How to Lose Muscle Mass on Purpose?

Love your site Rusty! I am addicted to ya I am 24 years old 5'5" and currently weight 140lbs. Because of you, I have joined a gym and have adopted the intermittent fasting lifestyle. I have lost about 10 lbs in the past month between the fasting and working out. It has been amazing! You are a great inspiration I feel much healthier and have much more energy. My goal is fluctuate between 123 – 127lbs. I want to be smokin I have been doing the HITT treadmill training and the low reps. I have naturally muscluar legs so I havent been doing any leg excercises. My problem is that my calfs and outer thighs look great, but my inner thighs arent tight at all. Do you think I should do the inner thigh excercise machine? There is a hard core spinning class at my gym, maybe if I did that once a week? I know you dont like the bike, but do you think once a week would make my legs to bulky? I would appreciate your help. Also what are your thoughts on Kickboxing classes? Lastly, I have fairly large arms, 11 3/4" Even though I have lost almost an inch over my whole body, my arms havent budged. What should I do about that? If you have any other tips for my body type that wouls be great. Thanx

what about catabolic state? if you cardio a lot and eat low calories wouldn't you enter catabolism? isnt this bad?
when you do low reps with heavy weights, how many sets do you have to do and how much rest between sets?
ive been doing this and i feel I have to do more than 3 sets but when I do i always think that Im doing the same amount of reps as if i was doing high reps. The difference is between what goes on in the body when you do low reps or just the fact that you're doing less reps over all?

Hi Rusty
i have been reading your fantastic site pretty much since you started it.I posted comments some months back but of late i have been too time restricted to post comments.However even if i do have a few minutes each day i will always check-out your posts and the great comments by the readers.
This post really (hiit) home as it is my new goal to get as lean and funtionally fit as possible by summer (as u know its winter in Oz).
Thankyou for the awesome free report and in my opinion it was really well written and easy to follow.
The only thing missing was when u get to the part where u actually describe the SFP workout,there wasn't a link to "paypal"for a $29.99 money back guarantee to get the info….lol
So, thankyou again Rusty,you are always giving and i hope you receive all the rewards you deserve.
Ciao for now,
G.

another great article!!! once i started doing more cardio than lifting, my clothes begain to fit so much better. I must admit, i have not cut out all leg work yet just b/c i'm scared my legs will become mush. I do limited leg training 2 times a week which is incorporated in my full body workout. Its funny, when i go back to old habits that are based off of oxygen magazine and muscle and fitness hers, i immediately see a shift in my body that i don't like. i get bulkier doing traditional splits. this is the same with diet. when i try and do 6 meals a day i become food obsessed and unsatisfied and end up binging. this website has been so great for me. i used to think it was something i was doing wrong b/c my results were not what i wanted. now i'm finally moving in the right direction. i'm not sure if you are familiar with chad waterby, but he just posted an article on Muscle With Attitude and stated how he would never train a woman who wants to look hot in her bikini with a traditional weight training split. he of course got a lot of negative feedback since that site is prodominantly female bodybuilders/fitness competitors. I used to want to look like a fitness competitor but they don't look as lean as the pics in the off season. they look bulky and manly. i've spoken to a lot of them and they do many of the principles you preach on this website to get to where they need to be for a fitness photo shot. anyways, thanks again
karie

Hi Rusty,

I have been an avid reader of your blog for some time but have never commented. Congratulations on producing such an informative and interesting blog.

Rusty,

The Eat Stop Eat link in the Low Body Fat Percentage link didn't work.

Great article, as usual! I have a few questions:

Which cardio should do beginners who are not fit enough to run because they're overweight / injured / weak?

What do you think of stair climbing (as in walking up real stairs) as cardio? Do you think it builds muscle?

Just wanted to say AWESOME post!

wow rusty amazing article yet again. I am 6'2 180, a year ago I was like 210 and it was NOT a good look for me. I was overblown with muscle and looked "roided out". The guys in the gym gave me respect but the hot girls that thought I was hot before were freaked out. That type of weight did not look right on my ectomorphic frame. I am a bartender/model/aspiring actor and I can tell you all the trendy, sexy young women find the overdevleoped look repulsive. I'd actually rather be skinny or even skinny/fat to a degree than be as big as I was at my largest. My legs were so big at one point, I was told I looked short and stumpy. Now at 6'2 people think I look really tall, most of the time guessing me at 6'3 or 6'4. I purposely laid off training shoulder/arms for awhile as these get hit to some degree any way in chest/back work in an attempt to "streamline" my appearance. Even when I was down to 180 for awhile my arms looked out of proportion big, (they were like 16.5 inches I think) Now they are down to just under 16 and look "right" for my frame. I only train shoulder/arms once a week with 6 sets each for shoulders, bis, tris. Stil enough work to get a nice bloodflow but not enough to blow them up. Many guys in my gym could not understand why I would purposely want to get smaller guns. One club promoter cheesy "rockstarr" guy was like "all the girlz want to c is dem gunzzz u betta train them and blow em uppp" lol YA RIGHT. People just need to do what is best for THEM not some cheesy image of a golden skinned oiled bodybuilder…

Rusty,

A very interesting post! I stumbled across your site about two weeks ago and think I have read every single post now. You've got a great site!

I'm in my early 20s, 5'11" and 161 lbs. Obviously I'm not overweight but I have more fat that I'd like (especially on the chest/tummy) and want to build a tiny bit more muscle. I normally hit the gym 5 days a week, with about 2-3 days 20 min HIIT, the other 2-3 days a Tabata routine, and then every day I also do about 20 min solid state cardio (on crossramp or rowing machine), ab planks, and a lifting routine for my arms and pecs. Weekends I usually take a break from working out except I'll typically do a 2.5 hour bike ride on Sat or Sun.

Dietwise, I try to eat nothing except a protein shake before working out (I work out around 3-4 pm), though occasionally I'll have plain yogurt with berries. Then usually eat a medium carb meal after workout (fresh pasta w vegetables or maybe a whole grain bread with cheese) and a low-carb dinner (eggs, salads, etc). I keep the daily calories between 1000-1400 and try to get at least 100g of protein.

I was seeing great results the first 2 weeks or so (dropping like 7 pounds), but since then things have been slowing down and there has been no weight change over the past week. I'm wondering if by hitting the gym every day my body has somehow adjusted to the routine over the past few weeks. Either that, or I'm caught in some endless loop where my body burns muscle during the day and during cardio, and then just replenishes it at night (although I have been getting gradually stronger over the past weeks). Am I doing too much resistance training?

Or am I on the right track and just not being patient enough? Any suggestions you have would be hugely appreciated. Thanks and keep up the good work!

Lance Armstrong started to cycle really fast after he lost a considerable amount of upper body muscle. Took some cancer for it to get done, but after he lost this unneeded muscle he was invincible (well in the tour de France anyways).

It all depends on your goals. Do what's necesary to reach them.

*Applause* this is a great entry on the benefits of having functional athleticism. This also speaks well to the teenagers who are eager to bulk up…. i.e. what's the point of bulking up if a slimmer smaller guy can put you on your back? My boxing coaches when I boxed in college ALWAYS emphasized that you will be faster and stronger at your frame's minimum weight. We made weight mainly through high intensity workouts 6 times a week(including running) and cutting calories to below 2000 a day. Sparring did it best, since it is like HIIT like you said before for 3 minutes at a time with 1 min breaks. My legs are naturally thick and at the peak of the season they were always noticeably slimmer. Compliments again for this entry.
PS: the guy throwing the punch in the pic is Georges St. Pierre for anyone curious, he's one of the best pound for pound competitors in mixed martial arts.

HI Rusty! Congratulations for this great post. I have reading your comments for 2 months and I love it. I go to the gym 4 or 5 days. 3 days 30 min. HIIT, the 3 days spinning class. I do weights 3 days. I just started doing the ab plank. I am 5'6" and 124 lbs. My legs look so sknny, I would like to gain some muscles on my legs. After, I finish my hiit workout, I am doing walking lunges on the treadmill for 3 to 4 minutes. Do you think this will help.

Hey Rusty!

So you mentioned in your post that everyone should train for function using low reps and high weights right? And in your earlier posts you mentioned that they will help you grow but not to a certain very great extent. So do you think that if I train this way with a higher calories (since I am trying to gain) I would get good results with this training? I definitely would like to lift my heaviest since I'm not very strong and it's kind of embarassing to be lugging around light weights. Though, I'd definitely like to build up that functional muscle as well.

Hey Rusty, great post. I enjoyed reading Dean's post as well. I get made of fun of sometimes by the big bodybuilder types at our gym as well since I slimmed down to 175. Today someone told me I looked like I needed to eat a sandwhich. They roll there eyes at me since I do a lot of cardio and only lift 3 times a week.
Anyways, I love being at this weight. I'm lean and toned and feel great, and I look so much better in my clothes now then I did before when I was concerned about being huge. And you were right, the longer I'm at a low body fat level, the better I look. My muscle tone really seems to be improving. The best part about all of this is I've been able to hold this weight while eating three square meals per day. The only time I eat more then that is if I'm hungry and I want a quick snack, I just make sure it's healthy. Regardless, I don't have to eat 6 small meals per day like I once thought. This has been such an improvement as far as being a healthy lifestyle. I seriously used to get stressed about getting in my next meal, what a joke. Life is to short to be worried about stupid things like that. This has been very easy and fun to maintain. Thanks for your help!

