Need to Lose Muscle

Question:

I'm 18 years old, my weight - 90 kg, height - 1.86 m.
I have been doing weight lifting for about two years and now I realized that I'm not happy with my appearance,
because I'm too muscular. Whenever I'm doing something I start to sweat so fast.

My body fat percent is 15% and I want to LOSE muscle mass at least some 6 or 8 kg, because I don't need it for my goals
in life, I'm playing football and doing some martial arts and I'm too slow and get tired fast because of muscle mass.

Could you PLEASE tell me how to lose that muscle mass? PLEASE! ...
 

Answer:

Do you Really Need to Lose Muscle ?

Do the Math:

If your body fat measurement was measured by a reliable method and you are indeed 15% body fat you need to further analyze your body composition.  At your current body weight (90kg) you have 13.5kg of body fat and 76.5kg.

According to the body fat analysis chart (above) at your age, your ideal body fat should be from in between 8-14% body fat and lean would be from 2-8% which all depends on your body type. 

I.e. if your parents are both the skinny type with little  body fat, you're probably better off in the lower body fat percentage in the ranges.  This would mean that you still need to cut fat, not muscle as at your current weight to be lean you should have 8% body fat which is half of your current body fat (15%).

Many people (mostly women) who think they need to lose muscle actually have layers of fat surrounding their muscles which they think is too much muscle when in fact they have too much fat compared to their desired levels.  If you weighed 90kg and had 8% body fat you would have 6.3 kg of body fat to lose.

Losing Muscle

If you do indeed really need to lose muscle to accomplish your goals it will take longer than burning fat.  Your body only uses protein (muscle) as a fuel as a last resort.  Your body will only significantly burn muscle during a very low calorie or starvation diet.

If you really want to lose muscle, you must  first and foremost stop all weight training.  Weight training provides the stimulus for you body not only to build muscle but maintain it.

Secondly in order to lose muscle you need to use your muscle mass as fuel you need to engage in long duration exercise.

Looking at most marathon runners you will see a very skinny frame with little muscle mass.

While partially due to genetics, the primary reason these athletes have little muscle because their activities burn so many calories it is hard to maintain any muscle mass.

If losing muscle is your priority, activities such as cross country running, long duration bicycling, rowing and any cardio machine for 60 minutes or even more is the best option.  Your diet must also must have low to moderate calories depending on your activity level.

Slow, Tired & Sweat from Muscle Mass

First off, sweating has absolutely nothing to do with how much muscle mass you have.  Sweat glands located in the dermis layer of your skin produce sweat to cool your body down and rid your body of toxins.  Excessive sweating is likely due to genetic or dietary factors such as excess sodium intake.

Being slow and tired has very little to do w/ "too much muscle" and a whole lot to do with improper training.  The SAID (Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands) explains how your training must be consistent with your goals.

If you feel you are slow and tire easily it is likely because your training.  If you want to increase speed and endurance you need to train for it.  If your training consists of traditional bodybuilding/weight training you need to get involved in a proper training program.

Most training programs for athletes follow the periodization model and include explosive (speed) power exercises such as Olympic lifting, functional weight training and plyometrics.  If you aren't familiar with any of those, you really need to become involved with a proper training program.

If you want a program designed for your specific goals in which the exercise selection, training volume, intensity and duration is all tailored towards achieving your goal check out the Online Personal Training section.

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