Jogging provides numerous advantages, such as fortifying your lungs and heart, increasing bone mass, elevating your mood, and decreasing your blood pressure.
Jogging is a highly productive means of burning calories, which is why so many people resort to it for weight loss. It can be tough to do enough running for you to reach your objectives concerning muscle mass, metabolism, and weight, depending on your physical composition.
Additionally, if you are utilizing running to cut down on your weight, you would most likely rather shed fat than muscle. Therefore, a lot of runners would like to know ways to run without sacrificing muscle mass or they inquire themselves how much they should run not to lose muscle.
In this article, we will examine the ways to partake in running and keep up muscle mass, as well as how to have a good time running while taking care of your health and fitness in a lasting way.
Does Running Make You Lose Muscle?
People often inquire about the relationship between running and losing muscle. It is not an easy question to answer with a simple yes or no or a specific number of hours that one should run, as the amount of muscle that is lost as a result of running largely depends on the general energy balance in the body.
It takes energy to run, so running burns calories. According to the Third Law of Thermodynamics, energy is unable to be either generated or eliminated; it is able to be changed from one state to another.
Thus, the force to run and the calories expended have to originate from somewhere.
The amount of energy your body needs to perform during your run is determined by the level of effort you are putting in, sometimes expressed as a percentage of your VO2 max. To provide that energy, your muscles use the stored glycogen and triglycerides that can be found in fat cells.
At lower amounts of effort, a larger portion of the energy is obtained from stored fat. As the amount of effort increases, the proportion of carbohydrates consumed changes, and the majority of energy generated is from the glycogen stored in the body.
Roughly 10% of the energy required when running at moderate to high speeds comes from protein. Muscle tissue is the only form of protein that the body can hold onto, so engaging in running does involve some degree of muscle loss. In the majority of cases, not much protein or muscle tissue is lost during a run.
It can be concluded that if an individual is adequately nourished and doing a workout that lasts less than 90 minutes, there isn’t a significant loss of muscle protein due to running.
The body’s capacity for storing energy in glygogen is limited to roughly two thousand calories. When your body’s store of glycogen is no longer available, it needs to be able to quickly switch to another energy source to provide energy to the muscles which are working. This change in metabolism produces the cellular energy ATP.
If you have ever felt a sudden wave of fatigue or exhaustion when running for a prolonged period or doing a marathon, you have encountered the dreaded state of glycogen depletion.
The muscles can create energy quicker by relying on carbohydrates that have been stored over fat, this is why carbs are the ideal fuel for rigorous exercise; since carbs can deliver the required amount of energy much more swiftly than fat.
When the body has to go back to using fat for energy, it requires you to slow your speed. There is also a simultaneous rise in the dependence on combusting muscle protein as a source of energy.
Consequently, when your glycogen levels are low, running consumes more muscle tissue.
How To Run Without Losing Muscle Mass
It should be attainable to retain strength while training for a marathon or other running event, even if you have a swift metabolism and do not desire to shed any pounds. Similarly, if you’re wondering how to run without losing muscle mass while still losing body fat, follow the principles below:
1. Spend Time Lifting Weights
One of the most successful strategies for athletes who run to maintain their muscle mass is to incorporate 2-3 full-body strength training sessions into their schedule per week, or have 4-5 days devoted to a body part split routine.
The aim of these exercises should be to increase muscular strength and bulk, not muscle endurance. It is most effective to lift heavier weights that you can safely use with correct form for 4-10 repetitions per set rather than lighter weights for 12-15 reps or more.
2. Eat Enough Protein
Repairing and constructing new muscle cells necessitates obtaining a sufficient amount of protein.
Protein is one of the three primary macronutrients. Protein not only gives you energy, providing 4 kcal per gram, it additionally furnishes one-of-a-kind restorative and muscle-growth advantages.
Consumption of protein causes it to be broken down into its constituent amino acids. These amino acids are then used to construct new proteins that serve to repair and build muscles, tissues, cells, enzymes, as well as nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).
Protein helps with the healing of muscle tissue that has been affected by running or lifting weights. It helps to fix any minor damage and can help build new muscle so that it can cope with the stress of your training.
3. Forget Intermittent Fasting
To help prevent muscle loss while running, a suggestion would be to eat multiple small meals throughout the day that contain at least 20 grams of protein each, spread out every 3 hours instead of eating one larger meal containing 40 grams of protein every 6 hours.
4. Space Out Your Workouts
Many runners like to combine their cardio and weight-lifting exercises into a single workout in order to save time. If you are focused on building muscle and are aware of how to exercise without losing muscle mass, it is optimal to separate your workouts by numerous hours, or even do them on alternating days.
5. Don’t Run On An Empty Stomach
When you exercise without having eaten, there is little stored glycogen in your muscles that can be used as fuel. Therefore, it is more probable that your muscles will be used as a source of energy.
If you plan to exercise on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, you should eat a carb-heavy snack like oatmeal, a banana, some dried fruit, toast with honey and butter, or a power bar before beginning your routine.
This will replenish your muscle glycogen and glucose reserves so that muscle protein will not be used as much to sustain your running.
6. Fuel With Carbohydrates During Long Runs
Eating carbs during extended runs and competitions can help increase the available glucose, protecting against using too much protein for energy.
