Maybe this isn’t the best place for this, maybe it is?
I’ve been thinking of changing my workout routine, but I’m not sure how?
For literally at least half of my life I’ve focused more on building muscle. Now I’m wondering, how can I workout and keep as much strength as possible, but lose some mass? I mean, I’m not extreme bodybuilder, but I’m nowhere near afab size.
Is it possible (pre-hormone) to mostly keep streng, but lose mass? I wish a lot of me was smaller, especially neck, shoulders, thighs, and belly. Not totally sure how(or if) I can make changes pre-hrt to get more feminine? I don’t want to lose too much strength, but I’m fairly big so I’d like to lose some mass.
I guess most of my routine is 3 sets of 8-12 reps in various exercises focusing on larger groups of muscles(e.g. Push-up, pull-up, - dips…)
Edit: not sure if it was clear enough, I’d love to lose some mass/size, but as much as possible, not lose strength. Does that make sense? I totally get there is a tradeoff, but I’m not sure how to switch up working out to lose mass? I think I’d like to be smaller (help me to pass?) but I feel like any strength training at all is inherently somewhat bulky? At least from a feminine pov?
Hi! Not really and answer, but I’m in a similar situation muscle wise. I decided to visit a dietician to reduce muscles altogether in a healthy fashion and she recommended taking no more than 20 grams of protein every 2 hours or so. If you take more it will go to muscle build-up.
Still, it’s also important to get enough protein throughout the day, because you need it for just about anything (hair ✨ for one).
Spreading your intake throughout the day helps with not building more muscle mass (and potentially reduce it). She also told me E helps a lot, but I can’t speak from experience Hope it helps!
Reducing protein does make sense, I guess. I feel like I need a different workout strategy too. I’ve been doing go as heavy as possible for 6-10 reps for as long as I can remember but something I read recently mentioned something along the lines of ‘don’t go for 90% of your capability. Aim for 60%-80%’ 🤷♀️
I can totally believe E since I know T is important for muscle building, but I’m not there yet. Maybe that’s all I need, and keep up what I was already doing? 🤷♀️
Oh yes I read something similar on the 60-80% thingy. I started measuring my biceps circumference to make seeing results a bit more tangible.
Let me know what worked for you, I’m interested too !