No matter your fitness goal, you want to build muscle. Your muscles do so much more than move your bones around. They metabolize the energy you take in and store, burning the calories you eat and the fat that you store.

Healthy muscles encourage proper blood circulation, which ensures delivery of vital nutrients and oxygen to all the body systems, making you feel more energetic all day. Healthy muscles make it easier to recover from injuries, the immune system better fit to fight infections, and they are also key to fall prevention. In a world of few absolutes, the need for strong, healthy muscles is one of them.

Muscle is stimulated to grow and develop with tension. In general, controlling the time under tension and the amount of weight you lift is a good combination to encourage muscle development. This is a general full body muscle workout that, depending on your fitness level, will either build more muscle on your body or maintain the muscle you already have.

LEGS

Using a chair as an aid, if needed, get into a low squat and hold it for 30 seconds. When time is up, immediately start moving up and down into a squat for 60 seconds. Perform three sets with 30 seconds of rest in between. Total time under tension: 4 1/2 minutes.

ABDOMINALS

Perform a simple crunch with your knees bent and feet resting on a chair. Keep a neutral arch in your spine by visualizing your belly button sinking toward your spine. Perform five sets for 1 minute with 30 seconds of rest in between if needed. Total time under tension: five minutes.

UPPER BODY

Pushups involve the whole body and give you the most bang for your workout buck. Maintaining the same neutral spine and belly button visualization from the crunch, do the pushup in 30-second sets, working your way to full one-minute sets. Try to complete four to five minutes, even if that means breaking exercise into smaller sections. Total time under tension: four to five minutes.

As simple as this workout is, it can be deceptively tough. Scale it to your comfort level and, above all, listen to your body. Never sacrifice form for more repetitions, and don’t rush. Building muscle takes time.

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Reggie Palma is an exercise physiologist and personal trainer. His website is fitnessatyourdoorhawaii.com. Email questions to Fitnessatyourdoor@Mac.com.