I'm losing muscle!!!!
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Lower your reps to 6 and as much weight as you can handle. The last rep should be super hard.
I am lifting pretty heavy...can only do about 10-12 reps of any given weight. Once I can do more than that I bump up the weight. I do full body - but sometimes I leave out the legs if I have a long run the next day.
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This is exactly why I am concerned...I don't want my metabolism to slow down. I do believe I'm lifting heavy. For example: inclined bench press I am adding 50 lbs. to the machine. DB curls: 17.5 lbs., etc.
While you will lose lean muscle along with fat, to retain muscle you do need to really challenge it. That's why when I hear people using 5lb weight for dumbell bench presses I have to intercede and tell them that it's not enough because that doesn't challenge their actual strength. And it's BS when they say "but it's heavy for me", yet carrying a 5lb grocery bag or a 5lb purse isn't.I started tracking my body fat% back in the beginning of June. Since then I've lost 13 more pounds but only 7.32 lbs is fat loss; the other 5.68 lbs is lean body mass (muscle). I'm only losing about 2 lbs a month so I'm not starving myself. I am doing some weight training about twice a week. Although, I admit I'm not always consistent. But why am I losing so much lean mass? I'm getting very frustrated being stuck at 26+ % body fat. BTW, I am verifying my BF% by having the Bod Pod done every 3 months. What in the heck is going on?
2 things. Bump your weights up and be CONSISTENT.
Understand the more lean muscle you lose the lower you metabolic rate will go and the slower your weight loss journey will go too.0 -
Okay this would explain it now. Long endurance cardio catabolizes muscle. It's part of the territory. Regardless of how well you eat and even if you train hard with weights, it's almost inevitable that you will lose lean muscle. That's why the physiques of sprinters and long distance runners are so different.
I currently weigh 130 lbs. My body fat % is 26.6. I do cardio 6 days a week. I run about 35-40 miles a week currently (training for a marathon). I also usually bike 2-3 times a week. But I eat back ALL of my exercise calories. I am NOT starving myself. This is so frustrating. I love to compete in athletics but dragging around this extra body fat is getting old.
Unfortunately you have to choose what you want to do and if it's a marathon, then you're going to lose lean muscle because that's usually how it works.
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Yeah, my arms are starting to look like old lady arms...yuk! Guess I'll just have to wait a couple of weeks and then hit the weight room more often. Thanks.I understand where you're coming from....I trained for a marathon last year, ate like a horse to get back my exercise calories (did not have weight loss as a goal), and lost muscle mass despite my best efforts. My already scrawny arms turned into sticks! It seems inevitable with that much running, I'm sorry to say. The other things was that, running 40-50 miles/week, my strength-training efforts were pretty lame....simply didn't have much extra time or energy, and I was very focused on getting my miles in.
You can work on it after your race! Good luck.0 -
Ok, I guess I'll have to accept the muscle loss but with all the cardio why am I not seeing a greater reduction in BF% On June 1st I was at 29.3% body fat. And now, almost 6 months later I'm only down to 26.6%Okay this would explain it now. Long endurance cardio catabolizes muscle. It's part of the territory. Regardless of how well you eat and even if you train hard with weights, it's almost inevitable that you will lose lean muscle.0 -
I currently weigh 130 lbs. My body fat % is 26.6. I do cardio 6 days a week. I run about 35-40 miles a week currently (training for a marathon). I also usually bike 2-3 times a week. But I eat back ALL of my exercise calories. I am NOT starving myself. This is so frustrating. I love to compete in athletics but dragging around this extra body fat is getting old.I would look at your protein intake first (in grams), and I would probably also look at your training methods. I would also look at your deficit compared to your current weight. (<---- scratch that last one, reading comprehension failed me there).
If you can share the above info, you may get more specific answers.
You need to do more than just cardio.
Agreed. Weigh lifting is neccesary to maintain muscle especially while in calorie defecit. Cardio not only uses fat as fuel it uses muscle as well.0 -
If you don't eat enough your body thinks it is starving, and preserves fat, while getting rid of muscle (because fat takes so much less energy to maintain). That's the main reason why slow weightloss is so much more effective in the long run than losing super quickly. Obviously you are doing great, but you may need a few more calories.
For every additional pound of lean muscle mass on your body, you will burn about 35 to 50 additional calories per day (from a study done at Tufts University). That adds to a LOT of calories over the course of a month.