Brad

THIS was absolutely one of the best articles I have ever read. I am considered a fitness expert, I would like to be able to contact you further- I am having trouble findng an e-mail address- could you please help me BOND????? thanks

Nina,

Just keep doing what you are doing. Your body won't slim down at an even rate. At some point everything will even out. You will get 75% of the way there really quickly, but the last bit of fine tuning can take a bit more time. I don't think you need to do the inner thigh machine. Give the spinning class a try once you are close to your goal weight, that way it is less likely to add excessive bulk to your legs. Keep up the great work!

Kaiser,

If you goal is to add mass, then rest less in between sets. If you want to remain strong or gain strength without adding mass, then rest quite a bit longer in between sets. Doing 5 sets of 3-4 reps has a much different effect than doing two sets of 10 reps…even though the rep count is the same. Low reps create high tension without exhausting the muscle. Higher reps in the 6-12 range to failure tend to exhaust and break down the muscle which leads to growth. Just two different mechanisms involved with the two different types of sets.

As far as reaching a catabolic state with marathon cardio. That is one of the goals if you need to lose muscle. You don't want to overdue this.

G,

I remember reading your comments. That was back when I had the time to answer each one. It is funny…when I first started this site, it had more readers from Australia than any other country including the US. I think it was because of the time difference. I would do most of my posts late at night here, but I think it was mid-day there. Anyway…I need to go to OZ someday. Thanks for reading all these months!

karie,

I have read through a lot of the magazines that give fitness advice to women. I believe a lot of the advice they give creates a bad look especially in the lower body. For some women there might be some benefit to doing leg exercises short term, but my bet is that most will do great to avoid lifting all-together. I know this isn't a popular view, especially from the fitness models. I have to be honest, I don't like the way most of their bodies look anyway. The best looking role models in my opinion are usually on the cover of Shape magazine. Thanks for the compliments and keep reading and commenting!

Leyton,

Thanks for the heads up. I have quite a few links that are down, since I had to transfer my site over to a more powerful server. I didn't realize these links were down! I appreciate it that you told me. I hope everyone here who builds a helpful website gets more traffic than their server can handle. It is a good problem to have

Angela,

I think stair climbing is exceptional exercise. If you can do that, you will quickly be able to make progress. The downside of walking on flat land is that it simply isn't hard enough to see visible results for very long. If someone is WAY out of shape they will progress for a while, but then they need to move on to more advanced exercise.

Jon,

Thanks a bunch. Glad to see you stop on by. You were definitely one of the first to comment on my site on a regular basis. I appreciate that. I hope life is going well for you.

Dean,

Well worded comment. You definitely "get it" when it comes to exercising. You can let all the other guys "blow up dem gunzzz and get the ladies". That made me laugh! It feels good to know the score doesn't it

Josh,

You are doing fine and it wouldn't hurt you to eat a few more calories. As far as drinking a protein shake before working out…make sure you don't drink it right before working out. It would be even better to drink the shake then wait 3-4 hours before exercising. You will not make linear progress as far as losing weight goes. In fact, there are times when you will even add a bit of weight when working towards your goal. Typically it is like this…lose 5, then gain 1, lose 3, then gain 2, lose 10, then gain 1, stay at the same weight for three weeks, then lose 6. It is a "stair step" path to losing weight. It sounds like you are doing more than enough to reach your goal…just keep at it!

Frank,

Fighters are an amazing example of how effective HIIT is for burning body fat and maintaining a perfect amount of functional muscle. Boxing is a sport with short bursts followed by periods of rest or less intense effort…the same could be said for soccer. Almost every high level soccer player and fighter that I have seen have outstanding physiques. Good point for sure! Also…I completely agree with steering kids away from unnecessary bulk. If I was a coach I would build a team of aerobically fit, slim, quick and functionally strong little bad-asses. They would tear up their slower bulky opponents.

Wazzup,

Lance Armstrong is one of the most unbelievable athletes of all time. I am still blown away by what he accomplished. His book is also one of the most amazing things I have ever read.

[I love this clip of Lance Armstrong in Dodgeball. It makes me laugh every time!]

Iris,

If your legs are too skinny, then the spinning class will help. It wouldn't hurt to throw in some weighted lunges as well. It sounds like you have a great program going. Your legs will add a bit of functional muscle by just doing what you are doing. It will come with time, just don't force it because then you may end up with bulky legs…which is a tougher problem to fix.

Brad,
Yeah…many of the big guys are out of shape and would be toast at anything that required running for any period of time. The two biggest guys in my gym smoke cigarettes after their workout on the way to their car. Anyway…I just find that type of stuff funny.

It is nice to not be a slave to food anymore, isn't it? I used to be the same way…get 30-40grams of protein every 2-3 hours each and every day. My whole day's purpose revolved around eating. I'm glad I'm free from that trap! Sounds like you are free as well. I bet your digestive system feels better not having to digest all that food!

Good stuff everyone!

Rusty

KK,

Did you read the post I did on gaining mass? It is called… A Sensible Way to Build Muscle Mass. I would do a workout similar to this for a short period of time…then back to lower reps.

Ah, I guess I must have missed that one. I'll look into that one right now.

KK,

FYI I used the principles almost exactly in the sensible building mass post that Rusty refers to above.

It was absoluetly awesome and exceeded my expectations in every way. It only took me around 2 months to go from 168 to 180 (im a 6'2" ectomorph and used to think i was a hard gainer when it came to gaining muscle) and still stay under 7% bf. Since then I've found it easy to range b/t 178 and 182 with bf around 6%. I eat 3 decent sized meals a day plus desert and stay at this size.

Rusty-

I have just spent a while reading some of your previous articles. I am really blown away by your knowledge, even more by your ability to articulate yourself so well.

I would like your advice. I am a long time spinning instructor, and marathon runner. I am fit and lean with a 17% body fat. I actually weight 169 lbs and I am 5'9- my waist is 27 inches and I have a typical mesomorph body- (female)…smaller waist, broad shoulders- lots of muscle from 8 years of 5 day a week weight lifting, and super strong and BIG legs (from spinning up to 6 times a week, even twice a day for years)

I get annoyed. I am disciplined. And I have practiced IF for years- mostly intuitively- it's cool to read your logic- Recently, 1 month ago, I gave up teaching all spinning (even though I have been trained to believe that it can't bulk up legs- I feel this is a lie- for some body types, such as mine)…and took up only fast walking (80% max HR) and elliptical…

I am willing to follow your advice as an experiment-
with a very well developed upper body, do I need to do weights at this time, if my main goal is to lose about 15 pounds- even though, I am mostly muscle… is this even realistic for me to do? this is why I loved your post yesterday- it was ingenious, because you are so right, most fitness books talk about the desire to build…I have been there, done that and I don't want to build ever again! Also, what is your advice for my calorie intake- I totally get the processed carb thing and "white" thing as well- but I do love some frozen yogurt…

However, I must also say that I once weighed over 300 pounds and I lost if all on my own with calorie restriction, intense cardio, and weight training…

My logic has always been that bigger muscle made sense for me to fill in skin that was stretched out by fat for a long time…

Whatever imput you have would be awesome, I would love to chat sometime! I am in my mid-30's and I have also had 4 children

Rock on
Marie-

Rusty,

This is one of your best posts ever I think. And the 3 page mini course is an awesome summary of what it takes to get lean and functionally fit.

I love how you use the example of boxers and MMA fighters (ie. UFC) as being great role models of functional fit athletes.

I'm a massive boxing fan and try to incorporate a few of the basic training techniques in my own training (e.g. 5 mile time trials on treadmill "road work", 800m running interval training followed by 1 minute rest – simulates 3 min round and 1 min rest – absolute killer!, shadow boxing with and without dumbells etc etc).

In fact one of my life goals is to attend a massive world title fight at either MSG in NYC, or the MGM Grand in LV! The US is so blessed with many great boxing contests year round such as the Cotto v Margarito fight on the weekend! What a war. I normally go and watch the fights live at my local club when they televise them as with the time difference they end up being on Sunday late morning/noon time slot.

I also loved the Dodgeball scene invlolving the legend Lance Armstrong. In fact the Tour de france is one of my favorite sporting events of the entire year and its real popular in oz now with Cadel Evans being so close to winning in the last few years.

Any way keep up the great posts!

Hi Rusty. This is a great post as to how to naturally figure out how much muscle is necessary to look phenomenal. I am actually a healthy looking guy with a little bit of extra flab to loose from my mid-section so i have just joined a gym. But the trainers there are giving me a hell lot of different ideas about exercises,sets and reps and time under tension and cardio and everyone is contradicting each other. So please Rusty help me out so i remove the doubt permanently from my brain and start to look rock solid for my upcoming vacation with my girlfriend. I have heard that high rep low intensity is for endurance and low rep high intensity is for power/strength. Also dont train for failure when performing sets right? So Rusty please assign me a plan for say a week so that i could follow it for atleast 4-6 weeks because i am short in time. My age is 24 male and height is 5'6",my body fat percentage is 16% and my weight is 150 lbs.

Love this article, Rusty. Thanks for all of the great info!

