Muscle is Medicine
- Roberto Folleri
- Nov 22, 2024
- 7 min read
Prioritizing muscle strength and mass isn’t just about physical fitness; it’s a key factor in living longer and maintaining a higher quality of life.
Do you ever wonder why some people seem to age like fine wine while others feel like they’re falling apart? Science is clear: movement is medicine. Our bodies were made to move—it’s how we’re built, how we stay healthy, and how we age gracefully. But here’s the catch: if you don’t use it, you lose it.
“Move it or lose it” isn’t just a catchy phrase; it’s a biological truth. When you stop moving, your muscles shrink, your joints stiffen, your energy plummets, and even your brain slows down. On the flip side, when you move, you thrive. As Dr. Vonda Wright says, “Motion is lotion”—every stretch, step, and lift keeps your body lubricated, your blood pumping, and your mind sharp.
And it’s not just about staying flexible or keeping your bones strong. Movement is a powerhouse for your metabolism. Regular physical activity can help prevent or reverse metabolic syndrome—a cluster of conditions like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess belly fat, and abnormal cholesterol levels that set you up for heart disease and diabetes. Exercise keeps your insulin levels in check, your fat cells in balance, and your energy systems firing on all cylinders.
But here’s where it gets really cool: movement doesn’t just work your muscles—it works your brain too. When the body moves, the brain grooves. Whether you’re taking a brisk walk or dancing like nobody’s watching, movement stimulates neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to adapt and grow. It boosts your memory, sharpens your focus, and helps you feel mentally clear.
So, it’s not about punishing workouts or squeezing into skinny jeans. It’s about investing in your body, your mind, and your future. Movement is your secret weapon to feeling alive, staying healthy, and aging like a rockstar. Let’s dive into why and how to move smarter—not harder—for a long, vibrant life.
A Natural Born Mover: The Evolutionary Perspective
In his book Exercised, Harvard evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman reminds us that our ancestors didn’t "exercise" as we know it today. They didn’t hit the gym, count reps, or sign up for marathons. Movement was simply part of survival—hunting, gathering, climbing, running, and adapting to ever-changing environments. Exercise, as we understand it, is a luxury of modern life, a workaround for filling the movement void left by sedentary lifestyles.
This idea is echoed by experts like Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, who advocates for “muscle-centric medicine,” emphasizing that maintaining muscle mass through consistent, varied movement is crucial not only for longevity but also for metabolic health.
Similarly, Dr. Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in aging, emphasizes that strength, mobility, and agility are key predictors of aging well. According to Wright, "Motion is lotion for your joints and your life," highlighting that consistent activity is the foundation for staying mobile and independent.
Lieberman, Lyon, and Wright all converge on a fundamental truth: our bodies are designed to adapt to movement challenges. Whether it’s lifting, walking, or balancing, our muscles, bones, and brains are wired for dynamic, varied activity. When we don’t move enough—or don’t move in diverse ways—we lose our evolutionary edge, and it shows in our physical and mental health.
Shifting from Muscle to Myofascia: Rethinking How We Train
For years, we’ve been told to focus on our muscles—strengthen them, stretch them, build them. But here’s the thing: muscles don’t work alone. They’re part of an intricate, interconnected system called the myofascial network. If we want to move better, feel better, and age better, it’s time to shift our perspective from muscles to myofascia.
Fascia, the connective tissue surrounding every muscle, bone, organ, and nerve, is what ties our bodies together into one cohesive, functional unit. When you move, your fascia distributes the load, transmits force, and keeps everything coordinated. Ignoring this vital system is like trying to tune a guitar by adjusting just one string—you miss the bigger picture.
We’ll highlight a few key characteristics of fascia that are crucial for adapting your training and movement practices to its natural role. By understanding fascia’s unique properties, you can enhance not just your performance but also your overall physical resilience and health.
Think about Fascia as your body’s “spiderweb” that helps transmit force, distribute loads, and coordinate movement.
Viscoelasticity and Tensegrity: Keys to Efficient Movement
Fascia, the connective tissue network of the body, operates on two remarkable principles: viscoelasticity and tensegrity. Viscoelasticity refers to fascia’s ability to behave like a spring—storing and releasing energy while adapting to varying levels of tension. This property helps distribute forces during movement, ensuring that stress is spread across the body rather than concentrated in one area, reducing the risk of injury. For example, when you run or jump, the fascia absorbs impact and releases energy efficiently, enhancing both coordination and power while supporting liquid circulation, including lymph flow, which is vital for cellular health.
Tensegrity, on the other hand, describes how the body maintains structural integrity through a balance of tension (from fascia and muscles) and compression (from bones). Think of it like a tent supported by its cables: small adjustments to one part of the system ripple through the entire structure. This interconnectedness enables efficient movement and highlights why imbalances, such as tightness or restrictions in one area, can lead to dysfunction or pain elsewhere.
