Losing muscle

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chelseachelsea1991
chelseachelsea1991 Posts: 55 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've read in a few articles that extended periods of running burns muscle. I'm capable of 5-6 miles a run, 3-4 times a week. I want to lose a small amount of muscle in my legs to keep things looking lean (I gain muscle incredibly easy thanks to my genetics). So is that distance/amount feasible? Would it do the trick?

I know that most want to gain muscle. Please don't post that I shouldn't attempt to lose muscle. It gets frustrating to have pants baggy on my butt and waist and tight on my thighs. Btw, my body fat percentage was 13.7 at last check. Sooo....any advice? :)

Replies

  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    Any cardio that you do without attempts to retain muscle, will most likely burn the muscle I believe.

    Remember though that without the muscle there, your legs are going to look flabby instead of small and firm.. so I highly doubt losing the muscle is going to fix the problem with your pants.

    My suggestion would be to keep the muscle going, but just lose more body fat.
  • hevspade
    hevspade Posts: 7
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    run more often, try 6 days a week then after a few weeks you should see a reduction in size on your thighs. dont do any strength work on your legs if you're prone to building muscle, just go for low intensity endurance cardio. then for maintenance you can just run a few times a week
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    Any cardio that you do without attempts to retain muscle, will most likely burn the muscle I believe.

    Remember though that without the muscle there, your legs are going to look flabby instead of small and firm.. so I highly doubt losing the muscle is going to fix the problem with your pants.

    My suggestion would be to keep the muscle going, but just lose more body fat.

    I have to agree with her. I stopped lifting weights for a while (and stopped eating as much) and I looked flabby, smaller, but not better. I look better now. I understand you may be concerned with your genetics and getting bigger, but maybe you'd want to try lifting lighter weights and higher reps and see how that works for you.

    I'd also recommend Crossfit style (bodyweight) workouts. Check them out. Those are great, and much shorter, than all that running. I believe they will also keep your muscles tight.

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