| Food and Fitness: muscle bulk |
The absolute volume of muscle in the body. A large muscle bulk is advantageous in contact sports both to give protection against opponents and to provide the momentum to dislodge opponents. Muscle bulk tends to decrease with age, but regular aerobic exercise delays this degeneration. It also decreases with inactivity (see atrophy). Unlike fatty tissue, muscle has a high metabolic activity and people with a large muscle bulk have a higher basal metabolic rate than those with low muscle bulk.