To optimize these properties, training should focus on dynamic, multi-directional movements that stimulate elasticity and tension balance. Activities like yoga, Qi Gong, ballistic stretching, or resistance exercises designed to engage the fascia ensure your body moves fluidly, adapts efficiently, and remains resilient as you age.
Dynamic, ballistic, and oscillatory movements (like bouncing or quick stretches) stimulate the elastic aspect of fascia, keeping it springy and responsive. Foam rolling and vibrational exercises help hydrate the tissue, improving its fluidity and mobility. Balance exercises, meanwhile, challenge the fascia to support coordination and fine-tune force transmission.
"Fascia is the organ of form. It provides structure and shape to the body while transmitting forces between muscles and bones during movement." Dr Carla Stecco.
"Fascia is the glue that holds us together, the fabric that connects muscle to muscle, and bone to bone, creating functional movement chains." Thomas W. Myers.
Why This Matters for Longevity
Healthy fascia supports more than movement—it plays a key role in:
Loading and force distribution: Fascia helps evenly spread out the impact of movement, reducing strain on joints and muscles.
Coordination and balance: By connecting different parts of the body, fascia helps transmit signals for smooth, coordinated motion.
Liquid circulation: Properly functioning fascia promotes the flow of blood, lymph, and other fluids, which is essential for cellular health and immunity. The lymphatic system, in particular, relies on movement to “pump” fluids through your body, clearing waste and boosting your defenses.
When your fascia is neglected, it becomes stiff, dehydrated, and prone to microtears, which can lead to pain, injury, and poor mobility. Training that targets the fascia keeps your body resilient and ready to adapt, just as nature intended.
Why Varied Movement is Ground Zero for Health
Physical activity is not just about strength or endurance; it’s also about agility, balance, coordination, and adaptability. These “forgotten” skills are the secret sauce to a long and high-quality life. Think about it:
Strength helps you carry groceries or climb stairs without strain.
Endurance keeps your heart healthy and your energy levels high.
Coordination and agility prevent falls, one of the leading causes of disability as we age.
Fascial health ensures smooth movement, force distribution, and optimal fluid circulation.
Why Dancing Is the Ultimate All-Rounder
If you’re looking for an activity that ticks all the boxes, let me introduce you to dancing. Yes, dancing! It’s not just fun—it’s a workout for your body, brain, and soul.
Physically, dancing challenges your strength, endurance, and flexibility.
Cognitively, it sharpens your memory, coordination, and reaction time.
Emotionally, it’s a mood booster, a stress reliever, and a form of self-expression.
Socially, it connects you to others—a crucial factor for mental health and longevity.
But dancing isn’t just a modern hobby—it’s one of the oldest forms of human expression. Long before we had language, we danced. It was a way to tell stories, express emotions, and bond as a community. In many cultures, dance was—and still is—central to rituals of celebration, healing, and even mourning.
And it’s not just humans who use dance to communicate. In the animal kingdom, many species perform dance-like rituals to attract mates or establish dominance. Think of a peacock displaying its feathers or birds performing synchronized courtship routines. These movements, rich with rhythm and purpose, are a universal language—one that transcends words.
When you dance, you’re tapping into this ancient, instinctive form of communication. You’re moving not just for fitness but for joy, connection, and self-expression. Whether it’s a traditional folk dance, salsa, tango, or even freestyle in your living room, dancing mirrors the natural, you’re participating in something deeply rooted in our evolutionary and cultural history and movement patterns we evolved for.
Making Movement Feel Natural Again
We’ve strayed far from our evolutionary roots, and for many, “exercise” feels like a chore. But movement shouldn’t be something you dread—it should feel as natural and necessary as eating or sleeping. Here’s how to get started:
Find what you love: Experiment with activities until you discover what lights you up—be it dancing, hiking, or even playing with your kids.
Mix it up: Include strength, coordination, endurance, and fascia-friendly exercises in your routine.
Make it social: Join a class or group to add accountability and connection.
Reconnect with nature: Walk barefoot on grass, climb a hill, or swim in a lake. Moving in natural environments restores not just your body but also your mind.
Move Like Your Life Depends on It (Because It Does)
Longevity isn’t just about adding years to your life—it’s about adding life to your years. Movement is the bridge between vitality and decay. When you move regularly, joyfully, and in varied ways, you unlock the potential of your psycho-physical system to thrive, reconnecting with nature and the environment around you.
So, let’s stop thinking of exercise as a punishment for eating cake or a way to fit into skinny jeans. Instead, let’s view it as a gift we give ourselves—a celebration of what our bodies can do. Start small, stay consistent, and remember: movement isn’t just something you do—it’s who you are.
Comments