles in the human body, which makeup around 40 percent of the body weight in men and around 32 percent in women. In addition to the nervous system, the muscles are the main energy consumers in the body and therefore extremely receptive to targeted training. Statistics show that targeted exercises can increase muscle mass in men up to 57 percent, while 43 percent are still possible in women. Compared to the normal values ​​of an untrained person, there is plenty of room for improvement.

Which muscles are particularly well known?

Of course, not all of the 656 muscles in the human body can be trained equally well. In addition, size and visibility are very different. The largest back muscle in terms of area is the large back muscle (latissimus dorsi muscle), while the sartorius or tailor muscle ?? is the longest muscle in the front thigh and is responsible, among other things, for the flexion of the hip and knee joint.

Surprisingly, the chewing muscle, also known as the masseter muscle, is the strongest muscle in humans and yet does not appear in any muscle training plan. Even the most active muscles, namely the eye muscles, cannot be trained in any gym.

Which muscles can be trained?

To build more muscle, only part of the muscles are trained. Basically, muscle groups other than biceps, triceps, and Co. can certainly be trained, but building more muscle mass is always about their visibility and thus aesthetic aspects. The muscles are trained in a concentric manner, ie each muscle is constantly loaded over almost the entire range of motion and the exercises are repeated regularly.

The arms and pectoral muscles, as well as the deltoid or delta muscle, are of course interesting for muscle training. Furthermore, the back muscles, as well as the muscles in the legs, can also be specifically trained to achieve a harmonious overall picture.