Metabolic Conditions are on the rise and appear to be more prevalent in countries with a higher level of income – which is not great for us here in “The Lucky Country”. Metabolic conditions are interlinked with cardiovascular disease and include, but are not limited to, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, overweight/obesity, dyslipidemia (abnormal blood lipid levels), obstructive sleep apnea, and polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Muscle mass is increased or maintained through resistance training, such as exercising with weights, resistance bands, or even our own body weight. Research shows that resistance training by itself is highly beneficial. Even when we talk about improving cardiovascular health (which we normally associate with aerobic exercise such as going for a run), resistance training has shown to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease incidence, and death caused by cardiovascular disease. If we complete resistance training in a manner to purposefully increase our muscle size (whether we visually notice any change or not), our metabolic health can reap the benefits.
How does this work? Increased lean muscle mass increases our body’s Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). This means that even at rest, we burn more energy. I use the following analogy to try to explain this:
Imagine our muscles are a city of towering skyscrapers. Every time we complete some resistance training it is like a storm has hit the city. Just as a city would deploy repair crews to restore and fortify its tallest buildings after being damaged, our bodies activate the muscles’ satellite cells, anabolic signaling pathways, and broader repair and adaptation systems to repair and strengthen muscles after resistance training. These biological ‘repair crews’ don’t just fix the damage—they rebuild the muscle stronger and more resilient to future stressors.
How does this improve metabolic health?
Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, even when you’re not moving. For every 1kg of muscle gained, you burn approximately 13–20 extra calories per day at rest—small individually, but significant cumulatively. This higher RMR helps create a caloric deficit, which supports fat loss and healthy body composition. You could think of this as the city needing to pay the repair workers, and the body’s fat stores are the currency of choice! This means that the higher RMR contributes to more fat burning, especially when combined with a balanced diet.
Resistance training itself increases GLUT4 transporters in muscle cells, allowing more glucose to be taken up from the blood. This reduces blood glucose spikes and helps prevent/manage type 2 diabetes. Muscle acts like a sponge for glucose – the more muscle you have, the more glucose you can store and use!
Resistance training has also been shown to modestly increase HDL (the GOOD) cholesterol and improve the overall lipid profile. It also lowers triglycerides and may reduce small, dense LDL particles, which are more atherogenic. Aerobic exercise has a stronger effect on HDL, but resistance training still contributes to favourable lipid changes, especially when combined with fat loss.