Muscles Aren’t What You Think: Most People Miss 80% of Their True Power

Forget the Scale: Here’s the Real Reason You Should Be Training

I`m back at the gym.

After 4 years of doing home workouts, I signed up for a Gym this week.

Don`t get me wrong: I love home workouts - No commute, fast and efficient workouts in the comfort of my home.

However, a lack of equipment and heavy weights made me play it too safely. Plus, working (not working out) from home comes with a lot of privileges, but also a lack of socializing.

So it`s about time I challenge myself in a motivating environment to get my training to the next level.

During my body composition measurement at the gym today, I was surprised to find that my body fat percentage is 13%. The last time I checked, four years ago, it was around 19% - I was happily surprised.

After years of hiding under a layer of fat, my abs began to see the light of day again. There's more work to do, but I'm getting there. I lost fat, built muscle, and gained strength. But that is not all.

It also means I have been sending the right signals to my body in terms of overall health.

And so can you.

What the hell do I mean by that?

Exercise - The Impact Beyond Strength And Muscle

What happens in your body during exercise has been known for a long time.

Challenge the muscle. Tear it down. Let it rebuild stronger. A mechanical input → a mechanical adaptation. Simple.

But what happens inside our body goes far beyond that.

Question for you: What is the largest organ in the body?

Is it your heart, your lungs, your skin? Wrong. Wrong, wrong.

It`s your muscles.

For a long time I have not been thinking of my muscles as an organ, let alone communicate with other organs.

Just like a fat belly is metabolically active - in a bad way - muscles act in your favor, when done right.

How?

They send messages to other organs: Different inputs yield different results.

Most people are not aware of this:

Your muscles aren’t just movers. They’re messengers.

With the right messages, you can tell a long and great story - the story of a healthy and fulfilling life.

People complain about

• Brain fog in the afternoon

• Restlessness and poor recovery

• Stiff joints and low-grade inflammation

But do nothing about their situation.

If they knew that every time they move, especially under load, their muscles release powerful molecules called myokines. These are not minor byproducts. They’re chemical messengers with system-wide influence.

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Muscles Don’t Just Adapt. They Communicate.

This was the breakthrough: Muscles are endocrine organs — like your thyroid or pancreas.

That means they release substances (myokines) that talk to other organs. This discovery fundamentally shifted how we understand exercise.

Previously, it was believed that exercise worked on a mechanical level; however, research has shown that its impact extends far beyond this.

They found myokines working on different levels:

• BDNF (“Miracle-Gro for your brain”): Enhances memory, learning, and mental clarity. ¹

• IL-6 (from muscle, not inflammation): Triggers anti-inflammatory effects. ²

• Irisin: Stimulates fat browning and improves metabolic flexibility. ³

• Meteorin-like: Reduces inflammation, and improves glucose tolerance. ⁴

Former professional bodybuilder Dorian Yates stated, "I don’t understand how people can function without exercise." This quote becomes even more relevant when you consider the significant impact our largest organ has on our overall health.

Does this imply that you may have been training incorrectly for years? Probably not, just that we were missing a bigger picture.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11506288/pdf/biomolecules-14-01205.pdf

The messages your body sends are:

• Brain (mood, clarity)

• Fat tissue (burn or store energy)

• Immune system (fight or fuel inflammation)

• Heart and lungs (capacity and endurance)

Shift the Question

Instead of: "How to burn more calories?" Ask: *"What message did I just send to my body?"

Because your body is listening.

And when you train for the myokine effect, everything changes:

• Brain fog lifts

• Sleep deepens

• Fat starts to respond

• Energy stabilizes

• Mood becomes more stable

You Don’t Need More Time — You Need To Communicate Better

If you’re a high performer trying to optimize your health: You don’t need six hours a week in the gym. You don’t need to crush yourself.

You need to understand:

Muscle is leverage. Not just for lifting—but for communicating.

You can train in under 45 minutes and activate powerful myokine cascades that improve everything else you’re already trying to fix.

Hormones. Brain. Fatigue. Recovery. It’s all connected.

Practical Implementation: How to Train for the Signal You Want

If you want to send the BUILD signal:

• Focus: Strength & muscle development

• Method: Heavier resistance, low to medium reps, longer rest

• Example:

  • 3 sets of 5–12 reps

  • 1–3 minutes rest between sets

  • Compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, pushups, rows

• Frequency: 2–3x per week or less, depending on your time availability

This promotes:

• Muscle growth

• Improved insulin sensitivity

• Reduction in myostatin (muscle growth inhibitor)

If you want to send the ENERGIZE & RECOVER signal:

• Focus: Metabolic health, endurance, fat burn

• Method: Lighter loads, more reps, shorter rest, continuous movement

• Example:

  • 3 rounds of 40-sec work / 20-sec rest

  • Circuit-style training: squats, lunges, mountain climbers, kettlebell swings

  • Or moderate cardio: rowing, cycling, dancing, incline walking

• Frequency: 2–3x per week or less, depending on your time availability

This promotes:

• Mitochondrial biogenesis (energy production)

• Fat metabolism

• Inflammation control

• Myokines like Irisin, BDNF, IL-6

The Best Results Come From Alternating Both.

Combine strength-focused days with conditioning/movement day and adjust based on energy, stress levels, and recovery.

"Oh, my efforts go past building muscle and strength" - understanding that your muscles communicate more daily messages to your organs than you might send on your phone can be a powerful motivator.

P.S.

If this article opened your eyes to what your training could be doing...and you're tired of guessing, grinding, or googling your way through health advice...

Let’s make your workouts work — for your body, your goals, and your life.

Inside my Holistic Health Performance Program, you’ll learn how to:

• Build a plan that fits your demanding schedule

• Send the right biological signals in under 3 hours per week

• Use movement as a tool to upgrade energy, mood, and long-term health

And because true transformation goes beyond exercise alone, we’ll combine four essential pillars:

• Exercise

• Habits

• Nutrition

• Recovery

Together, they create the most powerful health message campaign your body has ever received.

If you're serious about changing how you feel, perform, and age — start here.

Phil

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The effects of physical activity and exercise on brain-derived neurotrophic factor in healthy humans: A review.
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 24(1), 1-10.
https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12069

2. Pedersen, B. K., & Febbraio, M. A. (2008).
Muscle as an endocrine organ: Focus on muscle-derived interleukin-6.
Physiological Reviews, 88(4), 1379–1406.
https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.90100.2007

3. Boström, P., Wu, J., Jedrychowski, M. P., Korde, A., Ye, L., Lo, J. C., ... & Spiegelman, B. M. (2012).
A PGC1-α-dependent myokine that drives brown-fat-like development of white fat and thermogenesis.
Nature, 481(7382), 463–468.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10777

4. [4] Rao, R. R., Long, J. Z., White, J. P., Svensson, K. J., Lou, J., Lokurkar, I., ... & Spiegelman, B. M. (2014).
Meteorin-like is a hormone that regulates immune-adipose interactions to increase beige fat thermogenesis.
Cell, 157(6), 1279-1291.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.03.065