Your Body will only burn muscle it has no choice. The Main source of energy to the body is a chemical Called ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). This chemical is synthesised from the things we eat. The order in which we burn things to make ATP is - Carbohydrates, such as glucose.(this is the most effective form) When the carbs have run out your body will burn fat (breaking triglycerides to fatty acids and glycerol) , from your food and fat reserves. if you do get to the stage where you do not have enough fat your body will use protein(taken from muscles) this is very dangerous and painful. when muscle tissue is broken down it releases ammonia into our blood which results in pain(which could be mistaken for cramp) and if the ammonia is allowed to build up by extreme training it can result in sickness.
When burning bodyfat, you will likely lose some muscle. It happens but not to a great extent unless you are very consistently overtraining. There's a reason why the cardio machines often have a heartrate range listed as the fatburning zone. Even if you go higher than this zone, you will likely keep most of your muscle. Look at sprinters and rugby players. They get it done in windsprints and they hardly lose muscle as a result. For that matter, NBA basketball players are built like tanks, and they run back and forth for hours a day. Bottom line: saying that running burns muscle first is horseshit. If it happened that way, you'd see runners with no muscle and some fat when the opposite is unfailingly true. Even long distance or marathon runners have some muscle and low fat, but not nearly as much as sprinters because sprinters need to explode with powerful muscle contractions, which build muscle.
This is like the gayest thing in the world to worry about.. sure bodybuilders who eat perfectly clean to be perfectly lean.. don't wanna run.. they have no real carbs in them to burn so they could burn/lose muscle for general people.. this is just not a concern
Speaking of running, there are some weird pains and injuries you can get from running for a long time. Friction burns on the insides of your legs from running is one. Bleeding nipples from your shirt rubbing on your chest for over an hour is another one. I ran over 10km at lunchtime, and when I took my shirt off, my nipples were bleeding down my chest and stomach. Apparently I have to either put bandages on them or vaseline. I had worn a white dress shirt to the gym, but I had to wear a spare t-shirt afterwards because I couldn't have a bloody shirt going back to work. It's no joke. It's funny, but it really hurts. ::
buddy im too lazy to go back and read how often and for how far do you run each week, im adding some running to my workout because im chunky draws now.
That's cool. I'm around 200 (just under actually). I'm starting to look a bit skinny compared to my former massively-muscled goodness. I figure by spring I'll be 180 or so without an ounce of fat on me. That'll be the lightest I've been in 12-13 years, not counting 3 or 4 years ago when I went down to 169, but shot right back up after I started lifting weights again. This time I'm lifting weights and doing the cardio. I hit the weights this morning from 6am-7am before I made it into work actually. my limbs feel a bit tired, but I am toning up bigtime! :bears:
BTW, Massa, I now run 10k or more three times a week, and I do lighter stuff in between along with circuit training like I did this morning. LOK and I started off by running really short distances each day, and then gradually building up. That way your joints get a chance to heal and toughen up. I might do a mile today, but I did over 10km yesterday. I'm gonna add 5 minutes a week to my running and eventually get up to doing a half marathon. Who knows? I might even do a marathon next year just to try it out. I have no illusions about being worldclass or anything, but I am now running the 8k faster than I did in high school when I took Most Improved for cross-country running.
Mass I gotta agree with Buddy that this is the way to go.. start off with short distances but do it consistantly.. let your joints adapt
for the past 3 weeks i been running up and down a mountain, its only 2.4 miles 1.2 up and 1.2 down, even though its tremendously steep, i did it twice yesterday for the first time. i think thats what im going to start doing about 5 days a week.
That is Awesome Mass!! probably one of the best things you could do for overall health and to get leaner as well.. I didn't know you were all tubby Mass
Strangely enough, I think it's a good idea to be more careful on your way down than on your way up, Mass. On the way down, it's easier to build up speed and twist your ankle or pop your knee. Good luck and have fun although it's likely to be tough at first. I don't have any mountains right nearby, but that sounds like a great idea.
no doubt that going down is harder and more dangerous than up.. just be careful Mass.. if it's too steep it would even be good to sprint/run up and briskly walk down.. if you are tubby and try running down you might jack up your knee
im not tubby man, i just want to drop the weight i picked up, i play basketball, im in good overall shape, i just need to drop a few to be in better, im not like hanzy. i just did 5 miles on the track accross from my house, it went pretty easy, its pretty much a flat track, im not tired i probly go do 5 more after 6 pm, should i do that, or do you think i will doing too much?
First off, in response to the bolded text: :laughing::laughing::laughing: Secondly, I wouldn't start off with more than the 5 miles you already did. Even on a track, it gets hard on the knees.
are you over 280? 5 miles is a lot man.. seriously.. if you can do 5 miles 3 times a week and do it for week after week you WILL see a difference, also doing it on the track is nice.. if it's the rubberized surface that is so nice on your legs and joints..
yeah thats what i was thinking, take your time, you cant lose it all in one week. when i was younger i could always drop weight real fast, i guess imma take my time and see how it goes
Ah LOK's trying to bug our newest fitness forum member. People who are 6ft2 usually look taller to me, but then again I'm 5ft7, so I probably look shorter to them. ::
those 5 miles fucked me up hard, not really but i can feel it a little bit, and i have to go to the mountain today and i know i will feel it alot
How expensive are the trainers you guys use? I really hate having to spend relying on ANY excess equipment to work out but my shins hurt if I run more than 2 days running ATM. Worth spending extra on 'good' running shoes?
I think "trainers" is Euro for "sneakers" I run in New Balance. . and yes I am a believer in good shoes..