Hi Rusty,
How long would it take to notice if legs bulked up from biking?
I have been riding my bike recently and really enjoy the time outdoors. My neighborhood has major hills that are tough, but there are also times I just coast along. I don't put on muscle very easily, but I thought of your comments (and would love stronger looking legs, but not bigger…). Do you think the bulking is more related to the stationary bike b/c you have to pedal constantly, which can be different than actually going outside on a bike.
I don't think I'd stop biking now b/c I enjoy it, but would like to know if if should expect my legs to change (i.e., become bigger).
I guess I could always let you know what happens in a couple of months!
Thanks for another great post.

another great article!!!! i have a question for you. so heres the deal. i only workout 5 days a week, monday thru friday, for no more than 1 hr doing cardio and weights. My workouts are pretty intense. I find that i'm always fatigued most likely do to having a hard time eating more calories to sustain my workouts though i'm at 1500cals a day i should probably be eating more. So the common thought is to do more but i was thinking of doing less since i don't want to increase my cals. i was going to do 3 days of full body weights and tack on 3 HITT sessions at the end of my weight training sessions on monday, wednesday, and firday. this would leave me with tuesday, thursday, sat, and sun off. I wonder if i would feel better and even have better results giving my body more rest time. However, other than working out my life is pretty sedentary since i'm a graduate student and spend most of my days sitting on my butt in lectures and studying. So my question is what do you think of this and have any of you experimented with cutting back? By the way, my diet is really good. do you think i can get a bikini body by working out less???

Hi Rusty,
Thank you so much for your answer. I would like to know your opinion about supplements. I am taking glutamine because a personal trainer in my gym told me it is good for your joints and for people who do a lot of cardio.

Very good post Rusty, it's true, when i think about it nobody really talks about losing muscle, but the truth is many people should. Once a girl was asking how to lose muscle in her legs, it was at yahoo answers, and i told her to do long distance running, it's like you said Rusty, it's the best way to lose muscle anywhere, just look at long distance runners. Being a former skinny hardgainer, losing muscle for me it's easy, i just stop lifting weights on that body part and wait. I had a big but from squating a LOT, and i didn't like the way my body was going, and i was reading in a lot of places, including in articles of Vince Gironda, that once you let your glutes grow big, you never lose the size because they're too dense, but the truth is that when i stoped training for some time, my glutes lost size and went back to normal, then i just had to start training again, but in a different way, no more back squats.

This is a great post and I have dealt with many people who have had a similar problem of retaining too much muscle mass. The key things I have found to rid yourself of bulk have been to:
-Eat less (obviously)
-Stop lifting heavy weights and switch to more BW based workouts and MetCon style stuff.
A long run with some bodyweight exercises thrown in can go a long way to toning up your body and making someone bulky look aesthetically pleasing.

Also for legs Rusty got it spot on with the pump, avoid it at all costs if you have a tendency to gain bulky legs. otherwise your gonna need the talcon powder and oversize jeans.

Great blog rusty!

Hey Rusty, great web site. REally love it!

What is your specific advise for someone overweight. Should we just do steady state cardio w/o HIIT for a while? Also, should we do the weight routine you suggest? Thanks much for you info.

Rusty! You came through. Thanks so much.

Apologies that it took so long to write in. I just finished the CA Bar; yesterday. So, I opened up my computer for the first time in a few days and read your article.

This is good stuff. Like a lot of your articles, it is a simple and flexible approach. I have cut out all weight training in the legs, and yes, its that pump feeling that seems to precede the growth. I figure once I am down the size I want, I might add a single here or there, but with lots of rest in between lifts.

Walking is the best way for me to loose the size. running is fine, sure, but then I fear the long grueling runs. Just walking everywhere for a while should do it.

Muscle shifting was something I think Ori Heffenmelker (sp) was writing about. He is the author of the Warrior Diet. The idea was decreasing protein intake precipitously, then continuing to lift the, in this case, upper body, while keeping calories normal to maintain body weight, and stopping lifting the legs. In this way, he supposes the body will scavenge proteins to repair damage to the cells in the upper body and catabolize the lower body to do so. Dont know if it works in practice though.

Anyway man, thanks for the response. I am killing the direct leg work. I am adding in some walks. I am working on flexibility and the legs will come down.

Michael.

Hey bro, excellent post… an interesting observation about how people talk about losing muscle. I don't get to crazy with the lower body workouts because I enjoy the interval training. Last summer I lost almost 30 Ibs, one important factor, interval training my friend. Plus, I'd rather have a stronger heart, improved fitness (because this type of training will reduce body fat) than having a muscle bound lower body- in the bulky sense. BTW, there's nothing wrong if that's what you want. Remember, everyone has different and specific needs, goals, etc.

Ok So I am giving up Lifting/Lower body work for Good. Most of my lifting has been lower body focused. My legs are good right now and I don't want them bigger…I just want them to be more defined. By lifting I was able to build some nice curves that I've never had down there (butt, hips, etc).

My New Plan for the next 2 months looks like:

30 Day Shred (everyday)
3 Days Kickboxing
2 Days HIIT on Track

Are you sure that sprinting intervals won't bulk my legs up more? Also is it ok to do HIIT Sprinting on the Track 2 Days in a row? I really like lifting butt I'm giving it up for now…

dude, lance armstrong is a beast – but he's a butterfly compared to ultramarathon man Dean Karnazes
google or youtube him
heres some things ive heard about him: he ran, on treadmill for 24 hours straight to break a world record/
i also heard he ran something like 264 miles, nonstop
even sleeping while running!
he has a book too
talk about functional athleticism!!!
you should do an article on dean!

Great post Rusty. Personally, I don't think I need to lose any muscle at the moment. Although I have put on weight since I started training, compared with most people I'm still quite skinny. I think I would like a bit more size before I start looking to lose muscle.

However, I do want to start doing more cardio to get more ripped and improve my fitness. Last week I started doing something similar to the marathon cardio you mentioned. I got up at 5am, put a rucksack on, filled up a 2 litre bottle with water and then ran from my house in Salford (UK) to the Old Trafford football stadium. According to a route planner this is a 4 mile journey each way. It took me about an hour to complete the circuit and had me feeling really refreshed for work and even during my evening lifting session at the gym after work.

The problem is I only managed to keep this up for Monday and Tuesday. Since I work on my blog on week nights I very rarely get to hit the sack at a reasonable time and so tiredness often catches up with me mid-week.

This weekend I am going to try and get all my blog work done today and tomorrow and have everything scheduled to go. Then the week nights can simply be used to go to the gym, have my tea, maybe read a few fitness blogs or have a couple of games on the Playstation and MOST IMPORTANTLY get to bed nice and early.

Does jump roping increase leg size. I have very muscular thighs from over 15 years of weights. I want to decrease but my schedule is not running friendly.

Is there such a thing as a muscle-loss 'threshold'? Like you can only lose up to a certain amount of muscle mass, even if you crash diet?
Or can you lose all of it? – muscles on top, skeletal muscles and so on.
Always been wondering that…
Also, wondering if you have any advice. You see, Im wanna lose a bit of muscle BUT the thing is, Im into some acrobatic/gymnastics type martial arts (xma, capoeira, etc) and it ABSOLUTELY helps if youre lighter. The lighter, the better. It makes it ALOT easier to throw your body around. But muscle-memory is a very VERY big deal in the stuff I do. Almost utmost importance. Any suggestions?

hey loved your article. Im a track athlete (jumper) I want to lose my lower leg muscle because its slowing me down but at the same time get stronger.what would be the best way to get this goal and what would be my diet for that.

OK I have to tell you first of all thank you for this info. I too will pay money to get my body looking lean. I am 5'3 and 120. After finishing my first marathon i gained a lot of bulk. I know i know it's muscle but unless I'm in a bathing suit it doesn't seem that way.So I am trying the HIIT cardio and your diet.But what i am wondering is will the sprinting add more muscle?Can I split the sprinting and long runs up during the day? How many min. of HIIT in a day? I am trying to lose 10lbs. I love the long lean look. Oh yeah and how many calories in a day for the warrior diet? Also carbs?
By the way have I told you I am on your site for hours now!!!
Thank you so much!!!!

I just learned that bike makes legs bulky. I thought bike would make me loose fat off my legs, wrong! I am now stopping all weights on arms and legs, I wan't to look define and progress with losing body fat, this article is helping me. Okay now I have this problem- What confuses me is that people who work in gym tell me to eat a diet high in protien and drink lots of water. If I will be doing cardio, and HITT do I still need to eat a diet high in protien? I weigh 160 after having a baby 2 months ago from 195. Now the weight is harder to loose, though I am happy I am loosing weight evenly.

Hulbs,

Thanks for the glowing testimonial as well as the compliment. I remember your transformation well as you kept us up to date on this site. Great stuff. You know I am going to ask for a testimonial when I come out with my first book My girlfriend loves MMA. It is kind of funny, because I didn't like it at first, but now I'm into it. We have big Pay-Per-View parties and watch these events live. It is a blast!

Marie,

Congrats on losing all of that weight. That is amazing. Also…I have a lot of respect for anyone who instructs spinning classes. That is as brutal as it gets. My recommendation would be to lift your upper body, but cut the volume in half. Do less sets and less reps…avoid the pump. Spend the next 6 months on a treadmill and avoid the exercise bike if possible. You can always gain that muscle mass back if you miss it.

Arvin,

If I was in your position. I would lift 4 days a week:

Monday: Chest, Back, Abs followed by my recommended cardio workout (see the bottom of any page on my site and click the link that says "low body fat percentage").

Tuesday: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps recommended cardio routine

Wednesday: Nothing but cardio for one hour

Thursday: Same as Monday

Friday: Same as Tuesday

Saturday:off

Sunday: possibly an hour of cardio if you don't feel wiped out

Tips: Just do 2 exercises per body part, 4-5 sets of 3-5 reps each exercise. Go into your workout completely carb depleted whenever possible.

