Running and muscle really can't have both?

Many people run for "weight loss," and many people run and fear "weight loss." Of course, there is an essential difference between the former and the latter. The former's "heavy" comes from fat problems, and the latter's "heavy" comes from muscle troubles. Specifically, the troubles of the former lie in weight loss and fat loss. Therefore, more questions are whether running can reduce body weight or reduce fat. The troubles of the latter are losing weight and losing muscles. They fear losing weight and fear of losing muscles. At the same time, more confusion is whether running will lose weight and will the loss of hard-working muscles be lost.

The problem always needs to be solved one by one. The topic of weight loss is too much. Today we change the topic. Does endurance training really cause muscle loss? The perfect figure loses its brilliance without muscles, and it is always difficult to maintain for a long time without muscular protection. Is it really a contradiction that cannot coexist with strength training and running?

The answer is of course: "NO!"

1 Does running really consume muscle?

The three main functional substances in the human body are sugar, fat, and protein. From the perspective of energy supply, whether the human body is in a state of rest or in motion, the supply of energy is based on the decomposition of sugar and fat, and the consumption of protein is saved as much as possible. Because protein is the most important structural material that makes up cells, it participates in many physiological functions, and our body is very clever. It doesn't waste a great deal of protein to consume. And in our usual diet sugar content is the most, accounting for about 50% to 70% of the total energy intake; and fat is the main form of human energy storage, up to 20% of body weight or more. Sugar and fat reserves are generally sufficient, and the body can save protein by consuming more sugar and fat.

Let's talk about the energy supply characteristics of these three substances during running. In endurance sports, the body is mainly dominated by aerobic function systems. Since glycogen stores more in the body, muscle strength will be exhausted after 1 to 2 hours of small-intensity exercise. Although the fat reserves are abundant, theoretically there is no limit to the exercise time, but its function is dependent on sugar. Therefore, during exercise, the proportion of fat supply decreases with the increase of exercise intensity. Extended and increased. Proteins only participate in energy supply during intense exercise longer than 30 minutes and are associated with muscle glycogen reserves. In the case of sufficient glycogen reserves, protein supply only accounts for about 5% of the total calories; when muscle glycogen depletes, protein energy supply also accounts for 10% to 15% of the total calories, but no more than 18%.

Muscles are mainly composed of proteins, so the answer to the problem is obvious. Running may consume muscle protein, but it is not so easy. Without long-term intense exercise, it is difficult to activate proteins to participate in energy supply, even if the proportion of participants involved in energy supply is very small. The previous article on the definition of exercise intensity also gave a detailed introduction. So? At least most amateur runners don't have to worry about your muscles missing.

2 Do muscles need to run?

Muscles play an important role in running. Not only can we provide the power needed for running, it can push the human body forward: without muscular strong contraction strength and rapid contraction speed, there will be no excellent athletic performance, and there will not be a strong figure on the track. At the same time, strong muscle strength also provides a strong protection for the joints: the joints are subjected to tremendous impact during exercise, and it is difficult to achieve good protection without good muscle strength.

If we say that endurance exercise will consume our muscles, has we always stressed that there is a contradiction in strength training? Endurance athletes also need a certain amount of muscle volume, but the muscular form required for endurance sports is not the same as the muscle type of general athletes, and it is a far cry from fitness muscles.

Muscles can be simply divided into two types: fast muscle, also known as white muscle; slow muscle, also known as red muscle. White muscles are usually larger in size, with greater contraction forces and higher anaerobic metabolism. The red muscle is called red muscle because it contains more myoglobin and therefore appears red. Red muscles have more mitochondria than white muscles, have greater aerobic metabolism, and are more resistant to fatigue. Studies have confirmed that after a long period of training and adaptation, most runners have increased red muscle fiber area and enhanced aerobic metabolism.

Therefore, the runner needs muscles that are different from those required for explosive sports and bodybuilding.

There may be incompatibility between endurance training and strength training, but endurance training is very small for muscle consumption. Are you still worrying that your muscles will be missing? Don't worry about it~ Take your steps! Let the perfect combination of strength training and endurance training! Perfect muscle lines beckon to you.