Losing Muscle Mass?

Every weigh in for the UBC always brings in mixed emotions and sometimes confusion. I wrote a blog post a while back to explain what the different weight losses mean. I also offer an explanation as to why you feel better, look better, and clothes fit better, but then the scale says the same thing. Check it out- http://ultimatebodychallenge.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-havent-lost-any-weight.html

In that blog post I talk about the loss of muscle mass. So far, everyone in the past who lost muscle mass was a direct result of not getting enough protein to support muscle growth. In this UBC, I have two people who were adamant about getting enough protein, but still saw a decrease in muscle mass. At the same time, they saw outstanding decreases in fat: 10 lbs and 15 lbs. And, we're not talking about overweight people to begin with either.

First, let me explain how the skin fold calipers work. If you weigh exactly the same amount after 10 weeks, but your skin fold measurement was less, then you replaced 100% of your fat loss with muscle mass. Make sense?

Now, let's say that you weigh less and your skin fold is also less. We don't know anything until we know just how much less and how much less the skin fold is. The caliper method uses a formula to determine the percent body fat. Then, the remaining portion is your skeleton, organs, and muscle. Since the skeleton and organs are non-variables, with regard to weight over 10 weeks, we simply refer to this remaining weight at "muscle mass." Any decrease or increase will be the difference in muscle mass.

Here is the Excel formula for you nerds- =IF(B5="male",(0.27784*((C7+D7+E7)/3+(C8+D8+E8)/3+(C9+D9+E9)/3+(C10+D10+E10)/3+(C11+D11+E11)/3)-(0.00053*((C7+D7+E7)/3+(C8+D8+E8)/3+(C9+D9+E9)/3+(C10+D10+E10)/3+(C11+D11+E11)/3)^2)+0.12437*C5-3.28791),(0.41563*((C7+D7+E7)/3+(C8+D8+E8)/3+(C9+D9+E9)/3+(C10+D10+E10)/3+(C11+D11+E11)/3)-0.00112*((C7+D7+E7)/3+(C8+D8+E8)/3+(C9+D9+E9)/3+(C10+D10+E10)/3+(C11+D11+E11)/3)^2+0.03661*C5+4.03653))

So, how do we lose muscle mass when we eat enough protein, and more importantly- get stronger? Because, the body is absolute amazing piece of work. Unlike an inefficient car, our body learns how to adapt to become more efficient. Athletes, especially ectomorphs, such as myself, experience this all the time.

When I fought competitively, I would be at least 40% more powerful with my kicks at competition time, than non-competing times. My 3 rep max on squats and bench press were higher, but I weighed the same. So, it is possible to condition muscles for strength without experiencing hypertrophy.

Okay, what about losing muscle mass. I still think it's possible to condition muscles for strength, and have your muscle mass decrease. I think it's rare, but possible. Think of professional boxers Manny Pacquiao or Oscar De La Hoya. These are boxers that are skinny little things, but pack a punch hard enough to put you flat on your back.

How do these boxers keep from losing muscle mass while training? They supplement their protein intake. I can't speak for these individuals regarding their method, but I can tell you what I did. I decided that I could not stay at the weight that I was at when I was competitive because I was at the bottom of my weight division (heavy weight). It was already difficult for me to gain more muscle mass, no matter how intense I made my weight training routine when it was coupled with endurance training.

For the 1999 Us Open Taekwondo Championship, I was able to increase my muscle mass by 9 pounds from the year before. I did it by increasing my protein to almost that of a body builder. I was eating 1 1/2 times my muscle mass in protein (bodybuilders are often 2 times their muscle mass). For me, it was roughly 255 grams of protein a day. I ate 5 meals a day PLUS protein shakes after workouts and at night. There was no way I could've physically eaten more protein. Instead, I had to drink it.

So, the moral of the story is... If you're getting stronger, feeling better, losing bodyfat, but experiencing a few pounds of muscle mass decrease, who cares. The workouts in the UBC are not necessarily designed to build muscle mass. They're intense and require you to endure it for an hour. I would say they are similar to my competitive Taekwondo workouts where there is such a high calorie expenditure. This is when your body performs that amazing feat of adapting to become more efficient.

Cheers!

Duncan Richardson
http://www.bodiesinmotionidaho.com/body_challenge.html