Jessica,

It isn't an issue for everybody…only for a small minority of people. It sounds like you will be fine. Enjoy biking out doors…it is a great form of exercise.

karie,

The stricter our diet is the less you need to workout to get great results. You can look great in a bikini by working out less if your diet is clean. Someone who eats well could easily get by on just 3-4 days a week working out. The lifting followed by HIIT is exactly what I would recommend. Good plan for sure!

Iris,

I don't think you need to supplement with glutamine. You can get great results without it.

Helder,

Yeah…I had a big butt from squatting heavy as well…it took me 3 years for it to back to normal…I'm not sure why this exercise is so popular. I look and feel much better since I dropped it from my routine. I gained back my vertical leap as well.

Chris,

I featured your blog, Zen to Fitness in my one of my free courses. I'll e-mail you. I love your layout and domain name. Kind of jealous!

Mike,

Do HIIT for 10-15 minutes, rest 5 minutes, then do a medium to low pace of steady state cardio for 15-20 minutes. Look at the bottom of any page on my blog…click the "low body fat percentage" link.

Miguel,

Nice looking blog buddy! People don't realize it, but I click almost every link if you mention your site name when entering a comment. I just get curious and can't help it! I like the wide them. Good content as well!

Giselle,

Sprinting will develop nice looking legs that are balanced for your physique. Sprinting build a very natural amount of muscle…unlike squatting and deadlifts…plus regularly sprinting will make increase your athletic ability. You will be fine.

rey,

That guy is nuts! I feel like such a slacker.

TOM,

I COMPLETELY understand what you are talking about. Having a new blog is like having a newborn baby…you will experience a large amount of sleep deprivation if you want a blog to take off quickly. I'm creating a free mini-course for all the guys and girls in the Fitness Spotlight community, so they can accomplish success without sacrificing as much sleep as many of us have. Your site is looking great…keep pushing. I know it is tough at times, but that is why pushing through will guarantee your success.

Maia,

Jumping rope is a good slimming exercise for the thighs, but it may increase the size of the calves at first. If calf size is a problem…you may want to limit your time jumping rope.

rey,

Do extremely low volume strength training and avoid the pump when you lift. I have gained strength off of 4-5 sets total of 2-3 reps per body part. Pick one exercise per body part and give it a try. I know it sounds crazy, but if you only have to focus on 4 sets…you can rest for 3-4 minutes and really make that set count.

Will,

I lost all jumping ability as my legs got larger from lifting. I gained it back by dropping all squats and leg lifts of any sort. Run stairs, do sprint intervals, etc. I do like hanging power cleans for developing explosive ability without building mass. They will give you incredibly detailed muscles in your hands and forearms as well.

tricia,

You will find your biggest success by going into your workouts in a fasted state. You should be fine with including some sprints in your routine. The cardio I recommend can be done in about 30-45 minutes and is located at the bottom of my site click "low body fat percentage". As far as the Warrior Diet goes…I recommend eating healthy normal size meals…2-3 over a 4-5 hour period of time. My friend, Scott Kustes of Modern Forager eats this way as well. It works.

Olga,

Eat a normal amount of protein. No need to go crazy with it. I eat less than what most nutritionists recommend, but that is what works for me. I also eat lower calories than what people typically recommend. Don't force the calories or protein if it doesn't feel natural.

Rusty

Thank you much for your fast response. I just anxious to get back to 125lbs. I forgot to tell you I am eating 80-100 grams of protein a day. Too much? The lady at the gym said that i should eat 130 grams of protein, divide into aprox. 5 meals a day to reach a goal weight of 130 lbs., but I feel 130 grams of protien is too much. I just want to know if I am okay on my daily protein with all the cardio and HITT I am doing, 5x a week 45min – 1 hour. I am trying to do about 40 grams of carbs a day, too low? I have been eating like this for 9 days and boy is it tough. Everything I read about is high protien low carb, I just don't want to eat too much protein if it's not needed. Your right it dosen't feel natural. I want to loose body fat right now, not gain muscle. I'm not sure if I am on the correct path. Please help!
Thank you for your time.

Hi Rusty,
Indeed great article and very useful and helpful at least for me.
I'm 5'9" and weight 136lb.
Today I've done a medical stuff to see the fat and muscle proportion in my body. I've discovered I've got very few fat and a lot of muscle and 2kg underweight.
I'm modelling, you know how this world is. I need to loose some pounds, but to reach my ideal measurements I will need to loose muscle too.
I'll start going on the treadmill as you said bicing pump legs muscle. I'll follow your instructions. But just one doubt: will I get flabby/loosy legs/skin/butt by loosing muscle?I wouldn't like that.
Thank you very much

Sorry for double posting. I forgot some things.
What other exercice would you recommend, instead of treadmill, if I have in both knees worn out cartilage, doctor recommend me not to jump.
What kind of low calorie diet? I'm going to an endocrine this week and I hope he tells me how to loose weight although I'm underweight, but I'd like to know your opinion too.
You already said how to loose muscle in legs, but I want to loose muscle everywhere, what kind of exercice to loose in arms and trunk should I go on?
I just need answers, I'd apreciate very much your help.
Thank you

hey man i just wanted to say great post, i vbeen looking for sumthing like this. I wanted to lose muscle mass in my thighs,legs ( i got alot from soccer, biking) and i want to get back the skinny lean legs i had before and not like bulky "tree trunks". So basically all i have to do is run on a treadmill for 45 mins aviod antyhing that cause's a pump and keep a low cal diet?
i have a question on the treadmill part, wont it create a pump in my thighs and legs, just like running around on the filed in soccer?
oh and one more thing i wanan lose body fat to get ripped,lean muscle can i lose muscle in my thigh's while doing your skip rope routine for the rest of my body?

hi rusty
Finally an article that i can relate to~!
Your thinking makes so much sense to me and many others. With this i can finally take a guided step to looking my best and i just want to say thank you~!

I actually have a problem with my pectorals. I have unusually large pecs that i want to reduce. I know that you talk about legs and that running is a good exercise to reduce muscle mass. What about the pecs? Can you suggest me an exercise that has no or less pump for the pecs? Something that will reduce mass and fat?

Hi Rusty

I been looking for an article like this, everything I read is like why would you want to lose muscle. This article is GREAT!

I took have trouble with my calf and thighs with too much muscle. Being of asian background I am quite small (approx 156cm and 55kg) so having big thighs and calf doesn't exactly look great. So I really want to lose these muscles but I am a indoor/ futsal soccer player and love the game would it mean I would have to give up my soccer?? Games for indoor only last for 30mins (15mins half) and very high intensity, constant sprinting up and down the field.

I also went to the gym to jog, but i still found my legs were getting bigger, so I stopped and only occasionally go to the gym to walk for about 40mins to 1hr.

My usual routine for soccer is 4x a week (training 3x) and training usually last 1 – 2 hours.

I would love to hear your advice, on how I could work around my issue. I know some people have told me to simply to stop playing soccer, but for me when I see a soccer ball I simply just run after it. I know its kinda not ideal but it would be great if i could lose the muscle without giving up my sport.

Really hope you can help me

Hey Rusty. I'm currently trying to burn pure fat and is trying to follow the rapid fat loss handbook by Lyle Mcdonald. My concern is that I" want to maintain as much upper body muscle as I can while lose fat along with muscles in my lower body. To do this, I plan to only have a whey protein shake after my upper body workouts and eat nothing after my cardios since I have overdeveloped calves from running. I was wondering if this is a good approach.

THANK YOU!!!!!!! No one will ever address this seriously. I am a fitness model (and a personal trainer) who is constantly asked to "slim down those legs!" No one understands that when you are 5'3" and weigh 145lbs with 18% body fat that you can have WAY too much muscle. It just doesn't look feminine on me. Some people like it and can carry it, as a model I get passed over for jobs and criticized constantly! Losing muscle is the only way I will ever look "fit". When I wear pants I just look bottom heavy and unattractive. No one knows it's all muscle under there…. THANK YOU for understanding that fitness is different for everyone!

Hi…
I seriously need your advice on how to lose muscles for all parts of my body…
I'm a 17-yr-old girl..I'm not fat..but people keeps saying that i'm fat…it's because i've lots of muslce..those muscles make me look so big-sized…i juz hate 'em !!
I think i'm mesomorph cuz i build muscle easily but I want to lose muscle to look more feminine…
FYI…I'm interested to get into the entertainment industry in taiwan…and u know how asians celebrities look like..they're so small size…thin..n importantly…they don't have a lot of muscles..
I really really need your help…
Please advice me on how to lose muscles…
Thanks a lot~

Hi….

I built a lot of muscle in my deltoids because I guess I had wrong personal trainers. But I'd like to get rid of all the muscle in my deltoids. My body is naturally boyish looking and slender so having big arm muscles doesnt look right and that my body doesnt look right without any muscle. My triceps and biceps have shrunk and are still shrinking but not so much muscle has decreased in my shoulders…is it just a matter of time before my body gets to my shoulders and around them? It's like a horrible hunk of muscle on both and it looks terrible with my body type. On another note I can build muscle quickly I believe. I would appreciate your help. What kind of fasting should I do that can help this process? I would appreciate your help and any advice you share. Thanks.

