Does More Muscle Improve Or Harm Longevity?

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Today’s Health Upgrade

• The appetizer that helps you eat less

• Don’t ignore this pre-workout

• Does muscle predict longevity?

Fact Or Fiction
The Appetizer That Helps You Eat Fewer Calories

“I’ve heard that salads can help you eat fewer calories. But wouldn’t that just mean you eat more food? -Rebecca

If you struggle to control your hunger at lunch or dinner, you might want to consider adding an appetizer. Because if you know what to eat first, it can help you eat less. 

Researchers discovered that eating a low-calorie salad before your main course can help you eat less.

In this situation, when you have your greens matters most.

Researchers explored how eating salad at different times of a meal affects total calorie consumption. Some ate salad before, others ate salad with the meal, and some had no salad at all. In each condition, the participants were allowed to eat as much pasta as they wanted.

When participants had salad before the meal, they consumed 11 percent fewer calories during the entire meal. And it also led to a 23 percent increase in vegetable consumption. 

Salad isn’t magic, but if your goal is to feel full and eat less, maximizing the amount of low-calorie-dense foods like vegetables at the start of your meal can help you naturally reduce how much you eat next. The researchers believe that this strategy works by increasing satiety and displacing higher-calorie foods, especially when the salad is consumed before the main dish and in a larger quantity.

If overeating is a battle, before your next big meal, serve yourself a generous salad (about 2.5 to 3 cups) packed with low-energy-density veggies like lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Skip high-calorie dressings and cheese. Eating this first may help you feel fuller and eat less, without ever counting a single calorie.

Together With Momentous
The Best Pre-Workout You’re Probably Ignoring

Most people look for the next supplement, energy drink, or special ingredient to power their workouts. But what if the biggest performance booster is something you do the night before?

A review of 77 studies found that sleep may be the most effective pre-workout strategy for enhancing strength, endurance, and fat loss.

When people got less than 6 hours of sleep, performance dropped across the board: Skill acquisition suffered by 21 percent, and strength, endurance, power, and overall performance decreased.

And it wasn’t just about what happens during the workout. Prior research has found that individuals who consistently sleep less than 5 hours per night weigh an average of 5 pounds more than those who sleep 7 hours or more.

To improve your sleep quality (and get more out of your training), try these proven methods:

• Stop eating 2–3 hours before bed to avoid digestion disruption

• Get early morning sunlight to reset your circadian rhythm

• Stick to a consistent bedtime even on weekends

And if you need help winding down, we don’t recommend melatonin for most people. A better option? The Sleep Pack from Momentous. It combines three research-backed ingredients to help you relax, fall asleep faster, and stay asleep longer—without the groggy side effects.

Every Momentous product is third-party tested for quality and purity and trusted by elite athletes and even the U.S. military. And right now, as an APC reader, you get up to 35% off any subscription—including the Sleep Pack—by using the code PUMPCLUB at checkout. (Or, enjoy 14% off any individual purchase.)

Longevity
Does More Muscle = A Longer Life?

Most people obsess about weight and BMI. But when it comes to living longer, the number on the scale isn’t all that matters. 

Older adults with more muscle mass have up to a 26 percent lower risk of death—independent of obesity, blood sugar issues, or cardiovascular risk.

Scientists analyzed data from nearly 4,000 older adults and created a mass mass index based on a muscle-to-height ratio, and tracked deaths over 16 years. The researchers controlled for other health factors like smoking, cancer, waist-to-hip ratio, cardiovascular markers, glucose metabolism, and kidney function.

They divided people into four quartiles, giving a range for different levels of muscle mass. Those in the top two quartiles had better longevity than those in the lower two quartiles, meaning that muscle is protective, but that there’s likely a threshold after which more muscle doesn’t necessarily mean better survival.

Even after adjusting for traditional risk factors like diabetes, cholesterol, and blood pressure, muscle mass remained an independent predictor of survival. Why? The researchers believe muscle is a sign of better cardiorespiratory fitness, greater resilience during illness (muscle as a protein reserve), and an indication of a lifetime of healthier behaviors that build and maintain strength.

But if that wasn’t enough, a separate analysis reviewed 49 prospective studies that tracked over 878,000 people for up to 32 years. Those with less muscle had a 36 percent higher risk of dying from any cause, and were more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, and respiratory illness.

The next time you want to skip the gym, remember that muscle is more than just strength or vanity—it’s a biomarker for survival. And unlike your genetics, it’s something you can build.

To win the long game, aim for at least two to three resistance training workouts per week, using weights, resistance bands, or bodyweight. Don’t worry about where you start. Focus on progressive overload—gradually increasing the weight or number of repetitions.

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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell