There's nothing more striking than well-defined muscle. The firm bulge of biceps, the ropey thickness of quads, the ravishing ripples of six-pack abs. Few things compare to the beauty of lean muscle. In fact, I’m willing to overlook certain character flaws (kleptomania, bizarre fetishes, or – god, forbid – an aversion to hockey) in exchange for a ripped physique.
Not only
is muscle beautiful, it’s also delicious. You may not give it much thought, but
each time you bite into a juicy burger, feast on a platter of wings, or tear
into a pile of chops, you’re ingesting the muscle of some critter, be it beef, bird,
or swine. Let’s face it, muscle rocks.
So to pay homage to the magnificence of muscle, let’s explore these wondrous tissues and the
many roles they play in our bodies.
Were we
to inventory the 600-plus muscles that make up the human body, it would take
the better part of the day. That’s because muscles come in an array of forms and
sport tongue-twisting names based on their characteristics. Some are named for
their size, such as the largest in the body, the gluteus maximus, which you are
probably sitting on. Some are named for their shape, like the deltoid, because of its triangular
silhouette. And some derive their name from the direction in which they run, like the beautiful rectus
abdominus that extends vertically along the belly, forming those lovely little
cans within the six pack.
Just as
skeletal muscles move our skeletons, smooth muscle, otherwise known as visceral
muscle, also plays a role in movement, but on a much finer scale. The blood
coursing through our vessels, the food moving through our digestive tract, the
air entering our lungs – each movement is dictated by our brain, coordinated
through our nervous system, and carried out involuntarily via these rarely
contemplated, seldom seen muscles. Smooth muscles lack striations and are
relatively weak. But although skeletal muscles get all the attention, smooth
muscles are the true “movers and shakers” of our body systems. They deserve a
bit more respect.
Specialized cells within the heart generate electricity, causing the cardiac muscle to contract. Cardiac muscle cells are arranged so that they overlap, forming a continuous web through which the electrochemical signals can pass. This causes the muscle to contract in a wave, drawing blood in, pushing blood out. And it’s this beautifully synchronous motion that produces the apex of all life sounds: the heartbeat. Your heart will beat on average one hundred thousand times per day, thirty-five million times per year, and more than two and a half billion times during your lifetime (depending on your longevity, of course). That’s a lot of pumping, which explains why a heart can wear out and why it’s so important to keep it healthy.
The muscles in your body make up about half your overall weight. And because they are denser than fat, a fit individual can outweigh his unfit counterpart (and look a whole lot better doing it). And for those of you who have recently fallen out of the habit of working out, take heart: it takes twice as long to lose muscle as it does to gain it, so get up and get lifting! Muscles are fast learners with great memories.
Although
our skeletons form the scaffolding on which our body systems are built, it’s
the muscles that bring our skeletons to life. Muscles move us, sustain us, and
enable us to express ourselves in numerous ways, from simple gestures (a touch,
a wink, a smile) to wondrous physical feats (walking, running, and lifting). So
treat your muscles as you do your favorite pet: nurture them, nourish them, and
give them plenty of exercise. They’ll repay you with a lifetime of
unconditional love.
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