Strength training may help you achieve your dream physique, but visible abs and striated quads are just the beginning. “The benefits of building muscle go way beyond aesthetics,” says physical therapist and strength coach Grayson Wickham, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., founder of digital movement platform Movement Vault. Muscle mass supports almost every system in the body, helping boost metabolism and balance blood sugar, keep you steady on your feet, and even support hormone health.
Ahead, a closer look at the health benefits of building muscle. Your reflection isn’t even the half of it!
- ABOUT OUR EXPERTS: Grayson Wickham, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., is a physical therapist, strength coach, and founder of digital movement platform Movement Vault. Jake Merges, C.S.C.S., is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and personal trainer with PRO Club in Seattle. Jason Machowsky, R.D., C.S.C.S., is an exercise physiologist and board-certified sports dietitian.
1. Improved Body Composition
It’s no coincidence that you look toned after consistent strength training. Muscles are metabolically active tissues that burn more calories per day than adipose (fat) tissue, according to certified strength and conditioning specialist Jake Merges, C.S.C.S., a personal trainer with PRO Club in Seattle. “It is a greedy, highly demanding organ that needs calories as fuel,” he says.
Estimates suggest that while one pound of fat burns about two calories per day, one pound of muscle can burn up to seven. Because burning more calories is an essential ingredient in the weight loss formula, building muscle mass naturally supports fat loss, says exercise physiologist and board-certified sports dietitian Jason Machowsky, R.D., C.S.C.S.
Read More: Why Pilates Is Great—But Shouldn’t Replace Strength Training
This combination of lower body fat and increased muscle mass creates the lean, mean muscle-clad physique many gym-goers are after. A 2022 review in Obesity Reviews found that resistance training alone boosts lean mass by nearly two pounds, while pairing it with caloric restriction leads to a 3.8 percent drop in body fat percentage.
2. Reduced Risk of Disease
Improving body composition through strength work improves overall health, too. Carrying excess fat is a risk factor for health conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and several cancers, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. In fact, an August 2025 study published in the European Heart Journal found that individuals with more visceral fat (deep abdominal fat stored around the organs) tended to have less functional cardiovascular systems than those with lower levels.
Thankfully, even modest fat loss through muscle-building activities can support your life and health span. The researchers behind that earlier Obesity Reviews study noted that this shift in body composition is associated with improved metabolic health and a lower risk of disease.
In addition to supporting a healthier body composition, building muscle improves how your body uses, stores, and manages sugar, which can help lower your risk of metabolic dysfunction and chronic disease, says Machowsky. Your body stores glucose (sugar) as glycogen in the muscles. So, having more muscle mass means more storage space for that sugar, which keeps it from hanging out in your bloodstream, he explains. In fact, one Comprehensive Physiology study found that muscle is responsible for 80 percent of glucose uptake.
This helps prevent blood sugar spikes and supports steadier energy throughout the day. During exercise, your body taps into your stored glycogen for fuel, further improving blood sugar regulation.
Insulin resistance—or your body’s inability to efficiently remove sugar from the blood—is at the root of many health issues, like diabetes, weight gain, cardiovascular problems, and more, says Merges. So, “an easy way to make yourself more sensitive to insulin (or less resistant to it), is to build more of that hungry muscle,” he suggests.
3. Reduced Risk of Injury
“Building muscle in the gym can make your everyday life outside the gym easier,” says Wickham. You see, nearly every movement you make requires your muscles to contract to move your joints. If you want to reach for pasta on the top shelf, your bicep contracts to bend your elbow and bring your hand closer to it. To take a step toward the mailbox, your quad contracts to extend your knee and push you forward.
You don’t need bodybuilder-level strength to perform these everyday tasks, but you do need a baseline level of muscle, says Wickham. Without it, every basic movement becomes laborious, and your risk of injury skyrockets.
To maximize the carryover between your muscle-building workouts and real life, Wickham recommends prioritizing functional strength exercises, which include:
- Squats (front squat, goblet squat, split squat, jump squat, thruster)
- Hinges (Romanian deadlift, good morning, kettlebell swing)
- Presses (overhead press, bench press, push-up)
- Pulls (pull-up, rows, lat pull-down)
- Twists (medicine ball throw, Pallof press, wood chops)
- Carries (farmer’s carry, suitcase carry, front rack carry, bear hug walk)
These functional movement patterns mimic natural movements. “Training them helps you build muscle in the ways that will prepare you for outside life,” Wickham says.
4. Better Stability and Independence As You Age
As you get older, muscles become one of your most effective tools for staying independent, according to Wickham.
For one, healthy muscle mass—particularly in your core—improves your balance. “Your trunk helps keep you stable,” says Wickham. “If you’re in the shower and you slip, for example, having core strength will increase the likelihood that you can restabilize your body and avoid falling.” Indeed, a 2023 review in Frontiers in Public Health found that individuals who regularly strength trained showed improved balance and a reduced rate of injurious falls compared to the control group.
Read More: How To Adjust Your Strength Training Game As You Age
Even if you do take a tumble, having ample muscle can still protect you. Muscles work overtime as shock absorbers, helping cushion your joints and reduce impact, explains Wickham. Not to mention, muscle-building activities help slow bone loss associated with age and keep bones strong, according to a May 2025 review published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research.
If maintaining independence is your primary goal, Wickham recommends focusing on balance-focused strength exercises, such as:
- Planks
- Anti-rotation holds
- Bird dogs
- Single-leg deadlifts
- Step-ups
Though all forms of strength training offer some protective benefit, the key is to start, stay consistent, and focus on moving with sound form so you don’t get injured. After all, you’re trying to ward off injury here!
5. Happier Hormone Balance
Just as Instagram ads shape your workout wardrobe, “muscle mass and hormones interact and influence one another,” says Machowsky.
On one hand, certain hormones play key roles in muscle growth and repair. Testosterone and estrogen are key players in muscle protein synthesis, while growth hormone and IGF-1 support growth and recovery, explains Machowsky. On the other hand, “strength training also helps stimulate some of these hormones,” he says. This rise in sex hormones that occurs with strength training can lead to improved muscle mass as well as a host of other benefits—especially as we age, he says.
Read More: Low Testosterone Isn’t Just An Older Guys Issue
Levels of sex hormones naturally start to wane as we get older, explains Machowsky. For women, the drop in estrogen that happens during the menopause transition can contribute to hot flashes, fatigue, mood swings, and bone loss. For men, the gradual decline in testosterone (sometimes known as andropause) can lead to loss of energy, decreased libido, difficulty concentrating, and erectile dysfunction.
By helping to stimulate production of the sex hormones, strength training can help offset these drops and the unwanted symptoms that come with them, Machowsky says.
6. Reduced Cortisol Levels
It isn’t just the sex hormones that can be positively impacted by strength training, either. “Often, more muscle mass is correlated with more balanced cortisol levels,” according to Machowsky. People with muscle also tend to be more active in general, says Machowsky. Research has shown that being physically active improves the natural daily rise and fall of cortisol and increases resilience to outside stressors.
One caveat: More isn’t always better here. “Too much high-intensity training without adequate rest can have the inverse impact and actually raise cortisol levels,” says Machowsky. Prioritizing quality sleep and logging at least two active recovery or rest days per week can help prevent overexertion to maximize your muscle gains and the downstream cortisol benefits.