Ugh I meant that my body doesnt look right with any built muscle. I was happy just with having what I had before I lifted.

hey rusty,i am glad that i found this site,found this post.recently i have been thinking how to lose size on my lower body.i have been putting on mass for a yr.i have a longer body short legs.its already hard to find jeans that would make me look good even with shorter legs.now that my thighs are so thick i have a hard time finding bottoms to wear. my goal would be to maintain mass on the upper body and to "shrink" the size of my lower body.so is it possible if i continue my normal workouts,but when it comes to LEGS DAY,i'm just gonna do the cardio that u recommended?and drop all legs exercises.i would appreciate your help and your advices.thanks alot!! AND I REALLY LOVE THIS POST!! GREAT!!! =D

Rusty,

I've been looking for information for a year on the internet on "Losing Muscle Mass in Legs" and "Muscle Atrophy." This is the best article yet and has made me a regular reader of your blog! I've been fighting huge thighs for years and realized that what initially worked for me (HIIT) was now doing nothing but maintaining, if not building a bit of muscle. Thank you! Would you consider doing a Part II to this article? I would like to see what diet beyond calorie deficits should look like. For instance, should I cut back significantly on the protein? Additiionally, I also wanted to know what other medium to high intensity cardio you could recommend? I assume you don't recommend running uphill either, correct? Lastly, I wanted to ask how long does it usually take before you start seeing results. Could there be a period where your legs may be larger before they start to shrink? You are the best!

Hi Rusty,

Great post! I've been searching for this advice for literally YEARS! I have found that doing pilates mat work (which does incorporate exercises that work multiple body parts simultaneously – including legs and butt) two times a week and running (steady state cardio) for 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week helps keep my body fat low and the muscle mass in my legs down somewhat – although I still have more muscle in my legs than I'd like. I wanted to know your thoughts on pilates.

Do you think cutting the pilates exercises out that work my legs and butt would help me lose a little more muscle mass in those areas? If so, would adding HIIT training be something I should incorporate immediately after cutting pilates or only after I lose the muscle mass that I want?

Thanks in advance!!

Looks like I have some catching up to do on comments. I will do my best to answer as many as possible. I wish I had time to answer them all. Here goes…

Hana,

Don't give up soccer just to get smaller calves. It sounds like you are just going to have bigger calves. Not a big deal…just keep doing what you are doing, stay lean and healthy. It sounds like you are on the right track, but please continue to play soccer!

Adam,

This may or may not work. What I would suggest is to lift with a high volume on your upper body and low volume for lower body.

Jillian,

You are welcome. I have taken quite a bit of heat for this post, but it needed to be said. Some people (most) look better with slim and defined muscles, versus the puffed up muscle look.

Pinky,

The best way to lose muscle is to run for long periods of time 45-60 minutes. Most of the time I don't recommend "marathon cardio" because it isn't the best for muscle definition…but it is a quick route for someone who wants to slim down their body if they are naturally a bit too muscular. There is a small percentage of men and women who would benefit from 6-12 months of this type of cardio. After that, stick with brief HIIT to tighten everything up.

Christina,

Cut the amount of sets in half and then evaluate after 3-4 months. Keep the calories down for a while. Obviously avoid exercises that pump up the delts. Basic stuff…there is a time element involved, so just be patient and you will get back to where you were.

Jason,

After a year of doing nothing but tough cardio, your legs will look better than ever. Normal sized legs, but with great definition. You will never go back to lifting legs again.

Terry,

Thanks a bunch for the compliments. It took me about a year of not lifting legs to get back to normal size. I really started noticing a difference after 3 months. After 6 months I felt more athletic, I could run faster, jump higher, etc. After 12 months, I felt completely different. I fit any pair of dress pants perfectly…slim jeans, etc. I will never go back to lifting legs again (you won't either).

Aisha,

I'm not a big fan of Pilates, but some people get something out of it…so I don't want to slam it. You will get much better results with an intense circuit or Turbulence Training type workout. You can do HIIT while slimming down, just add a longer period of steady state cardio right after. If you like Pilates, then please continue…I'm not a big fan of Yoga either, but it is probably just my deal. I just believe that you need some for of intense resistance to get your body to respond (low volume resistance for definition…and more sets and volume of resistance for mass).

Hope that helps!

Rusty

yo rusty.mind to share how's ure weekly gym routine?!how many sets and reps.thanks man.

will sprinting up slope make opur thighs any bigger?!

Nice site. Just wanna ask, I wanna lose some excess fats and but don't wanna do weights coz i don't wanna get Bulky coz I'm only 5'7. Just lean enough so I could look taller. Is Jump rope a good cardo work out? Will it make my legs "bigger" coz I have big legs and I don't wanna get it any bigger, I also wanna "slim it down"

Rusty, good article man. I type in "how to lose muscle mass" and I get sites on how to add muscle. Go figure.

I'm sure you don't read all of these but I am 24 year old guy, 5'10" and 175 lbs @ 6% body fat. I like fashion and do ok, but thin and lean is the look right now and I have strong running-back thighs from playing football in highschool. Furthermore I breakdance and having large legs is a huge disadvantage when most moves are done on your hands.

I literally cringed when you said "marathon" style running is the answer to my problem. I'm a sprinter at heart, but if that's what the doctor orders…I'll keep you posted, and thanks again.

Easunn,

My newest post gives you the body weight circuit I'm doing now. I'm trying to master this way of exercising and then I'm going to add back in weights in about 6 weeks.

Dama,

Sprinting can make your thighs bigger, but typically it gives you "the right" amount of muscle for your frame. Most athletes that run a lot like Soccer Players…have the ideal size legs for their size. This is why I suggest that people avoid training legs directly and stick with sprinting instead.

Josh,

Jumping rope is the ideal workout to slim down your legs while gaining definition. It makes your legs more explosive without adding size. As long as your diet has a calorie deficit, you will slim down as well.

Kris,

Nobody talks about losing muscle on purpose. People act like it is "unimaginable" to want to slim down, yet many people like Duane Johnson or Will Smith have done so and look much better than when they were bulkier. I hate to say it, but you probably have about a year of marathon cardio ahead of you (without any direct leg lifts) to slim down your legs a bit. This is especially true of guys and girls who have naturally large legs.

Have a great one!

Rusty

Check out how much weight Tom Brady has lost!!!

http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search...

hey does marathon runnning reduce fat/muscle in your butt? I need to reduce that!

John,

Marathon running reduces fat and muscle, but won't specifically target stubborn body fat. A better way to hit stubborn body fat is to do HIIT in a specific way. Read This Little 3 Page Mini-Course to see a good stratgey that I outlined.

Rusty

Great article!

I'm slightly confused though.

If someone already has thin legs, does that mean that they should avoid marathon style running cos it will make their legs thinner? Would this type of exercise cut down muscle mass in the body or just on the legs?

And most magazines will tell you that if you want lean, strong muscles, you should do low weight but many repeats, and the opposite if you want bigger muscles. I would like to know if that is correct?

I have a fairly even body but HUGE thighs, calves and forearms from years of playing hockey. My quads and the outer part of my calves are huge. besides marathon running(which i am most certainly doing) are there any other exercise that specifically targets these areas? (especially the forearm, I can't find anything about it at all).

Thank you (:

What do you suggest for a 6' 180 lb 6.5 month pregnant woman who used to weigh 158 (before pregnancy) who is doing lots of lunges and squats (body weight only) and very little cardio. I've got large thighs which were very muscular before pregnancy and now, due to pregnancy (I think), muscle with layers of flab. I am very active and intend to keep at it through my nine months and beyond. I used to do HIIT (at least my version of it) and loved it but my thighs were still bigger than I liked. Now thighs are even bigger and I'm no longer doing HIIT, and I can no longer jog comfortably. Can I do HIIT while walking/power walking? Should I lay off the squats and lunges or keep at them since I've added an extra layer of fat to my legs? I'm desperately wanting to slim my thighs now and if not now then soon after baby comes. As far as diet and calorie intake goes, what should I do to lose the excess fat, lower my body fat percentage to a safe level and still maintain my milk supply while nursing after the baby is born. Haha, bet you never had a question like that before.

Thanks so much for all this great information.
Amanda C.

hey Rusty,

thanx for this post!! i have been reading your articles for about 6months now, but only got to this one today. and it is the perfect article at the perfect time.
i have been out of my normal routine for about 5 weeks now. i have done some heavy training, but very very little comared to how much i ususally do.

i want to slim down to the size i was about 9 months ago.
i'm 5'8 and weigh about138lbs. i look slim,athletic, hot. but i have been hotter, hottness itself seriously.
and i wanna go back to that. i know that once i get into my exercising again and eat completely clean again, i'll get there.

my question:
my legs are too big for my taste, for my small frame. they are very muscular and i want them lean, like doutzen kroes or nicole scherzinger. i do not want to lose my but or my breasts.
in the past when i slimmed down, my legs would be great, but then my upper body would be way too slim. i did look good though, but i want to make those legs slim down a lot and the upper body just a little (i never get a fat tummy)
which of these should i keep, which should i drop?
-hiit on bike
-medium on elliptical
-hiit-ish on stairclimber
-dancing
-les mills
*body jam
*body shape
*body combat
*body pump
*rpm
*body step
*body attack
-weights for upper body
-squats, lunges deadlifts (i sometimes, like today, do about 1hour of 250squats, 150lunges each leg, 150deadlifts and various upper body exercises all with 2 weights of either 3kg or 5kg) only now it hits me this might cause me bulking up leg-problems
-swimming

i like doing all of the above and usually like doing it for at least 2hrs. per day. i make that time, so i have that time.

please could you tell me which of the above i should keep doing an which i should lay low on or skip alltogether.
i don't want/need to lose much…just maybe 8lbs at max.

thanks very much in advance!!!!
i'd appreciate your advice a lot!

hope you're doing great,

xoxoxoxox
from amsterdam

Hey,
I am seventeen and weigh about average. I had ridden horses about 3 times a week since I was eight, and had always been a very thin person. However, two years ago I began training horses, which required about 4 constant hours of riding/4 days a week. My calf and thigh muscles have become incredibly strong, however, since the rest of my body is very thin, I dont look proportional. About 3 months ago I cut down to only 3 times a week for a half an hour, but still have a lot of muscle. My concern is that all of this muscle is going to become soft and appear as fat with my decrease in activity. If anyone has any advice to prevent this and to slim down my legs, could you please let me know. Thanks!

