Fat V Muscle

[SnailRunner71]

Whilst chatting to a running friend I was very surprised to learn that running slower burns fat whilst running faster burns muscle. So running slow seems the best option, which is what I do anyway.

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Err... well... kinda... jogging is a fat burner for sure. Proteins to fuel would be the path of last resort for a body during a run though!

[SnailRunner71 Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

I can't afford to burn too much fat though there's not much of me!

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to SnailRunner71]

Lol... well, the glycogen in your leg muscles are what’s actually burned during any run. That’s then replaced using blood sugar and that’s replaced too. If you’re going slow then the body will go for any stored fat first as that’s why it stored it... but if that process (I think it’s 40 chemical reactions from body fat to glycogen) can’t keep up, then carbs are used as they convert faster. To actually start using muscles as fuel something would have to be badly wrong... no body fat and no carbs would be the only way, and that’s highly unlikely to happen. If running fast burned muscle, sprinters would look like Mo, they don’t. They have different muscle and it’s bulky fast twitch fibres that are used... ideally a long distance runner wouldn’t use these at all, though sprint finishes do.

You can’t lose more body fat than you have, so you’ll be just fine!

As we are only talking about 100 calories or so per mile, there’s not much need to worry, your blood sugar alone will get you maybe 10 miles.

[SnailRunner71 Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Phew!

Thanks

[Katnap Graduate in reply to SnailRunner71]

I think I'll keep to burning fat!

[steviej99 Graduate]

Not sure that you "burn" muscle like you burn fat, you burn calories and where the body gets its energy is hugely complicated and depends on loads of factors, not least the body type and composition big the person. How ever what benefits us runners in the slow lane is that by running slower you can run for longer than if you got knackered by running too fast and the longer you run then the more fat you burn!!