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6 Reasons Your Muscles Are the Secret to Staying Young

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When most people think about anti-aging, they picture creams, supplements, or the latest medical breakthroughs.

But one of the most powerful tools for staying young is something you’re born with – your muscles. Everyone knows muscles are key for strength and appearance, but research shows they do far more than that. Muscles act like living medicine inside your body. Every time they contract, they send out chemical signals that influence your brain, heart, bones, and immune system. In fact, researchers now recognize that maintaining muscle may be one of the most effective ways to protect your health, preserve independence, and extend your life.

So – what exactly makes building muscle such a potent anti-aging secret?

Here are six important ways your muscles act like medicine:

1. Muscles Fight Inflammation

One of the hallmarks of aging is something scientists call “inflammaging” – chronic, low-grade inflammation that damages tissues and raises the risk of cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. But here’s what’s fascinating… When your muscles contract during exercise, they release anti-inflammatory chemicals known as myokines. One of the best studied is interleukin-6 (IL-6). Unlike the IL-6 produced by fat tissue, which fuels inflammation – muscle-derived IL-6 helps regulate the immune system and suppress harmful inflammatory signals.

This helps explain why U.S. studies, such as the long-running Alameda County Study, have consistently shown that physically active adults live longer and age with fewer health problems. In other words – every time you use your muscles – you’re helping your body reverse damaging inflammation.

2. Muscles Stabilize Blood Sugar

Muscle is the largest site of glucose disposal in your body. The more muscle you have – and the more you use it – the more efficiently your body processes sugar. Resistance training improves insulin sensitivity, which means your muscles can absorb glucose from the bloodstream more effectively.

A 2024 meta-analysis found that structured resistance training reduced HbA1c, a long-term marker of blood sugar control, by about half a percentage point – an effect comparable to some common diabetes drugs. For millions of Americans at risk for diabetes, maintaining and building muscle is one of the most powerful ways to keep blood sugar steady and prevent disease.

3. Muscles Strengthen Bones

Strong muscles don’t just move your body – they help to strengthen bone. Every time muscles contract against bone, they stimulate bone growth and increase bone density. This is one of the most effective natural defenses against osteoporosis, a disease that affects more than 10 million Americans and dramatically raises fracture risk.

As we age, fractures can mean the loss of independence. But by strengthening muscles through regular resistance training – you also strengthen the bones they attach to – creating a double layer of protection.

4. Muscles Protect Your Brain

Healthy muscles send protective signals to your brain. As previously mentioned – when you exercise and contract muscles – they release myokines. In addition to IL-6, myokines such as irisin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) stimulate the growth of new neurons, strengthen existing connections, and improve brain plasticity.

The benefits are measurable. Studies of older American adults have shown that maintaining muscle strength later in life is associated with sharper memory, slower cognitive decline, and reduced risk of dementia. Exercise also boosts endorphins, which elevate mood and help combat depression and anxiety. Keeping your muscles active is one of the most reliable ways to keep both your body and mind young.

5. Muscles Support Heart Health

We often think of walking or jogging as the best ways to support cardiovascular health. But research now shows that strength training deserves equal credit. Resistance exercise improves circulation, reduces arterial stiffness, and lowers blood pressure.

In a massive U.S. study of more than 116,000 adults – those who consistently met or exceeded physical activity guidelines – including strength training – had up to a 31 percent lower risk of death from any cause – and up to a 38 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. These findings echo results from the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which showed that just 30 to 60 minutes of strength training per week reduced risk of chronic disease and early death. When it comes to your heart, strong muscles really are medicine.

6. Muscles Extend Longevity

Perhaps the most compelling evidence for the concept of “muscles are medicine” is its impact on survival. Studies consistently show that muscle mass and strength are stronger predictors of longevity than body weight or BMI. One U.S. study of college alumni found that those who maintained higher activity levels in midlife had significantly lower risks of heart disease and lived longer lives.

Muscle also serves as a critical protein reserve. When illness, surgery, or trauma strikes – your body draws on muscle stores to support healing, immune function, and tissue repair. People with greater muscle mass not only live longer but also recover more quickly when health challenges arise. Stronger muscles simply mean greater resilience.

The Bottom Line

Your muscles do far more than help you look fit or lift heavy things. They fight inflammation, regulate blood sugar, strengthen bones, protect your brain, support your heart, and extend your life. Best of all, you don’t need hours in the gym to see these benefits. Just 30 to 60 minutes of strength training per week, combined with regular movement, can produce profound results.

But if pain or injury is holding you back, don’t ignore it. The longer you wait, the harder it can be to bounce back – and the more you miss out on this natural anti-aging tool. If back, knee, hip, neck, or shoulder pain is keeping you from building muscle, talk to a physical therapy specialist who can help you return safely. With the right guidance, you can overcome those barriers and put your muscles to work – as they are your best-kept secret to staying young.

Looking for help and local to Portsmouth NH? Consider speaking to one of my specialists by clicking HERE.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapy Specialist and Mechanical Pain Expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH, and writes for Seacoast Media Group. If local to Portsmouth, NH, and looking for help, request a FREE Discovery Visit with one of her Specialists by CLICKING HERE.

Back Surgery

Can you get rid of Back Pain with Exercise?

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With small group fitness, Pilates studios such as our own, and many gyms reopening again on June 1st, people are itching to get back into their exercise routines. In our last post, we talked about tips and considerations on things you can do to ensure your body is ready to go back, especially after weeks of quarantine.

