I am a rockclimber getting ready for competition. I need to lose muscle mass in the legs. I am trying to lose my leg muscles ( I once squated and deadliftet a lot 
)
Will fast endurance running help ( 10km maximum speed )to lose my leg mass or do I have to run slowly to lose muscle (slow cardio) ?
Iād say the best way to lose lower body mass is long distance aerobic excercise i.e. go for a jog.
my guess would be eat less than you needā¦ go on Hollywood diet or fruit diet over a long period of time and you will loose muscle but I am not sure how you can lose leg muscle exclusively. Good luck
also ride a wheel chair consistently for 1 year ( keep training the upper body ) and you are sure to lose leg muscle ā¦you tend to lose what you do not use.
Donāt make change your training to lose muscle. Just do your climbing rather than lifting and your body will adapt.
Why do you even feel the need to lose leg muscles? Iām not a rock climber but Iām pretty sure that you have to use your legs for that, and Iād want strong legs. Are you one of those people who think that you will get more flexibility with less muscles?
Try rock lifting/carrying instead of climbing. That way you can keep on squatting and deadlifting.
Just do lightbulb training- all upper body and no lower body.
Long distance running will cause you to lose leg mass. Look at marathon runners for example. Thier legs suck. BTWā¦I will probably be one of the few people who can understand this need as my legs get huge with very little work, yet getting them strong is a problem.
[quote]Mr.Rock wrote:
I am a rockclimber getting ready for competition. I need to lose muscle mass in the legs. I am trying to lose my leg muscles ( I once squated and deadliftet a lot )
Will fast endurance running help ( 10km maximum speed )to lose my leg mass or do I have to run slowly to lose muscle (slow cardio) ?[/quote]
I think long distance running is a bad thing to do. Thereās little point losing leg mass if your strength goes as well. Why dont you carry on squatting and deadlifting, but do only 3-5reps with 3-5 minutes of rest. ie train for pure strength, not size
why do you need to lose muscle period. Iām not to up on rock climbing, but i donāt see what the benifit would be to losing leg muscle or what the downside would be to having muscular legs.
Odd. Are you competing in bouldering outside or are you doing gym competition? I ask because I use my legs far more in rock climbing and bouldering outside then I use my arms. Inside, I feel the opposite. The indoor grips burn out my forearms a lot faster. And itās harder to smear inside.
Have you read this book:
Wow, Iām shocked that many people on here know fuckall about rock climbingā¦
Long duration cahdio and exclusive upper body lifting is probably a good bet, though Iād ask on a climbing forum too as experienced climbers may know some less obvious tips or tricks.
BTWā¦ expect a flame job for psoting this.
[quote]elliotnewman1 wrote:
I think long distance running is a bad thing to do. Thereās little point losing leg mass if your strength goes as well. Why dont you carry on squatting and deadlifting, but do only 3-5reps with 3-5 minutes of rest. ie train for pure strength, not size
[/quote]
This will make him bigger. You can see this with most powerlifters. Not too many are small yet strong. Most are big and strong. Strength comes with size. They are related.
OP- I would start eating a normal diet of 3 meals a day with lots of medium - long distance running. Just keep the upper body work up and the best peri & post workout nutrition you can to keep most of your upper body mass.
To those that donāt know anything about rock climbing, itās mostly upper body work. Lots of mass on the legs will mean thereās more weight for the upper body to support. Most good climbers have massive lats and no legs at all. This is a specific adaptation to the demands of their sport.
Start curling in the squat rackā¦
Seriously though, as Sxio said, lower your calorie in take and keep working out upper body.
Even betterā¦donate some of your muscle to those collar-poppinā kids. Or does no one pop collars anymore? Iām out of the loop 
[quote]Sxio wrote:
elliotnewman1 wrote:
I think long distance running is a bad thing to do. Thereās little point losing leg mass if your strength goes as well. Why dont you carry on squatting and deadlifting, but do only 3-5reps with 3-5 minutes of rest. ie train for pure strength, not size
This will make him bigger. You can see this with most powerlifters. Not too many are small yet strong. Most are big and strong. Strength comes with size. They are related.
OP- I would start eating a normal diet of 3 meals a day with lots of medium - long distance running. Just keep the upper body work up and the best peri & post workout nutrition you can to keep most of your upper body mass.
To those that donāt know anything about rock climbing, itās mostly upper body work. Lots of mass on the legs will mean thereās more weight for the upper body to support. Most good climbers have massive lats and no legs at all. This is a specific adaptation to the demands of their sport. [/quote]
Your not thinking straight. Eric Cressey is extremely strong yet weighs about 165 i think. Pavel Tsatsouline is very strong yet is not heavily muscled. If you wanna get big you need to get stronger, but you can can very strong without getting bigger.
One or two sets of squats with 3-5 reps and long rests is not going to build any significant muscle in most peopleā¦the volume is not there. However, that rep range and low volume should allow strength to be maintained
This thread is reason #1 why I donāt listen to anyone on this forum but a few select people. How many people have offered their entirely uninformed opnions?
Muscle MASS is a detriment to rock climbers. It is additional weight. Having muscular legs is NOT a good thing.
How could you answer the guyās question without knowing this?!
[quote]BFBullpup wrote:
Why do you even feel the need to lose leg muscles? Iām not a rock climber but Iām pretty sure that you have to use your legs for that,[/quote]
Serious question: Given that you are not a rock climber, why would you feel qualified to answer his question?
[quote]elliotnewman1 wrote:
Your not thinking straight. Eric Cressey is extremely strong yet weighs about 165 i think.
[/quote]
Oy vey. First, Cressey is, most emphatically, a pretty big dude. Second, he COMPETES at 165. Like most people who compete in a given weight class, he drops around 15 pounds before a comp. Thus, his āwalking aroundā weight is likely closer to 180.
Seriously, man, get a clue!
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Oy vey. First, Cressey is, most emphatically, a pretty big dude. Second, he COMPETES at 165. Like most people who compete in a given weight class, he drops around 15 pounds before a comp. Thus, his āwalking aroundā weight is likely closer to 180.
[/quote]
Actually EC is about 190-195 and is now going up to the 181 class as it too difficult to drop to 165.