The ACSM recommends that people engaging in endurance exercise should consume between 30 and 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour.
This equates to 120-240 calories of carbohydrates per hour. These carbs can be found in sports drinks, energy gels or chews, as well as in more solid forms of food like dried fruit, pretzels, bananas, and honey packaging.
7. Add HIIT
Running over a long-distance can break down muscle tissue, but intervals of exercise may have the opposite outcome.
A study discovered that after a 10-week period of High Intensity Interval Training, there was an increase in muscle mass in the quadricep muscles. Running activities such as hill sprints, track workouts, and fartleks are beneficial for people who want to stay in shape without sacrificing their muscle mass.
Running Can Actually Build Muscle
Studies have shown that muscle can be built just by running depending on the intensity and how long the activity is performed. Running short distances quickly compared with running long distances slowly can cause different responses in our bodies.
A research conducted on college students showed them a 10-week regimen of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). When the program concluded, the quads of the students had enhanced muscle mass. Running quickly can actually increase muscle protein formation: an essential requirement for our bodies to create muscle.
In contrast, running at a distance of more than 10 kilometers/6.25 miles can hinder our ability to increase protein breakdown in our muscles, causing damage and stopping any potential muscle growth.
How To Build Muscle as a Runner
Can you build muscle and still be a runner? Of course it is! If you have an organized muscle-building program and you consume the right type of food and however much you need, then you should have no problem increasing lean muscle; all you need to do is take the time to plan and do some arithmetic. I’m not great at mathematics, so if I can do it, you are able to do it as well.
Calculate your maintenance calories
You can roughly guess this from a calorie calculator. Calculators may not be totally accurate in calculating the amount of calories you should have, but they at least provide a basis to work off of. The most accurate way to determine your daily calorie needs is to observe your diet and weight for at least seven days without making dramatic modifications to either.
Progressive training plan
The final element for developing muscle is naturally to include a strength training routine that utilizes the principles of gradually intensifying demands. Generally, if you are looking to increase muscle gains, it is wise to use a rep range between 8 and 12 until you hit muscle failure. However, it is possible to make modifications to this approach.
Rest
Your muscles don’t actually grow in the gym. It is while you are resting that your body repairs the muscle fibers which have been broken down. The process is called muscular adaptation. You should take a break from admiring your muscles in the mirror after your exercise routine.
While some people might suggest that taking a break from activity and allowing your body to be at rest is helpful, it is not an absolute requirement. You don’t need to spend a rest day just sitting around; instead, you can go out for a leisurely stroll or a ride on your bike, so that you keep your body relaxed and flexible.
Does Muscle Mass Make You a Slower Runner?
Having muscles on your body will not cause you to run slower. In fact, it will probably do the opposite.
A research project was carried out to assess the correlation between lean muscle mass, various exercises (fast pace versus number of hours trained weekly), and body fat on the performance of athletes over 35 in half marathon, marathon, and ultra-marathon competitions.
It was determined that a decrease in body fat was linked to faster finishing times for competitors in all three events. The research determined that while body fat and velocity training cannot be neglected in relation to the three run times, the number of muscle mass is irrelevant. Whether skeletal muscle mass affects performance warranted further investigation.
Strengthening the muscles in our legs will absolutely assist in increasing our speed and reduce the risk of harm. Doing exercises for the lower body can boost our VO2 max and running efficiency.
Upper body strength and resistance training don’t come with as many benefits for running as their counterparts on the lower body, though they are still significant. Building up the muscle power in our arms, back, and center of the body helps improve how we run and how we keep our posture upright. In other words, it has a stabilizing effect.
Developing muscular power in your upper body can help strengthen and fortify your bones, as well as reduce the risk of injury. Having a solid upper and lower body strength can act as a barrier that shields your spine from the shock that running can cause. A piece from the magazine Runner’s World entitled Why Runners Need Strong Arms demonstrates how enhanced upper body strength lessens the amount of oxygen needed to run, allowing you to be quicker while at the same time spending the same amount of energy. Ultimately, it is obvious that having robust arms and shoulders can only help with your running capability, with no negative outcomes.
The key point is that having more muscle mass has no effect on how well one runs, however utilizing both upper and lower body strength training can increase running speed, help protect against injury, and improve how efficiently one runs.
Conclusion
Your desired level of running should be determined by your own particular aims, in terms of both how you want to look and your performance.
Excessive running and running extended distances may lead to a higher rate of muscle protein breakdown, preventing lower body muscle growth. If increasing upper body muscle mass isn’t a priority, then you can engage in longer runs and not stress about the effect on those muscles.
Resistance training for the entire body can enhance our running and does not cause us to be slower due to increased muscle mass. It does the opposite — it makes us faster.
Going for a jog can boost our ability to burn off fat, however, it is important to make sure we don’t take in too few calories, or else we can risk losing muscle mass.
Including resistance training in our workouts is key — it will help us achieve increased physical transformation, boost our metabolic rate, and become stronger runners.
No matter what your build, genetics, or size may be, if you can run, you can consider yourself a runner. You can implement educational techniques to enhance your performance and if you practice correctly, you can run any distance you desire.
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