Why You Should Try To Build Muscle | Episode 11

Building muscle isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s about survival. 💪

In this episode of The Dr. Layne Norton Podcast, I break down why muscle is the most underrated organ of health. You’ll hear how it lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, infections, Alzheimer’s, and depression — while also protecting against falls, fractures, and the effects of aging.

We’ll dive into:

• How muscle acts like an endocrine organ, releasing myokines that fight disease and slow tumor growth.
• Why more muscle means longer life, better quality of life, and faster recovery if you get sick.
• The myth that you “can’t build muscle after a certain age” — and why it’s total BS.
• How just 50 minutes of resistance training a week can change your health trajectory.

If you want to live longer, feel stronger, and age on your own terms, this is the episode you don’t want to skip.

Muscle building – The Perception

• My journey into lifting

• Perception of men – meathead; brainless, non-thinking, jock

• Perception of women – don’t get too bulky, just lift light weights to get ‘toned’, you don’t want to get ‘bulky’

• Muscle building was perceived almost exclusively through the lens of vanity

Muscle building – the turn

• Building muscle through weight lifting also increased bone density which was viewed positively 1

• Sarcopenia – lifting could be good for the health and functionality of older people 2

• It might help with long term fat loss & body composition by preventing the loss of lean mass which may help prevent fat regain 3 4

• Also established that increased muscle mass improves insulin sensitivity 5 6

The last 10 years – Muscle as the organ of health

• Increased lean mass isn’t just for vanity, it extends your life
  • Reduced risk of mortality, particularly in the elderly 7 8 9
    • Reduces risk of falls and fractures in the elderly 10
  • Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality 11 12
    • Better body composition 11
    • Improved insulin sensitivity 5 6
    • Reduced inflammation 13
    • Improved blood lipids 14 15
  • Reduced risk of cancer mortality
    • Low lean mass is strongly associated with cancer mortality with a 70% increased risk overall for all cancer types and over 300% increased risk of death in colorectal cancer. 16 17 18
    • Increasing lean mass has a dose dependant reduction on the risk of dying from cancer. 19
    • Increased muscle mass decreases the risk of cancer reoccurance. 20
    • Increased muscle mass makes allows cancer patients to tolerate chemotherapy better & lowers the risk of toxicity. 21
    • Muscle mass reduces the risk of postoperative complications and mortality. 22
    • Increased muscle improves immune function through secretion of compounds like myokines. 23
  • Muscle mass reduces risk of dying in ICU. 24 25
  • Reduced risk of dying from infection/sepsis. 26 27
    • Muscle can be a source of amino acids & nutrients when the body is under stress or in wasting conditions
• Increased muscle mass reduces your risk of disease
  • Reduced risk of CVD & CVD events 28 29
    • Skeletal muscle improves insulin sensitivity & metabolic health  30
    • Muscle reduces arterial stiffness 31
    • Reduces inflammation & oxidative stress 12 32
    • Muscle releases myokines like IL-10, irisin, & FSTL1 that may be cardio protective. 33
  • Reduced risk of some cancers like bladder and kidney cancer
    • Skeletal muscle may secrete anti-tumor molecules (myokines) which may create an unfavorable environment for tumor growth. 34 35 36
    • Increased skeletal muscle mass may improve immune function. 37 38 39
  • Reduced risk of cognitive decline and diseases like dementia & alzheimer’s (AD)
    • Sarcopenia increases the risk of cognitive impairment & developing dementia & AD by ~200% & 68% respectively. 40
    • More muscle mass is associated with a reduction in symptoms of depression. 41
  • Reduced risk of hospitalization from infections
    • COVID 42 43
    • Bacterial 26
    • Increased muscle density decreases risk of infection after abdominal trauma 44
• Building muscle improves your quality of life
  • Better mobility 45
  • Less pain 46 47
    • “When you are old you will have pain no matter what. You can be weak and have pain or you can be strong and have pain. The choice is yours”
  • Lower risk of falls and fractures in elderly 10
  • Better mental health
    • Sarcopenia increases risk of Bi-Polar Disorder and resistance training may reduce Bi-Polar symptoms 48 49 50
    • Low muscle mass associated with greater risk of anxiety. 51
    • Low muscle mass increases risk of Schizophrenia and resistance training may reduce symptoms of schizophrenia. 50 52
    • Low muscle mass is associated with an increase in symptoms of depression, and resistance training DRASTICALLY reduces symptoms of depression. 53 54 55 56
  • Improves symptoms of muscle wasting disorders
    • Multiple sclerosis 57 58
    • Muscular dystrophy 59 60
    • ALS 61 62
    • HIV 63
  • Elderly with low muscle mass & reduced muscle function are at over 1200% increased risk of losing physical independence vs. those with more muscle mass & function 64