I hope this helps! Make sure you are getting enough protein and calories. If you have any questions message me/add me as a friend!0 -
Yeah, my arms are starting to look like old lady arms...yuk! Guess I'll just have to wait a couple of weeks and then hit the weight room more often. Thanks.I understand where you're coming from....I trained for a marathon last year, ate like a horse to get back my exercise calories (did not have weight loss as a goal), and lost muscle mass despite my best efforts. My already scrawny arms turned into sticks! It seems inevitable with that much running, I'm sorry to say. The other things was that, running 40-50 miles/week, my strength-training efforts were pretty lame....simply didn't have much extra time or energy, and I was very focused on getting my miles in.
You can work on it after your race! Good luck.
I would suggest doing some progressive weight training, meaning you slowly add more and more weight (usually on a weekly or biweekly basis to begin with and monthly or every 6 weeks after that) to continue challenging your muscles and stimulate them. I do it 3x per week (cardio on different 3 days). I lift heavy enough so that I can only do about 8 reps without feeling like I'm going to die, and I do supersets of opposing muscle groups in alternating fashion. My BF% has gone from 47% to 27% in the time I've been doing this while my lean mass has not changed much.0 -
Ok, I guess I'll have to accept the muscle loss but with all the cardio why am I not seeing a greater reduction in BF% On June 1st I was at 29.3% body fat. And now, almost 6 months later I'm only down to 26.6%Okay this would explain it now. Long endurance cardio catabolizes muscle. It's part of the territory. Regardless of how well you eat and even if you train hard with weights, it's almost inevitable that you will lose lean muscle.
"Normal" body fat for a woman is between 25-31%. Because you're in the normal (or acceptable) range, it's slower going, as you don't have a lot of excess fat to lose, so your body hangs on to it more. Top female athletes have around 15-20% body fat. You aren't losing a lot of body fat, because you don't have much to lose.
Also, excessive cardio (which marathon training would be considered "excessive" for weight loss purposes) leads to slower fat loss, as your body doesn't burn that much fat during cardio before it switches over to catabolizing muscle. That's why most generic cardio programs are suggested to be about 30-60 minutes, any more than that generally leads to more muscle loss, and less fat burning, and has no real weight loss effect. Not trying to talk you out of running, just so you know, I love to run, just trying to explain how things work. :drinker:0 -
ninerbuff, I read your profile...a lot of it could have been written by me.
Ok, so the excessive cardio is the culprit. So after Dec. 4th I'm going to hit the weights and cut back on my cardio. I want to keep my aerobic fitness though. So how much cardio do you folks think I can do without losing muscle? Should I take the winter months and have a zero deficit and work on gaining muscle or should I keep the 250 deficit and just cut back on the cardio and increase the weight training?
BTW, I really appreciate everyone's input. Thanks so much.0 -
The other thing is to look at your own body. Don't rely on a standardized calculation to tell you what you can see on your body.
BMI calculations are not always right. There are a lot of variables.
BMI is always right, as long as you use the correct weight and height. I think you mean BMR is not always correct. This is true as there are many factors such as amount of muscle vs. the "average" that may make your BMR lower or higher than MFP calculates.0 -
ninerbuff, I read your profile...a lot of it could have been written by me.
Ok, so the excessive cardio is the culprit. So after Dec. 4th I'm going to hit the weights and cut back on my cardio. I want to keep my aerobic fitness though. So how much cardio do you folks think I can do without losing muscle? Should I take the winter months and have a zero deficit and work on gaining muscle or should I keep the 250 deficit and just cut back on the cardio and increase the weight training?
BTW, I really appreciate everyone's input. Thanks so much.
When you are done your training and race you may want to look into HIIT as a cardio substitute. Very high intensity with medium intensity intervals, done over 15-20 minutes (not including warm-up and cool-down).0 -
what exactly falls under "extensive endurance training"? i ask because i am a budding triathlete, and would like to compete in sprint length tri's (0.47 mi swim, 12.4 mi bike, 3.1 mi run), but would also like to build muscle.0
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I would look at your protein intake first (in grams), and I would probably also look at your training methods. I would also look at your deficit compared to your current weight. (<---- scratch that last one, reading comprehension failed me there).
If you can share the above info, you may get more specific answers.
