Health Im a distance runner, why are most of them very thin?

[Inferno]

I have been training in cross country for about a year, and my team even made state championships.
so why are most olympic distance runners thin? None of the guys on my team were fat but compared to the pictures of olympic distance runners I saw the runners on my team look way bigger.Is it because of the calories they burn while running? the aerodynamicness/not having to carry around so much weight?
My goal is not to have huge muscles , but would that be possible for a distance runner?

 

[trashKENNUT]

Inferno,

Cardio burns muscles. To some people, they think it makes no sense to build muscle too much and run the next day. Something like that.

Zac

 

[Inferno]

Thanks zac.

 

[PinotNoir]

Muscle weighs a lot (even more than fat). Most runners try to get as lean as possible so that they're as light as possible, but you can still be very toned and fit.

Here's a picture of Mo Farah flexing:

You still need a decent amount of muscle in your arms so that they don't get tired and especially need muscle in your core.

I think it's all a matter of finding that sweet spot where you have enough muscle to give you speed and endurance but not enough to weigh you down.

However, if you're goal is to not be an Olympic athlete, it's probably not going to matter much, and you'll still beat a lot of people in school (and locals). And if you don't want to ever be as lean as runners, then you can do triathlons instead, which require a lot of muscle for swimming and is a more complete fitness.

EDIT: Just a note that this is for middle to long distance runners only. For sprinters, you actually want buckets of muscle (see Usain Bolt), as you have a shorter distance so it won't affect you to have as much weight. You're more of like a canon packed with dynamite and just explode to the finish line. Of course, there's still strategy, especially at 400m and 800m where you have to pace a bit compared with 200m.

 

[Ross]

I have been training in cross country for about a year, and my team even made state championships.
so why are most olympic distance runners thin? None of the guys on my team were fat but compared to the pictures of olympic distance runners I saw the runners on my team look way bigger.Is it because of the calories they burn while running? the aerodynamicness/not having to carry around so much weight?
My goal is not to have huge muscles , but would that be possible for a distance runner?

Inferno, I'd advise you to quit cross country and pick up weight lifting and/or short-distance running.

Hear me out. I was a long-distance runner in high school. I'd been tall and skinny throughout my teen years, brought on by poor eating habits and neglecting food in place of playing MMORPG games. Long-distance felt like the natural fit, so I went with it.

After participating in about 6 months of training, I took up training to my absolute best potential. I saw great initial results, but eventually became to inundated with the sport that I trained too hard, resulting in landing at a plateau of progress. I now saw that such training wasn't optimal to see the results I wanted, but something else became clear to me.

The type of fervor that comes with being the best results in taking things to an absolute extreme. Olympic athletes compete to be the best in the world at running a race. The best body for running a few miles happens to be one that is thin, skinny, and efficient. The people on your team aren't yet completely efficient in such a sport.

Unless you need to do long-distance running for something other than sports, drop it. There were times when natural selection chose humans with long-distance capabilities because they could use it for survival, but we are long past needing to survive. These days, mating with people is based on social interactions. A man who is larger and more powerful beats out skinnier, smaller men on the social scale every time, simply because they display physical dominance.

Instead of training for a sport, I highly recommend you train towards a goal that you don't have simply for the same of competing with others. I lift weights to display physical dominance, health, and sexuality. In addition, the ability to generate power and physical dominance transfers over to the bedroom with women, and such a man who has these characteristics makes up the thing that all women want - a dominant lover.

 

[Inferno]

thanks ross. I can really relate to what you are saying . So I'll probably need to save up for a gym membership then [:

 

[Richard]

Inferno -

Like everyone else said - long distance running burns calories and the longer you do it the more your mitochondria change and adapt to the work out you are currently doing - and it changes depending on the type, intensity, and duration of the workout you perform. Long-distance runners tend to develop more dense mitchondria which in turn allows for more stores of energy and accelerated carb and calorie burning.

On the other hand - I'm an HIIT sprinter (thanks to Tool who helped me lose quite a bit of weight this way) and high intensity sprint intervals/ weight-lifting change your mitochondria differently which allow for more muscle and size.

As Ross - long distance running was once required by our ancestors in order to survive but this is no longer the case. On the same note - sudden sprinting sends your body into evolutionary shock (basically) because another section of our ancestors had to escape danger at a moment's notice - and that shock (coming from HIIT workouts) also leads to more muscle gains.

Again like Ross said if you don't need long-distance running for another sport or other aspect of your life then I'd also advise you to drop it.

You won't necessarily need a gym membership if you're only trying to run though - just get out there and start sprinting/ short distance running.

-Richard

 

[Whizzy]

Also make sure to take days off from that type of exercise otherwise your body won't be able to recover and your gains will be minimized.

 

[PinotNoir]

Overall in a general sense, I think the guys are right about the modern age. Most girls like muscle (but they don't want too much muscle either), and I do think that you'll get better results with more muscle than as a skinny guy. I'm saying this from my limited perspective as a slim guy that still has some definition and tone (I know it's not much, but I can do 7+ pull-ups).

As far as our ancient past, I don't know. Do you guys have sources? I would only think slim guys who could run long distances would be seen as alphas in particular tribes that valued those traits. It would really depend on the tribe. Else, a swift hunter may be more beneficial... or a man with knowledge of how to catch fish... or just more muscle in general to beat up all of the guys wanting to be alpha. I think in our ancient past that more muscle would still be more favored by women compared with very slim long-distance runners overall. Slim also implies that you're malnourished. If you're the king and alpha, you just get slim guys to hunt and feed you haha. But, I don't have enough data to debate this.

You can still have muscle and be a competitive runner; you just won't be competitive in the Olympics. In my community, there's a guy with gobs of muscle that runs a sub 2:30:00 marathon! It's crazy. In your workouts, do more weightlifting than running. For example, you would lift weights 4 times a week and run 3 times a week. Also, you should lift weights before running. If you do a run before lifting weights, it will tire you out and make your weightlifting not as effective. You can definitely have muscle and be a competitive middle-to-long distance runner -- at least locally and nationally. Just remember that the heart is also muscle and needs to be worked on as well; at least do some type of endurance workout once a week or so....

Lastly, I want to point out that you can still get girls in running circles. If you can socialize well and do social circle game well, you can just join a lot of running communities, and girls in these communities are actually more partial to slim guys (in my experience), especially if you win or get in the top of the pack. If you're around women that are used to the body type and love the sport, they'll also love you.

At the end of the day, you need to judge what you love and care about the most. If you love middle-to-long distance more than life, then keep doing it. But, if it's not that important and you want to be with more girls, then start adding muscle. Muscle is not 100% necessary though, and just because you get it doesn't guarantee every woman you see will fall in love with you. In fact, if you work on your dating skills while you're skinny, it'll be more challenging and make you even better at it until you add muscle. It just depends on what you want in life and how you want to get there.