I am so glad to finally hear someone talking about losing muscle. I am constantly trying to trim down my legs and have a very difficult time doing so, due to being in sports my whole life and having an athletic build. I am currently about 5'4 and weight 142. I have found it impossible to be anything below 135 am I'm ok with that, but recently I have had difficulties even getting to that. I finally believe that turning 30 makes it a lot more difficult to lose weight! I have cut out lifting in my lower legs, but I recently did my first triathlon sprint and fell in love with it. I am currently training for 2 this spring/summer, which raises the question of biking. You mentioned in your article not cycle. I've been doing spinning classes since it's too cold to cycle outside right now, and the classes do hike up the resistence a lot. Is ok to continue if I stay at a low resistence? I have finally found something that keeps me motivated to train, but I so badly want to trim down my lower half. Any suggestions on balancing this?

Adriana,

I like the confidence…I'll help you get back to the definition of "hotness". Very cool that you are from Amsterdam. It is on my list of places to visit soon.

To keep your breast size while slimming down your muscular legs, you are going to need to drop some muscle in your legs…without dropping too much more body fat. To drop some muscle in your legs you should probably avoid HIIT on the bike, since it pumps up your legs…and back way down on the amount of driect leg work that you do. In fact, I would recommend dropping that direct leg work for a while…and then add it back once your legs have slimmed down a bit. When you do add these back, monitor the size of your legs and reduce the volume if necessary.

Emily,

Keep doing what you enjoy. Certain activities will develop some muscle groups quicker than others, but that is fine. I don't want to encourage people to avoid hobbies and sports even if it builds one muscle group up a bit…I encourage outside activities. If you suddenly quit riding horses, the muscle won't turn to fat. If you really want to slim down muscular legs quickly, the best way to do it is "marathon cardio"…running long distances on a treadmill at a moderate pace. It isn't the most efficient for burning body fat, but it is effective for losing excessive mass.

Jennifer,

You can still do a spinning workout, but be extra careful about going into the workout with too many carbs in your system. When your body is "carbed up" it is more likely going to develop "the pump" in your muscles being worked. One other thing…wait a bit before eating after working out…maybe up to an hour or two. Eating right after you workout is a great way to gain or maintain muscle mass, but you are trying to drop a bit so you will not want to follow this common approach.

Hope that helps!

Rusty

Hey thanks for the post,
I was the rock climber who posted back than on T-nation who wanted to lose muscle mass !
Thanks for the Articel !

I'm a ballet dancer and the my legs are too muscular (from poor ballet training last year). I still have to "pump" my muscles in the back of my thighs but not in the front. Can I still lose the muscle in the back of my thighs with this program?

Hey, you said you had muscular legs, but you somehow slimmed them down, how did you slim you legs down? My height is 5'7 and i have bulky muscle legs from skating, and i need to get them skinny again!

I forgot to put more, so jogging on a treadmill is the best way to get them thin again and get the muscle to go away?? and also will jogging just outside not on a treadmill also help me lose muscle?

Hi, i was wondering if jogging or running will have the same affect on losing muscle in your legs as a treadmill would, and how long will it take to start seeing results in muscle loss?

Hi, I'm a female and over the summer I started doing muscle exercises for the back and trap muscles. I'm afraid now that my back is too broad, and even my trap muscles are over-worked, and I would like to go back to the frame I had before. Is there anyway to lose this muscle and go back to the way I was? Would it require me to stop eating in order to lose the muscle? Would cardio alone get rid of it? Thanks so much…keep up the great work on the site. It's awesome!

I have avidly worked out for a few years now. Since November my legs have gotten an inch larger. I tried doing The Firm tape and was doing a summit climber.
I just want smaller legs now. I've stopped heavy weights for leg presses, am doing some fast tae-bo kicks and now have moved to the treadmill for 45 minutes about 4x week.
Any suggestions for losing at least an inch off the tops of my legs would be sooooo appreciated. I am so disgusted lately. I feel like I am just getting bigger and bigger. I have gone from 118 to 123 with working out, no major change in diet.
I need to shape and lose muscle – HELP

I really need an answer to my problems QUICK! My legs very muscle and i am very short, and it makes me look very weird. I feel depressed because of it. I want to try jogging in the morning before i have anything in my stomach, for 60 mins every morning, and well as a healthy diet, will this get rid of my leg/thigh muscle?

Hi Rusty,

I'm 5'9" and weight 136lb. I've got very few fat and much muscle and 2kg underweight.
I'm modelling, you know how this world is. I need to loose some pounds, but to reach my ideal measurements I will need to loose muscle too.
I'll start going on the treadmill/fast walking as you said bicing pump legs muscle.

Will I get flabby/loosy legs/skin/butt by loosing muscle?

What kind of low calorie diet?

You already said how to loose muscle in legs, but I want to loose muscle everywhere, what kind of exercice to loose in arms and trunk should I go on?

Thank you

Rusty, you have a great web site. I wish I could find a personal trainer with your knowledge and insights. I have overdeveloped upper trapezius and pectorlis minor muscles. I think I did too much of the wrong weight lifting exercises for my body. I haven't worked my traps or pecs for quite a while but the excessive mass is still there. What can I do to reduce those particular muscles and hopefully look more like I did before weight lifting? Have you heard of Nick Nilsson and his article, "How To Tain To Reduce Muscle Size ON PURPOSE". If you have read it would you tell me what you think of it? Thanks.

Thanks for the info! I've been trying to slim my legs down for months, and no one I asked was helping. Everyone was saying that I should carry on building muscle. They weren't even listening! Thanks again!

Hi Rusty,
Great article! Finally someone has written on this topic!

I have a few questions and would like to your advice.
I am a 25 y/o female 5'2" and train about 3-5 days in the gym and run about 30 miles a week. My whole goal at the gym was to put on muscle because i had lost too much weight from cardio and i wanted my BUTT back. I know that may sound crazy to some but, anyhow I cant seem to figure out how to lift and isolate just my glutes…my main thing has been squats, but unfortunately that has turned my quads into a beastly size. Ideally i would like to lose some of the muscle on my quads but keep my butt and mayeb even make it more strong. Is this possible and if so what type of machine or reps can achieve it? Currently, (past week) I have cut out the gym and doing straight 5 mile runs and spin classes (just read above you dont suggest spin).

Thanks,

Karen

Fantastic article! I'm a cross between endomorph and mesomorph. I grow muscle very easily but at the slightest slacking off in cardio, I gain fat quickly as well.

After 10+ years of bodybuilding, I grew tired of carrying around bulky muscle and not being able to buy nice clothes off the rack due to my size. I used to work in an office and had to dress in the typical polo shirt/slacks (which I dubbed the "big guy" uniform because most of the muscular and overweight guys wore the same style of shirt). I sought advice from bodybuilding friends and online forums, but could get no good advice.

So I got into boxing and martial arts. Those helped me to lose a lot of fat but I can't seem to shake the muscle, despite switching from heavy training to circuit training. I finally stopped lifting altogether and started doing yoga and have noticed a slight reduction in muscle mass, but I still have a long way to go.

After reading some articles on how boxer Chris Byrd lost enough weight to go from heavyweight to light heavyweight, I started using his strategy of eating small meals (more like healthy snacks really than actual meals) a few times per day. Also, he was doing long slow running which after reading your article, I guess it's called "marathon cardio".

I plan to incorporate the tips in your article into my treadmill routine with hopes of losing a bit more muscle mass. Thanks again for writing that article and keep up the great work!

Thank you! You have no idea how refreshing reading this was. I'm always complaining about the size of my quads and hammies and noone seems to be blunt and honest enough to say when too big is TOO BIG! You're right: too much muscle is uncomfortable, clothes don't fit right and it just doesn't look sexy.

hello Rusty and thank you for the wonderful article.(though I was about a year late)
I was wondering if there is any program that emphasizes on losing mass in the gastrocnemius muscle. Also, would losing that make the skin sag…

Mr. Pilon:

If I wanted to lose leg muscle in the shortest time possible, what would be fastest?

a) Your way, or
b) Brad's way–
http://bradpilon.com/2009/05/how-to-get-rid-of-muscle.html

I really need to lose leg muscle for a variety of reasons but don't want to go down the wrong path for too long.
Thanks in advance,
–TBG

Dear Rusty,

Sorry I called you "Mr. Pilon". I posted the same question on Brad Pilon's article and copied & pasted it here. But in a rush to buy milk, I forgot to change the name.

