•Explain why weight lifters have such enormous muscles, whereas distance runners have lean muscles.?

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They’re the two opposites of fitness. Runners have high endurance while weightlifters have high strength. Running, especially long distance running is an aerobic workout that requires constant oxygen. These types of exercises are heart intensive that place the runner their target heart rate zone throughout the duration. This burns a lot of calories, which makes it harder for runners to acquire much mass without consuming an exorbitant amount of calories. Additionally, having more mass would only require more calorie output to carry the extra weight, so it’s beneficial for a runner to be lighter. The result is an overall lean physique. Weight lifting on the other hand is a more anaerobic workout, meaning without oxygen. It is short term bursts of energy that force a muscle to work to it’s physical limit and then resting and waiting for the lactic acid to disperse, than repeating. The constant ripping down of muscle, combined with a usually high calorie diet enables muscles to grow larger and stronger to adapt to the demands. Additionally, unlike runners, weightlifters target specific muscle groups in an all body workout where as running predominantly only works the legs and core. **Without having excess calories either through a high calorie diet or accumulated fat, a weight lifter will not get big muscles no matter how much time they spend lifting.... Show More

I would figure that it’s because when body builders are lifting, they are doing it to help one specific part of the body, and when runners run, they are helping all areas of their body at one time. I’m not a professional, but it seems logical to me!... Show More

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The body adapts to the resistance training a person does.... Show More