Do you ever get tired of how you need to be skinny to run well?

canuckboy wrote:

Curious Delts,

Whats your take on all of it then? What has this change done for your quality of life if anything? Do you miss running and running at a lighter bodyweight?

I have personally thought of this for a while now, considering that I'm running in university next year... I don't have major self esteem issues just curious to know what the two lifestyles are like?

Whenever I'm actively training for a race, I find that the "excess" weight goes away quickly. Right now I'm around 165 lb, and by spring, if I'm able to train as consistently as I'd like, I might get to around 150 lb. Fortunately the muscular weight returns fairly easily when I'm not running heavily. My experience has been that the weight hasn't made as much of a difference in speed as I might have expected. I also put a lot of emphasis on compound lower-body lifts--power cleans, deadlifts, trap bar deadlifts--which might help counteract the effects of added mass. I have to say that I do feel more confident when I weigh more, but the difference isn't dramatic

I'm no elite, so take what I say with a grain of salt. That said, I like what Salazar said in reference to Solinsky's size in a New York Times article from a few years ago: "The engine may weigh more, but if it has more horsepower, it may end up actually getting the car faster around the track, and I think that’s the way Chris is."

Interestingly, when I started lifting seriously several years, I think that just putting on around 10 lb and going from 129 lb to around 140 lb made a significant difference in my appearance. I have a small frame and am lean, so I'm fortunate that I appear "larger" than I actually am. When looking at someone's physique, people generally are more responsive to proportionality than raw size. At 140 lb I didn't exactly look like I was going to play football or compete in throws, but I had just enough additional upper body mass that people noticed that I "worked out."

I don't know exactly what you mean by "running well" but I don't have a bony chest or stick arms/legs. I am a 6' 0 male, 170 pounds and and can run anything from 17:00 5k to 2:55 marathon.

I looked a lot better when I was 50lb lighter

Runningart2004 wrote:

If you want to add muscle then 99% of the time you will need to stop all forms of cardio. This is especially true for trained distance runners. You are/were a successful distance runner because of a genetic advantage.

Yep. Humans like to do what they're good at. In terms of working out for general fitness, that is a mistake. Work on your weaknesses. If you're a distance runners, that's most likely strength and explosiveness. If you're a bodybuilder, that would be endurance.

Bottom line: get out of your comfort zone and stop doing what you're already good at.

There is a lot to be said about diminishing returns - don't waste 90% of your training time for getting 10% better at endurance.

Interesting post. I'm 42 and I'll tell you it gets harder and harder to keep a really low body-fat percentage. I think that's regardless of your overall build.

I remember being young and easily be able to diet a little and soon ribs and muscles were showing.

Not so much anymore. But, come on, everyone loses definition and gains body fat as they age. At some point it becomes a question of how much you care, and caring about body fat slowly goes away, too.

yeah, I do.

I used to try and bulk up. I stopped running and started lifting with a roomate I had who was very educated about lifting and bulking up. I probably would have gotten into crossfit but crossfit hadn't been around in that city at that time yet. I ate what he ate, did what he did and while I was bigger than I am now, I still looked very skinny and missed running.

Now I'm skinny again. Doctors, massage therapists, friends co-workers will often point it out. Ask me if I'm eating and what not.

Cut the carbs way back-no grains/flour/sugar. Paleo but balanced. I'm 58 and keeping a 29-inch waist and 5-7% BF is effortless, since I get no cravings from blood sugar roller-coasters as it used to.Also, lift weights to metabolize ALL of your body, not just slow-twitch leg muscles. And 8 hours sleep a night, period.Gaining adipose weight is a sign of disease, pure and simple. If you could see a tumor growing every day/week/month, would still eat like crap and be sloppy about your lifestyle? To me, excess fat is like a visible tumor.And yes, I still eat pizza once a week and have a nightly drink.

Michigan Man wrote:

Interesting post. I'm 42 and I'll tell you it gets harder and harder to keep a really low body-fat percentage. I think that's regardless of your overall build.

I remember being young and easily be able to diet a little and soon ribs and muscles were showing.

Not so much anymore. But, come on, everyone loses definition and gains body fat as they age. At some point it becomes a question of how much you care, and caring about body fat slowly goes away, too.

Breaking news at 11 wrote:

Cut the carbs way back-no grains/flour/sugar. Paleo but balanced. I'm 58 and keeping a 29-inch waist

29 inch waist is not acceptable unless you're 4'7". You gotta grow if you want respect.

I've said it before and will say it again: focus on getting BUFF first, then worry about getting SHREDDED later.

Women prioritize men who're BUFF over men who're SHREDDED. Of course, BUFF AND SHREDDED wins the race every single time (Gotta do CrossFit Elite Training for that one though).

Well into the third page, man...you're slowing down in your middle age.

Xfit_guy_the_real_1 wrote:

Breaking news at 11 wrote:

Cut the carbs way back-no grains/flour/sugar. Paleo but balanced. I'm 58 and keeping a 29-inch waist

29 inch waist is not acceptable unless you're 4'7". You gotta grow if you want respect.

I've said it before and will say it again: focus on getting BUFF first, then worry about getting SHREDDED later.

Women prioritize men who're BUFF over men who're SHREDDED. Of course, BUFF AND SHREDDED wins the race every single time (Gotta do CrossFit Elite Training for that one though).

I'm 5-10 135 and no, I never actually get tired of it. I like the way I look. People sometimes say I'm too skinny or something, but it turns out they are self conscious and projecting their own insecurities. I've never had problems getting with members of the opposite sex. It turns out people like people with athletic bodies like mine, who knew.

Xfit_guy_the_real_1 wrote:

Breaking news at 11 wrote:

Cut the carbs way back-no grains/flour/sugar. Paleo but balanced. I'm 58 and keeping a 29-inch waist

29 inch waist is not acceptable unless you're 4'7". You gotta grow if you want respect.

I've said it before and will say it again: focus on getting BUFF first, then worry about getting SHREDDED later.

Women prioritize men who're BUFF over men who're SHREDDED. Of course, BUFF AND SHREDDED wins the race every single time (Gotta do CrossFit Elite Training for that one though).

Lol you are such a toolbag