This0 -
Op can still do long runs and weight lift. While it might not build muscle, it might reduce muscle loss. The OP probably had decen legs because of the running but is losing a heap of muscle mass above the waist. Lifting would help get that back IMHO0
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Sprint triathlon would not typically fall under extensive endurance training. Running for over 1 1/2 hrs up to 3 1/2 hrs. at a time would be extensive endurance training. No need for distances like that for a 5K run in a Sprint Tri. Good luck - triathlon is a lot of fun!!what exactly falls under "extensive endurance training"? i ask because i am a budding triathlete, and would like to compete in sprint length tri's (0.47 mi swim, 12.4 mi bike, 3.1 mi run), but would also like to build muscle.0 -
Actually when I started out at 180 lbs. I didn't have decent anything. LOL. I also tend to store most of my weight in my upper legs/butt. My upper body is thin and I've lost most of my tush but still have quite a bit of fat hanging on for dear life on my thighs. I have strong thigh muscles but they are still covered in fat.Op can still do long runs and weight lift. While it might not build muscle, it might reduce muscle loss. The OP probably had decen legs because of the running but is losing a heap of muscle mass above the waist. Lifting would help get that back IMHO
I just want to get rid of that fat and get down to 20% BF which I feel is healthy for an athlete...even if I am just an age-grouper. The little bit of lifting I have been doing isn't reducing my muscle loss - at least it doesn't seem so. 0 -
Because your resting metabolic rate is lower. Your RMR is what burns the most fat off the body. More lean muscle means a higher RMR and vice versa. Long endurance training only burns calories during exercise and doesn't increase RMR.Ok, I guess I'll have to accept the muscle loss but with all the cardio why am I not seeing a greater reduction in BF% On June 1st I was at 29.3% body fat. And now, almost 6 months later I'm only down to 26.6%
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60 minutes is fine. However to gain lean muscle you will have to be in calorie surplus. Which means you'll be gaining weight to gain muscle.ninerbuff, I read your profile...a lot of it could have been written by me.
Ok, so the excessive cardio is the culprit. So after Dec. 4th I'm going to hit the weights and cut back on my cardio. I want to keep my aerobic fitness though. So how much cardio do you folks think I can do without losing muscle? Should I take the winter months and have a zero deficit and work on gaining muscle or should I keep the 250 deficit and just cut back on the cardio and increase the weight training?
BTW, I really appreciate everyone's input. Thanks so much.
What's important here is that you need to find your balance in what you want to do. If you want to run a marathon, then understand that holding on to lean muscle will be difficult. If you want to lose bodyfat, then you're going to nix the marathon to get better results. Or you could do the marathon, then later switch to a muscle building program. It's up to you.
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But for 10 reps. Lower the reps to 6 and you can lift more.This exactly why I am concerned...I don't want my metabolism to slow down. I do believe I'm lifting heavy. For example: inclined bench press I am adding 50 lbs. to the machine. DB curls: 17.5 lbs., etc.
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BMI isn't always right. I'm considered overweight by BMI standards. And by alot.
BMI is always right, as long as you use the correct weight and height. I think you mean BMR is not always correct. This is true as there are many factors such as amount of muscle vs. the "average" that may make your BMR lower or higher than MFP calculates.
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Ok, that makes sense. So what do you recommend after my marathon? How much cardio and how much weight training? Calorie deficit, no deficit or surplus - and what amount? And for how long? Will have to start training for triathlon in late winter. Thanks.Because your resting metabolic rate is lower. Your RMR is what burns the most fat off the body. More lean muscle means a higher RMR and vice versa. Long endurance training only burns calories during exercise and doesn't increase RMR.0 -
I thought 8-12 reps for hypertrophy, less than 8 for strength. ????But for 10 reps. Lower the reps to 6 and you can lift more.0 -
8-12 for hypertrophy, but I'm assuming you're not trying to gain weight while trying to run a marathon. So 6 reps to keep what lean muscle you still have.
I thought 8-12 reps for hypertrophy, less than 8 for strength. ????But for 10 reps. Lower the reps to 6 and you can lift more.
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30-60 of cardio (after lifting), calorie surplus to add lean muscle. For every pound of muscle, you'll add about .3lbs or more of fat. Expect it. Then once you reach the number you feel comfortable with, you cut to reduce fat. Train each body part at least once per week (I only do each body part once a week) but train hard and intense. Make sure you stay in positive nitrogen balance.Ok, that makes sense. So what do you recommend after my marathon? How much cardio and how much weight training? Calorie deficit, no deficit or surplus - and what amount? And for how long? Will have to start training for triathlon in late winter. Thanks.
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This is a new one on me....what is this? Also, I think the cutting phase is what I'm doing wrong. When it gets to that point how should I do it? I know I have to have a calorie deficit but what is the best way to cut and lose the minimum amount of muscle?Make sure you stay in positive nitrogen balance.0 -
I looked up nitrogen balance online...basically make sure you get enough protein. Check. As far as the cutting goes I think a little less cardio and a little more strenght training should do the trick with a small calorie deficit.0
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Positive nitrogen balance deters muscle catabolism. Keeping your protein high is what does this. I feel the best way to "cut" is carb cycling (3 days low carb, one day high) staying within calorie deficit. Keep lifting heavy.This is a new one on me....what is this? Also, I think the cutting phase is what I'm doing wrong. When it gets to that point how should I do it? I know I have to have a calorie deficit but what is the best way to cut and lose the minimum amount of muscle?
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