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It
may sound strange that anybody would want to REDUCE
muscle size on purpose, but honestly, if that's
one of your goals, you're not alone! Reducing
the size of a specific muscle group or all your
muscles in general is a more common goal than
you might think.
And
there certainly ARE ways of decreasing the size
of your muscles through exercise!
But
let me just start by saying, if you feel your
calves are too big, please go ahead send them
my way... :)
Basically,
in order to reduce muscle size, we need to utilize
a two-pronged approach, focusing on a very specific
training style and then on post-workout nutrition.
For
training, we're going to accomplish the goal of
reducing muscle size by utilizing VERY high rep
sets (upwards of 80 to 100 reps per set!). This
type of training can be done with pretty much
any exercise you choose and will be dictated by
which muscle group(s) you want to reduce the size
of.
To
properly explain the reasoning behind how this
type very high rep training can be effective,
you should first know that there are two basic
types of muscle fibers: fast-twitch and slow-twitch.
Fast-twitch
fibers are responsible for high-power, short-duration
activity (like sprinting and heavy weight training)
while slow-twitch fibers are responsible for low-power,
long-duration activity like jogging, walking and
other endurance-based activity...basically anything
you can do for longer than a couple of minutes.
Fast-twitch
fibers are larger than slow-twitch fibers and
when you have a high percentage of fast-twitch
fibers, you will have larger muscles. You can
see the difference when you look at a sprinter
compared to a marathon runner.
So
what does this have to do with making muscles
smaller? Well, most likely, if you find a specific
muscle group too big for your liking, you probably
have a high percentage of those fast-twitch fibers
in that muscle group. They are much easier to
develop and you probably don't even have to work
that muscle group to keep it larger!
What
you WILL have to do, then, is focus ONLY on endurance-oriented
training for that specific muscle group that you
want to make smaller. This will preferentially
detrain the fast-twitch muscle fibers and train
the smaller, slow-twitch muscle fibers.
So
how you put this type of training into practice?
My best advice would be to pick an exercise or
two that work the muscle group you want to reduce.
For example, if you want to decrease your calves,
standing and seated calf raises will work.
Now,
at the beginning of EVERY single workout you do
(no matter what other bodyparts you're working
or even if you're just doing cardio training),
perform 2 sets of VERY high reps (80 to 100 reps)
on one of those exercises (you can use the same
exercise for both sets or do one set of each).
Rest two minutes in between those 2 sets to clear
out lactic acid build-up.
The
reason we do this every single day is that slow-twitch
fibers require frequent work and lots of volume.
Doing these two sets every single workout is the
most efficient way to accomplish that stimulus.
Naturally,
you're going to need to use some fairly light
weight to be able to get that many reps, but don't
just be a rep counter and stop when you get to
80. Push yourself to keep going and get as many
reps as you possibly can. The high reps are what
will train your slow-twitch muscle fibers.
DO NOT do any heavy or even moderately heavy training
for your target muscle group.
It
should be ALL light-weight, very high rep whenever
you work it. We want to really take away all stimulus
to the larger, fast-twitch muscle fibers and focus
on training only the smaller slow-twitch endurance-oriented
fibers.
For
the REST of your workout (for the muscles you
aren't trying to reduce in size), you can feel
free to use heavier weights and lower rep ranges.
It's only the target muscle group you want to
absolutely keep to very high reps.
And
just because you're training to reduce muscle
size, it doesn't mean it's going to be easy work!
You do need to push yourself on these high-rep
sets, not just go through the motions and count
to 100.
As
I mentioned above, this is a two-pronged approach...training
and nutrition. So now that we've got the training
covered, let's move on to nutrition, specicially
post-workout nutrition as that is going to have
the biggest impact on your muscle reduction program.
Your
muscles require protein to rebuild and recover.
So what we're going to do is deprive your body
of protein during the post-workout period by not
eating any protein for a few hours after training.
By
not eating protein right away, you will force
your body to eat up some of its own muscle tissue
for recovery purposes, further helping to reduce
muscle size. Immediately after your workout, take
in some simple sugars to help get the recovery
process started (sugary drink mixes like Tang
or Gatorade are good). Eat only carbohydrates
such as grains, fruits, and vegetables for a few
hours after exercise.
You
can eat protein during the rest of the day, just
not during the post-workout period (for at least
3 hours after).
It
does take a bit of time for the muscle fibers
to respond to this type of training but it will
happen if you stick to the high rep sets and keep
it up consistently.
The
size of your muscles will obviously be your main
gauge as to whether the training is working for
you or not, so use a good tape measure and measure
your target muscles (at the same place on the
muscle each time!) on a weekly basis and at the
same time of day to control for outside factors
such as food and water intake (first thing in
the morning before you've eaten or drank anything
is best).
So
if you're looking to reduce muscle size without
getting flabby, give this type of training a try!
The high reps may be painful, but they will transform
your muscles and reduce their size, getting your
muscles where you want them to be!
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