Nothing in the body moves without muscles! They make the heart pump blood, the lungs breathe and the digestive system process food. And the muscle fibers owe their power to millions of tiny protein motors.
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00:00 It's how life goes sometimes. Some people are celebrated, while others do the real work
00:06 behind the scenes.
00:09 In our bodies, it's our muscles that do the heavy lifting. Only with their help can
00:13 the heart pump blood, the lungs respire and the digestive system process food.
00:21 Muscles control our facial expressions, they allow us to blink and smile. And they can
00:26 make our hair stand on end.
00:29 And thanks to powerful skeletal muscles, we can move our entire body. And all kinds of
00:34 objects.
00:39 Muscles are made up of bundles of muscle fibres. And these fibres consist of what are called
00:44 myofibrils.
00:47 And these myofibrils in turn are made up of proteins, like myosin and actin. And they
00:53 work like tiny motors.
00:55 They're triggered by electrical signals that are transmitted through the nervous system.
01:01 The heads of the myosin proteins bind to the actin and move it along. The muscle begins
01:05 to contract.
01:11 And because there are always several million of these little muscle motors working together,
01:15 it creates quite a force.
01:17 Unlike machines, our muscles don't immediately fail when subjected to too much strain.
01:23 Quite the opposite. Minor damage to the fibres is repaired and new myofibril strands are
01:28 even formed in the process.
01:32 Muscles grow bigger and stronger as a result.
01:35 And that's good for our health.
01:38 Muscle training also strengthens bones and joints, keeps the metabolism going and prevents
01:43 muscle loss in old age.
01:48 Not all muscles can be trained in a targeted manner, however. That's because more than
01:52 half of them we can't control consciously.
01:55 In many organs, the muscles are primarily controlled unconsciously by the autonomic
01:59 nervous system, so that vital bodily functions always remain active.
02:05 These muscles do also benefit from exercise indirectly.
02:08 For example, faster blood flow trains the heart and blood vessels.
02:13 And deep breathing trains the muscles of the respiratory system.
02:21 Our muscles keep the show on the road, so they deserve all the praise they can get.
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