I had to do that, I was 5'10" and 205, now down to 185. Basically I had to stop lifting weights and swim, bike, and run more.

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- Nick
Now that I know some of you guys look through the special needs bags for kicks, I'm gonna put some really weird stuff in mine. I can see it now. "What the heck was he going to do with a family pack of KFC chicken, a football helmet full of peanut butter, a 12 inch rubber dildo, and naked pictures of Bea Arthur?"

What he said.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

The weight won't hurt you on the swim or the bike if it is not hilly, but it will kill you on the run. No way around it. Drop the weight.

i've done the same thing. interestingly, i have gained much of it back in leg muscle. (i was a swimmer with a big upper body and chickenlegs. now i look more like a normal triathlete, but still have more up top than down low.) it kind of sucks because you have to accept not having the look that upper-body muscle gives you.

Do enough hours, eat moderately, and train w/ as little fuel (i.e., on the run or bike) as you can. Muscle will FALL off. It sure did off of me, and I could barely afford that and tried to keep that from happening!

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Too f@ckin depressed from various injuries to care about having a signature line.

Sponsored by Blue Shield PPO.

Yeah, i had to buy all new work clothes. its odd.

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- Nick
Now that I know some of you guys look through the special needs bags for kicks, I'm gonna put some really weird stuff in mine. I can see it now. "What the heck was he going to do with a family pack of KFC chicken, a football helmet full of peanut butter, a 12 inch rubber dildo, and naked pictures of Bea Arthur?"

Same situation as Stallion...

I may not have been as lean as you are, but for 3 years before I started triathlon, I lifted weights. I lifted weights with the attempt to lift more weight and build muscle mass. Over the past 3 years, I've lost approximately 25# and I wouldn't doubt that I've lost 50% muscle to 50% fat...

I haven't lifted a weight in 3 years, but at 35 years old, I plan on starting a new weight program this off season, focus on lossing those last 10 pounds of fat and strengthen the right muscles the right way for this sport.

First, the other posters have good ideas. A couple of things though: you don't say whether or not you lift weights. Cutting back on weight training will help if you have very low body fat and it's all muscle. You just have to accept a smaller upper body. Of course you might start to look really "ripped" like in the before and after adds in muscle magazines (it's really all lighting). You also don't say anything about your diet or if you've actually had your body fat tested. More info.

I would agree with TriDad, without a little more specific info (ie current weight lifting regimen, frequency, deit, ~ bf, etc) it is hard to give precise information.

In another life I was a powerlifter, and huge. 295 lbs of muscle huge. A few years of inactivity turned it into 320 of huge, but fat. I started back in the gym and doing cardio when I discovered triathlon.

My first race I was about 275 with ~ 20% bf, that was 3.5 years ago. Since then, diet, IM distance training, and a new weight regimen have resulted in a race weight of 220 lbs and closer to 13% bf.

If you stop lifting completely, trust me, the muscles will go away rapidly. I somewhat did that this year, and I now have no arms, but I am ok with that. Like others said, you have to sacrifice the look and feel of muscles for the efficiency and strength of biking and running.

A workout that includes lower weighted resistance with a higher repitition will help you keep your shape, and lose the mass. You don't need the mass for triathlon, that is for sure.

Give some additional information regarding your background and I am sure that you will get plenty of good tips from this forum.

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Formally azclydesdale, back in Northeast Ohio.

I swam in HS and also lifted like a bodybuilder...I've always been bigger and a little heavier (always real lean) than my peers.

Once in college I got into endurance sports (tri) and still lifted, but shifted to 2 or three times a week. The past year I really realized I needed to start lifting like a triathlete and not like a body builder (i lifted light weights, but same excersises as a bodybuilder). Besides some occasional calistenics, I haven't lifted since February.

I am naturally muscular and heavy (born at 10.7 oz)...but I want to shed some muscle up top and in my legs.

I have a real good diet. It fluctuates between how much I eat in a day, but I pay attention to eating more when I workout more, etc. I eat healthy and am learning more and more about workout nutrition with fluids and sports drinks...

I know if I don't ingest food when I workout, I just burn muscle, which in my case is the goal, but I want to do well in the Spring, too. If I fuel when i workout but eat less every other time...will I still shed some muscle?