How to exercise if you only want to lose weight and not gain muscle

Just wanting to lose weight without gaining muscle can be achieved through aerobic exercise, controlling exercise intensity, adjusting diet structure, avoiding excessive strength training, and maintaining moderate exercise frequency. The key to weight loss is to create a calorie deficit while avoiding excessive muscle stimulation and growth.

1. Aerobic exercise is the main focus

Low to moderate intensity aerobic exercise that lasts for more than 30 minutes can effectively burn fat, such as jogging, swimming, cycling, etc. This type of exercise mainly relies on fat for energy supply and has less muscle stimulation. It is recommended to do it 4-5 times a week, keeping the heart rate in the range of 60% -70% of the maximum heart rate each time. Avoid intermittent high-intensity training, which may promote muscle synthesis.

2. Control exercise intensity

adopts a long-term low-intensity uniform speed exercise mode to avoid explosive movements and weight training. The intensity of normal conversation during exercise is most suitable, and the proportion of fat energy supply is highest at this time. There should be no obvious muscle soreness after exercise, which is an important signal to avoid muscle growth. Wearable heart rate monitoring devices ensure moderate intensity.

3. Adjust dietary structure

Maintain moderate protein intake without deliberately increasing protein mass. Consuming 1-1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is sufficient to maintain existing muscle mass. Increase the proportion of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and control the total calorie intake at 80% -90% of basal metabolism. Avoid excessive protein supplementation after exercise, as it can stimulate muscle synthesis.

4. Avoid excessive strength training

Not doing strength training at all may lead to muscle loss, but the method of using small weights multiple times should be adopted. High repetition training of 15-20 times per group can maintain muscle endurance without significant muscle gain. 1-2 times a week of whole-body lightweight resistance training is sufficient to avoid concentrated stimulation on a single muscle group. Mild muscle fatigue sensation disappears within 24 hours after training.

5. Maintain moderate exercise frequency

Control the daily exercise time within 60-90 minutes to give the body sufficient recovery time. Overtraining can stimulate cortisol secretion and may actually break down muscles. It is recommended to adopt a pattern of exercising for one day and resting for one day, or alternate between low-intensity activities in different parts. Adequate sleep helps maintain basal metabolic rate and avoid compensatory muscle growth.

During weight loss, it is recommended to regularly measure changes in body fat percentage rather than simply focusing on weight, and more accurate measurements can be made through sebum forceps or bioelectrical impedance. Keeping dietary records helps to control calorie intake and avoid metabolic decline caused by excessive dieting. Water exercise can be chosen to reduce joint burden, while the resistance of water can gently maintain muscle state. Pay attention to supplementing with complex vitamins and minerals to ensure the normal function of fat metabolism related enzymes. If there is a plateau period, the type of exercise can be adjusted appropriately instead of increasing intensity to prevent the body from triggering muscle building mechanisms after adaptation.