[laughs]

Just found your site tonight and you can definitely be expecting questions from me in the future. I've been relatively active all my life. Went from ballet, to karate, back to ballet then to throwing in highschool. I just finished my first year of college and have been working out on my own but was still into more of a throwers workout, lifting focusing on legs. I have a slim build but have been slacking with the work outs for a bit, and my thighs are still looking bulky even with the recent laziness and I didn't know what to do! I promised a good friend I'd go on open calls with her this summer (yes modeling). Now I will never be and don't want to ever be so scarily tiny but do want to be back in tip top shape if I have to be parading around with her for "moral support". A google search presented this article and I am so happy I've found it. I've been inspired to get back into shape! Thanks so much for this great article and site!

hey I was wondering if the elliptical would work well for loosing muscle and fat too. It burns alot of calories even though it's alot easier than running, that is if the number shown on the machine is correct.

I been following your website for more than a year now, and I've been doing stubborn fat protocol for half a year. Usually i just do treadmills with intervals warm up with 4.5, then 10, 5, 10.5, 5, 11, 5, 11, 5. After that comes the 5 minutes of resting. Then I hop on the treadmill to do 6~8 mph for 25~40mins. Alotta times I get cramps or somewhere near my left oblique hurts, so I go on the ellipticals instead. My gym offers life fitness elliptical machines but they also have the cybex arc trainer in the link below

ellipticaltrainers.com/model/cybex_homearctrainer.htm

Do you think it would do me any good going on this one? or do you think i should just go on the life fitness ones.

Oh and also I am taking caffeine 30 mins before start lifting, or should i follow the SFP exactly and take it during my weight resistance training timing it 30 mins before I start my SFP.

Do you think it's too much cardio if I play basketball and go swimming after lifting and Stubborn Fat Protocol?

For your info to answer my questions easier.. I am also following Eat Stop Eat(yes, i bought the book), and my weight resistance training is a 2 day split with almost everything 3 slow/controlled reps per set like you recommended(some exercises like weighted dips, wide grip chin-ups, and standing barbell military press I do 5 reps). I am almost 5"8 and weight around 155 pound. I'd say I am around 7% body fat right now, aiming for 5 or 6.

Sorry I have so many questions.. they just kept coming up when I am typing. It'd be great if you can answer all of them. This site is just amazing. The info here are so educational. I almost read all your articles. Thank you rusty!

i appriciate your article. i do work out – each day another musle group – body part – i do understand that beingt on the tredmill will get right of the bulk…what about women and arms……they are getting huge…..how to make them leaner….any change in diet? if i lift lower mass and more reps i do not have a feeling i worked out at all…any sugestions

I'm a 25 year old male. I've been following your advice for just a couple of weeks now and I'm already seeing results!

How much should I sleep if I want to lose muscle mass?

How will losing muscle mass effect the heart muscles?

Thanks

Great article. I know a decent amount about fitness and weight training, and i've been doing pretty much what you have suggested in order to loose muscle mass from my legs.
I looked around on the net to see if what i'd been doing was the suggested method, and came across your page. I totally agree with your advice.

Thanks so much for writing this post. It is almost near impossible to find articles on reducing muscle mass. Im a 24 year old 5'4" female. Currently I weigh anywhere from 116-120, and I am 12 percent body fat. My body is very fit, but from training my shoulders are bulked up, and considering I don't really have hips or chest(damn low body fat) it is a very masculine body type. I am petite and want to maintain my femininity. I do not want a bodybuilder physique. And lately the comments I have been getting from people is "wow you are really buff, omg you ave bigger guns than me,"…coming from guys.Wish me luck on my new efforts, now that I have gotten some advice. Thanks a bunch!

Hey Rusty!

You have no idea how much this post has helped me out.
I used to be a heavy exercise junky and bulked up my thighs a hell of a lot! After realizing how out of proportion my body was, I went cold turkey on exercise in general for two years. Much to my dismay, it wasn't very effective.

I have a question though, whilst eating a high protein diet, will the muscle still deteriorate? And also, is it still possible to gain muscle on the upper body whilst losing it in your legs?

Hoping for a reply!
Cheers,
David, NZ

What a great article! I'm 21 and have been lifting hardcore five days a week for about 7 years. During this time my body has become so increadibly trained that I was able to put on tremendous muscle weight for my size and seem to have entirely changed my body type. (I went from being tall lanky to what seems like short and stout.) After a recent vation, I began to look at myself and noticed how unnatural I appeared in all of my photos. My chest sticks out about as far as I am wide and my arms are just bulky and huge. I have very little body fat, but my current muscle build gives the illusion that I am, as my abdomin is very barrel shapped. I fear what my stretch marks and saggy muscles will look like when Im fifty and am sick of buying overly large shirts to fit me wide but are too long. I have decided that since I am no longer playing football or doing mma why the need for all the muscles? My ideas on shedding the bulk were along the same lines as the ones mention in the article. It was good to finally find an article about this subject because it seems that this is a somewhat unusual issue that relativley few people have. I just hope my years of bulking up hasn't perminanlty transformed my body into a hulking, unproportion mess…

What exercises "pump" your legs? I'm trying to reduce the bulk in my legs. I do a lot of really intense eliptical at a medium resistence and all I do is gain muscle. is that because this is a pumping exercise?

thanks so much for the advice im 16 and a cheerleader as mucha s people want to think cheerleading isnt a sport you get alot of muscle from it. im tired of having to get bigger jeans because i have alot of leg muscle my body is so out of balance so im definetly going to try the runnin gon a treadmill at a high speed for a long amount of time! hope it works. good luck to everyone else trying this too!

I am in high school and have a short frame of 5' 5". I started doing rowing as a coxswain(guy that says what to do) but i worked out with my team for moral and such. I also started gymnastics for fun and swimming for muscle tone/strength/slim down. I went away for 6 months and started doing gymnastics more. When i got back to the states i continued with rowing again just summer training so lifting weights. I was lifting as much as the rowers on my team and i feel my legs are just to big. I have bad knees and can only run 1-2 times a week without my knees hurting when i walk.

Will swimming build leg mass or help my legs slim down?

Thank You so much for posting this. I have always been naturally lean and muscular (especially in the legs). It took me years of doing nothing (walking) to drop down from a lean 130 to a lean 115. I was never fat but would always have people that I didn't know come up to me and say wow…you are so buff or strong. It made me feel so unfeminine. This is not something most people would understand and I am glad someone on here gets it. Unfortunatly I started working out again with my boyfriend and have been eating a lot of protein and within a month I shot up to 125 of solid lean muscle (I was a lean 115 for 5 years)……helpppp!!!! I need to get rid of it. I promise I am never touching a weight again and will start on the running like you suggested but I was wondering what an appropriate amount of proteins in grams to cut down to if I really want to make the muscle atrophy? I don't want to wait several years for it to break down naturally.

Hi Rusty!

I just found your blog coz I finally decided to look up my problem online

Is there any way at all to lose muscle mass in a specific part of your body? I'm a 27y/o woman, 4'11" (yes, I'm not even 5-foot-nothing), 135lbs, and have 15" calves (that are all muscle). For as long as I can remember, my calves have been bigger than even guys' calves!

I've never had to exercise to have this much calf muscle. The rest of me is only proportionally as wide as my calves because of body fat that I've gained (and kept on purpose) through the years.

There's not too much fat, but enough so my calves don't look way too big anymore, just a tad bigger than expected. But I don't really like being fat either. I don't even have abs anymore, and my arms have lost definition and my back and buns aren't what they used to be. Granted, people still think I'm a tiny little bit of a thing, given that I'm so short and I don't actually look fat to people that aren't from my country, but I wish I could make my calves smaller so I could actually lose the fat without worrying about being teased about my calves again.

I know my calf size is hereditary coz my mom and grandma both have calves like mine even though my grandma hires a cab whenever she wants to cross the street (too much exercise for her). Also, I don't know if cutting protein intake is an option for me as I'm trying to prepare for knee surgery (ACL tear from years ago).

I have no genetic issues or anything. I'm just a short Asian trying to go from "bombarded with leg muscles" (someone thought it was funny to put that in my yearbook writeup) to "just average".

Please, please, please tell me there's a way. I've been called everything from "wrong gender" and "guy legs" to "chicken drumsticks" and "ginger calves" (coz they're "shaped like ginger roots") and I don't want to be as self-conscious of my legs as my mom is of hers for the rest of my life.

Thanks for reading this, and I hope you can help me.

Denise, I had the same problem that you have about your massive calves. Someone at the gym told me that doing high reps of calf raises would help. I didn't believe it because it seems like calf raises would actually increase the size of my calf muscles. But I decided to give it a try. I did 5 sets of 25 calf raises in the morning and then again in the evening (yes, total of 250 calf raises a day) for 3 days a week. After a month my calves were noticably smaller. I also cut down on protein to about a chicken breast per day, etc. Now, 4 months later, my calves are actually a "normal" size for my body and they seem to be about half the size they were previously. Just thought I'd tell you what worked for me, it might work for you too!

Hi i liked your article, its the best of the little information i found for losing muscle mass.
The reason im interested you see is that i took up boxing six months ago and i compete in one of the lower weight categories (8 and a half stone, flyweight i think).
However iv recently started playing another sport that i love called gaelic football (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qvnyq88-wU&feature=related) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPSl87Rmu6Q).

Do you think playing gaelic football will make my legs bigger? (reason i need to know is that i cant afford to have larger legs because then i mightn't make weight for the boxing)

Thanks Micha! I gotta admit, that does sound like it'll just make my already large calves even larger, but I'm willing to give it a try.

Just what I was looking for, thanks for posting this. However, I weigh in about 218 and running is about the least pleasant thing I can do. With my jumbo ham legs, I have started interval sprints… 1 minute strong, 2 minutes medium back on and off for 3 sets. Last week I ran/walked six miles. Felt great, but the next day my shins killed. Should i keep running and just push through the pain? Or should I hold off until I am at least at 190 or so?

