Is running the way to go when trying to lose leg muscle?

jarrahm133

I have recently read a few articles about how certain exercises can help burn muscle mass in your legs.
The article I read said that extended periods of cardio such as long distance running can burn muscle protein if you have been fasting and there is no calories to use as energy. Is this true?

ashleypetrie4

Why are you trying to lose muscle from your legs?

ogmomma2012

Not using your legs helps deteriorate your muscles.

Merkavar

Sponge bob strikes again with his unrealistic body image standards?


After a thigh gap? My guess is genetics and diet are better ways than losing muscles.

Machka9

ashleypetrie4 wrote: »

Why are you trying to lose muscle from your legs?

Yeah ... this ^^

nicediva007

If you're running long distance then you're going to have to eat during the run so there are calories to use. I don't know very many runners (myself included) who do long runs (13+ miles) and don't ingest some kind of carbohydrate as fuel.

But to try to answer your question, when I first started running, my calves actually bulked up a bit, because they were getting used to the new usage. Running uses the quads and the calves a lot (especially for hills). Eventually they slimmed down because of fat loss overall. I can't however say that on my body that there was any targeted fat loss on my calves though. Everyone is probably different in that regard.

rosnigetsfit

Why do you even want to lose muscles? They're prolly just fat underneath.

Christine_72

My guess is OP wants to slim down her legs??

Unknown

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jarrahm133

The reason I want to lose muscle is because I have quite bulky legs but they are mostly just muscle and I want to slim them down but eating at a calorie deficit just seems to work in my stomach and no where else so I have quite a slim upper body and I would like legs to match.

auddii

http://bretcontreras.com/how-to-attain-a-slender-look-like-jessica-alba-zoe-saldana/

ashleypetrie4

The loss of muscle is known as muscular atrophy and could cause you serious issues in your later years. You want to keep/build up your muscles in your youth to help with mobility when you are older. I also have very muscular/bulky thighs and I've learned to love them. I know that's not the easiest thing to do, but you were born with them, try to embrace them.

Merkavar

jarrahm133 wrote: »

The reason I want to lose muscle is because I have quite bulky legs but they are mostly just muscle and I want to slim them down but eating at a calorie deficit just seems to work in my stomach and no where else so I have quite a slim upper body and I would like legs to match.

Did you actually work out previously to gain leg muscles? If not wouldn't your leg muscles be as big as they need to be for your daily activity?

Or could you be confusing fat legs for muscular legs?

toriraeh

So I always thought I had fairly slim legs in terms of fat. They weren't fat, they were just muscular. But despite doing plenty of strength training and running to maintain muscle, I have lost several inches from my legs over my 25lb loss. I now realize that there WAS some fat hiding there and my legs are thinner than I thought. Still not thigh gap thin, but I'm fitting skinny jeans and boots better.

Please don't risk damaging your muscles for the sake of fitting an unrealistic body image. Eat at your moderate deficit, do some exercise (do some strength training as well as cardio), and try to embrace the things you consider imperfections. You will be healthier overall and this will lead to a happier you, skinny legs or not.

ashleypetrie4

toriraeh wrote: »

So I always thought I had fairly slim legs in terms of fat. They weren't fat, they were just muscular. But despite doing plenty of strength training and running to maintain muscle, I have lost several inches from my legs over my 25lb loss. I now realize that there WAS some fat hiding there and my legs are thinner than I thought. Still not thigh gap thin, but I'm fitting skinny jeans and boots better.

Please don't risk damaging your muscles for the sake of fitting an unrealistic body image. Eat at your moderate deficit, do some exercise (do some strength training as well as cardio), and try to embrace the things you consider imperfections. You will be healthier overall and this will lead to a happier you, skinny legs or not.

This is said perfectly!

3dogsrunning

jarrahm133 wrote: »

I have recently read a few articles about how certain exercises can help burn muscle mass in your legs.
The article I read said that extended periods of cardio such as long distance running can burn muscle protein if you have been fasting and there is no calories to use as energy. Is this true?

Are you sure they said "leg" muscle mass specifically? Because generally, you can't determine where you body loses, whether that is fat or muscle.
Long periods of cardio without fueling properly can lead to muscle loss but I don't believe it will be exclusively leg muscle.

ninerbuff

jarrahm133 wrote: »

The reason I want to lose muscle is because I have quite bulky legs but they are mostly just muscle and I want to slim them down but eating at a calorie deficit just seems to work in my stomach and no where else so I have quite a slim upper body and I would like legs to match.

Genetics may not be on your side here. While you can keep slimming down to have it eventually affect your leg circumference, you upper body will also slim down because fat loss is systematic, meaning if you lose 1% of fat, it's from all over the body. If what you say is correct about your proportions, then it will still be the same even if you're smaller.
Post a pic of the bulky legs because most people aren't really good at assessing themselves.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

UprightMan

Merkavar wrote: »

Did you actually work out previously to gain leg muscles? If not wouldn't your leg muscles be as big as they need to be for your daily activity?

Or could you be confusing fat legs for muscular legs?

He knows what's up. I find it very doubtful you actually have muscle and not fat.

meganjcallaghan

I am a long distance runner and now have disproportionately large legs compared to the rest of me because of the muscles....so....not so sure that's the way to go. lol

Sued0nim

I do not run

My legs slimmed down

I credit

Genetics
Losing fat
Possibly weight training and the squats and lunges and compound lifts
Dumb luck