But many folks I speak with have had back pain for years, long before quarantine. So many people have tried weekly massage, daily stretching and foam rolling, and every exercise under the sun — only to find that their back pain ALWAYS comes back.

Research has confirmed many times over that exercise is the best “treatment” for back pain.

While prescription medication, steroid injections, and even surgery may be more successful at getting your back pain gone quickly — a proper exercise routine beats these things out every time. Outcomes are either the same, or better, when you choose exercise over those procedures. It’s why in our business, we focus on empowering you through movement — instead of pills or procedures! If a long-term solution is what you’re looking for, and you want to end the merry-go-round of your back pain always returning, then proper exercise is the best route hands down.

Sounds simple, right? Why then, do four out of five people continue to suffer from debilitating back pain?

It’s because not all back pain is created equal, and neither is exercise. The tricky part is that for most back pain, any kind of movement is going to make you feel better. Our bodies are designed to move and not sit still. It’s why you wake up feeling stiff and painful, and better after you’ve moved around for about an hour. Movement brings blood flow to our muscles and joints, and exercise spreads pain-reducing endorphins throughout our body. But more often than not, the pain comes back the next day, or in come cases, feels worse two or three days later. And the frustrating part is that you never know exactly what you did — so you just rinse and repeat — hoping the next day it finally “works”.

Exercise DOES work to help your back pain, just like the research says, but it needs to be specific.

Skill and coordination also matter. One exercise can act like a miracle for one person’s back pain, while it aggravates another’s. I see this all the time in my office. The nuances come down to cues, tiny little tweaks, or sometimes you need a different exercise all together for your particular body.

Back pain is not cookie-cutter, and your exercise prescription shouldn’t be either. You don’t want to go on for years just managing your back pain when you could actually get rid of it entirely with the right movement strategy.

As you enter back into the world of fitness, take note of how your body and especially your back is feeling. The correct exercise routine is going to make you feel better, and STAY better. You’ll notice continued progress, and you won’t have to foam roll and stretch every single day to manage your back pain. The wrong exercise routine will make you feel worse, often several days or months later, and the worst part is you won’t be sure where it came from.

If this sounds familiar, or you find this back pain cycle starts happening to you when you return to the gym, feel free to give us a call. You can talk to a specialist for free and find out if your exercise routine is sufficient for your type of back pain.

Pilates Class at CJPT & Pilates

When Gyms Reopen — Will Your Body be Ready?

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The state of New Hampshire is slowly reopening, and we are so excited that small-group fitness classes can return to gyms and studios on June 1st! While many businesses, including ours, have adapted by offering online services — most clients we speak with can’t wait to get back in the studio again. 

The big question is — will your body be ready?

If you’ve stuck with your strength and mobility routine and have been working out regularly from home, then you have a better chance than most to bounce right back.

But not everyone has taken advantage of online virtual exercise services, and many I speak with have opted to do nothing and just wait. Many have resorted to more frequent walking, running, or biking as a substitute for their usual exercise routines.

Any physical activity is better than no physical activity, but daily cardio is not the same as strength training. It’s just not going to be enough to get you by if your plan is to jump right back into the same pre-Covid workout routine that you left behind.

It takes months to gain appreciable muscle strength and improve mobility… but it only takes two to three weeks to lose it all.

The biggest mistake that I expect to see once gyms and even our own Pilates studio reopens is that people will assume their body is ready to pick back up exactly where it left off. And within about two to three weeks of that, injuries WILL start to happen.

What can you do?

If you’re not in any pain, but all you’ve been doing is cardio, then it’s a good idea to start incorporating strength and mobility back into your routine now. Your body will be much happier when it gets back into the gym or studio, and you’ll be less likely to experience some kind of injury. My best recommendation is to utilize the online services that your favorite gym or studio already offers — or find a facility that is offering them. In our studio, for example, we have online virtual Pilates classes daily. We guide you through the movements using precise cueing, and watch you while you’re moving. This allows us to give you in the moment corrections and make sure that you’re getting the most out of your workout. While it’s not exactly the same as your instructor being right there next to you, it’s the next best thing.

If you’re already experiencing pain or stiffness, perhaps because you’ve been walking or running more than you’re used to, you’ll want to talk to a movement specialist like us before you jump back into your previous exercise routine.

We know how to screen your muscles and joints properly, and can guide you toward not only getting rid of your pain, but we will also ensure that you’re set up to thrive in your workouts once we’re allowed to reopen again. Another big misconception I see is that people assume their pain will just go away once they start exercising again. While that may be true for some, most of the time it goes the other way, and your pain either gets worse or manifests itself somewhere else because your body starts to compensate for the problem.

I spoke with a gentleman earlier this week who was suffering from knee pain and stiffness because he went from walking 2-3 miles per week to walking 2-3 miles per DAY with his wife. He wants to get back on the golf course, and due to the restrictions on using golf carts, more walking is going to be necessary. His knee won’t be able to handle that in its current state, plus it will get worse if he pushes it. So I’m excited that he took us up on our offer to talk for free about what was going on with his knee. Now we’re going to get him the help he needs!

If you have any questions about pain that you might be experiencing, or want to ask about getting into a Pilates class this June, give us a call!

We are still offering FREE Zoom or in-person consultations to help people figure out what to do about their pain while they are stuck at home or slowly re-entering the world.