Good article.

I am a wrestler who has developed very muscular legs over the past 5 years. Now I realize that they are weighing me down more than anything else, and I would like to get rid of some leg mass so I can be quicker and maintain a lower weight. However, I read that it took you about a year to decrease the size of your legs, but is there a way to speed up the process even more. My season starts in a couple months and I would like to be smaller by then…

I just discovered your website through a google search about losing muscle mass. I can't wait to explore more!!! I have a question though…I have been doing crossfit workouts for 2 years now, and have definitely developed more muscle mass, especially in my arms, shoulders, and traps. I have a pear body shape, carrying most of my body fat on my hips and thighs. The result is muscular upper body and a lower body that is muscular, but has extra jiggle on top!! I generally have a little more body fat than I would like. I want to back off of the crossfit and put more cardio into my workout routine. I'm not sure if I should be doing HIIT or marathon cardio? I would like to lose a little muscle mass – not a ton – and really lose the body fat on top of it. I try to stick to a clean diet, usually near Zone parameters, but I tend to cheat a lot on the weekends…I know diet is probably a huge factor in my extra body fat, but it seems like I have to eat PERFECTLY to keep the fat off, which is frustrating. What are your suggestions as far as cardio goes??

how would you change the suggestions in your vacation body guide to adjust to loosing muscle mass in the legs? Would the resistance body weight workouts still be ok, but if you upped them to 5 days a week would they have the chance of still building muscle?
cheers

I understand your Pain…. Same Body type and Musculer Body…I hate iT…… Good luck let me know what works.

Just a quick one, find this blog really interesting, i am 5ft 7 and was 77Kgs a year ago, but cutting down my cals weights and increasing CV i get down to 65Kgs for fights but cant seen to keep the wiehgt down?

i am just curious say you wake up at 6am drink coffee, go for a long marathon run for say an hour. home at 7am, wait until at least 8am to eat. I guess if you could provide an example schedule of how to fit in the recommended marathon cardio with any resistance training (this is where I am confused if you are recommending 3 sessions of body weight or high weight/low rep or 5 sessions to step it up as per your vacation book) and what and when you would eat if you also don't want to eat 2 hours before bed.
the problem with marathon cardio is that you get hungry and after so many days of this your energy gets pretty low

i really need to take some muscle off my legs.

here's a question for ya… I was in a calorie deficit (1450 cals at the time, running 3X a week- 30 min 2 days… at a faster pace one day, hills the other, with my long run on the third day. I was training for a half marathon. I noticed that everything but my legs got smaller… and when I stopped running, my legs almost immediately reduced in size. If your theory is true, why was I gaining/maintaining in my legs and what was I doing wrong? I hear that when you do this much cardio, especially running, your legs hold onto fat for your next run.

p.s my bodyfat is very low and I am female. I, like a few other girls on here do have too much muscle and I am sick of it. I am super lean, but too muscley.

please advise. love the site too.

i weigh 106 kg no fat i dont wanna weigh so much how can i loose some u think just take up cycling quit weights is wat i done so far as well as stop eating lots

Hi, I'm so glad you posted this–about 4 months ago, I discovered one of Jillian Michael's workout videos on Comcast on demand and started doing it once a week. It involved lots of jumping squats, and I had no idea that jumping squats bulk up your calves. To my horror, my calves grew 0.5 in. when I measured them yesterday.

I'm doing marathon runs 3 times a week. The thing is, in order to maintain my weight, I have to do some kind of cardio 4 times a week, but my knees don't like it when I run two days in a row. So I need to do something other than running once a week–what do you recommend? Will 60 min. on the elliptical once a week have the effect of maintaining muscle in my calves? Thanks!

Rusty, great post.

I too have given up direct leg work. I have Tom Platz genetics in my legs. High reps, low reps, it doesn't matter. I've gained size on singles.

The body adapts to do what you demand of it. You want lean legs, walk or run. You just don't see people that run or walk alot with giant thighs. Any movement in which your legs need to swing by one another, done enough is going to make the body recreate itself in a more efficient design.

Standing flat footed and going up and down in a piston like motion with resistance on your back does not require smaller thighs, but is made easier with bigger thighs, and so that is what the body creates.

As for lifters running down anyone that doesn't squat, well that's the way it is. The squat is touted as the king of all exercises. Some people go so far as to say if you want bigger arms, squat more.

Squats are good if you need the strength in your sport and can stand the increased muscle mass, otherwise, they're great if you want thighs that only fit in MC Hammer pants.

BTW, I did squats from 1983 – 2008. It's as I enter my fourth decade on this planet I've come to realize bigger is not better. Even excess muscle mass exacts a toll on the body, it's not just fat that's bad.

Signed – Wearing normal pants in Minnesota again.

Hi Rusty,

I am a 31 yo female, going into my first figure competition and was looking for a solution for legs that are strong, but carry all my stored fat in them. i can do 10 reps of squats with 2 plates, but lately i have been doing one plate rock bottom for 12 to 16. I also run morning and night.

I am 5'7, 133 lbs, 13" bicept, so i feel i need big enough legs to balance this out. i also feel i need to lose the fat and tighten them up, while maintaining size cause all my fat is stored there, and the rest of me is getting veiny. they are not nearly as cut as the rest of me. what would you do in this situation, keep the weights at the one plate and still exaust them, and keep running, or just shift to the running? i love doing legs really hard, but don't wanna get freakish. I also do not wanna lose my arms that i am working so hard to maintain, or even grow another half inch.

Lastly, can you grow one part of your body and lean another at the same time?

one more thing – if you are to lower your protein intake, how dramatically do you do this? what are you left with to eat then if you are reducing carbs as well – veggies, some healthy fats, a piece of fruit?
if you take out protein and carbs you aren't left with much!

How many calories is preferred to eat in one day (to lose muscle)? Also, do you think Yoga and Pilates could help bulky leg muscles (as I have thick thigh and calf muscles)?

Hi Rusty,

I am a 21 yr old male, 5'11", and weigh 145lbs. If you can believe it I want to slim down. I am already thin, and LOVE having people tell me that I should gain weight instead of lose. I would like to lose every ounce of body fat that I have, even though it is not much, and I really look to Madonna for her fantastic arms. I feel that my arms are to muscular in proportion to the rest of my body, and want them to be "stick-like". Basically I want to look like a walking hanger, but not be quite as miserable as one. HAHA. Someone told me that for smaller arms I need to lose muscle, but where I work I do lots of lifting. So should I give up on weights at the gym and just stick to cardio? I love the treadmill but don't want to kill my knees. I have been doing the tradmill, stairmaster, elliptical, and all-body trainer. I feel that the latter three work my legs too much and are keeping my thighs the same, if not making them a little bigger. Any advice at this point will help, because no one seems to really know what to tell me, because they feel that I am thin enough. And they are not the greatest physiques to look at either.

Thanks So Much

Im a guy who is 31y, 6 feet tall and weighs 205lbs. I used to weigh 150 but started to work out with weight training so I ended more massive. The article is great because it made me realize how much of a better runner I used to be as a lighter weight man. Running on empty stomach for 45min and lower calorie intake, is the key for me. Also not worrying bout reffilling those depots immediately after. I run 6,5km in 45 and that just tells me how slow I am with this weight.

Calorie intake shouldnt be too low for longer periods of time.

Btw, I was used to running alot. I read somewhere else that women prefer slim fit guys. Oh this is something I can speak of experience of. I remember it all too well but anyways at the moment I feel like I look clumsy, too trained, unormal and there are even day I feel deform lol. I will leave a coment in 2 months time and tell of my alteration

In short I am 5'11" 205lb 20 year old kicker/punter playing collegiate football and it has been suggested to me by a private kicking coach that I watch out and not gain any more muscle mass because it will most likely effect the way I play. This coach said the same thing happened to him when he played. I would like to get back down to the tones 185 i was in high school but am unsure of how to do so, plus I'm afraid I will not be able to lose the mass while on the college strength routine. Any suggestions on what i should do besides what is on here?

Found your website about half a year ago through googling on how to lose muscle mass and have been lurking ever since. I just wanted to say a biiiiiiiiiiiiiig thank you for doing what you do.

I'm currently a 110lbs 5'4" 21 year old girl who's planning on going back into competitive figure skating (after a nearly 4 year hiatus). Before I quit skating I was 18, 5'3 at 117 lbs and with these muscular/bulky legs that had guys commenting "Man, I wish I had calves like that" etc… as well as the fact that I had to wear pants 2 sizes larger than my waist/hip size. Not exactly the body type I wanted!

This time around I'm hoping to achieve and maintain something closer to a "dancer's" body or a rhythm gymnast's. (Especially since we have to look the pretty princess part but still have the strength to launch ourselves a few feet into the air with one foot and land on one foot.)

So again, Thank you! For giving me the information on how to achieve my goals. (In a healthy way, not the anorexic/bulimic route I know so many girls in my sport take.)

I am, at least I believe I am, designed to be a naturally muscular person by nature. I however helped nature right along its way. I was always very active as a child I danced at least 10 hours every week in addition to sports a played at the same time. So now I am absoultely massive muscular, and I would like to lose muscle to slim down now that I am not so active. I hope this works…please if you had the time…draw up something really simple for an all over muscle slim down. I have tried yoga and pilates but I have not really experience the desire effect. Thanks!