does cycling kill upper body muscle?

[star84]

hello guys i have a question and hope more experience cyclist here wuld help.. its been a month now since i started cycling and im enjoying it everyday i jus wanna get on the saddle and ride though we all have defferent reasons why we get into cycling mine is the fun and to keep fit as i get bored going to the gym so quick.. before i started cycling i have a nice upper body build from previous weight lifting,big arms and chest no 6pack though lol so i thought with cycling i can work on my belly,tigh/leg after a month now i can see improvement on my legs and tighs also my belly is no longer big as it use to be but i notice that my arms are getting thin and muscles are going which i dont like..some of my friends who havent seen me for some weeks saw me few days ago and the first thing they said to me was boi you have lost alot of weight...my question is how do i cycle and still retain my upper body muscle or even get them bigger..thanks

 

[amaferanga]

You're probably losing the blubber from your upper body.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Pretty simple. Use it or lose it

 

[Rob3rt]

If you want to retain your big arms you need to lift!

 

[Chris Norton]

If you have given up your usual routine and simply cycling, you will lose your existing body shape. If you simply stop all exercise you will find your upper body would get smaller slower than if you cycle because your energy is being used by the legs in cycling and breathing muscles. If you simply stop then your not redirecting the work load.

If you just want a decent work out from cycling then you need to mix weights with aerobic. However, if your aim is cycle racing then your body shape is gonna change. Accept it and love that saddle.

 

[addictfreak]

^^^^ this

 

[ColinJ]

Pretty simple. Use it or lose it

I hesitate to agree with T.M.H.N.E.T, but ...






... I agree with T.M.H.N.E.T!

My arms were bigger than I expected them to be given how little I thought I was using them, but then I realised that I had to pull very hard on the handlebars every time I dragged my lardy body up the steep hills round here.

If you are only cycling on the flat and not doing any specific upper body exercise, why wouldn't your arm muscles get smaller?

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

Try riding fixed gear up hill a lot, that will help the upper body stay toned. Uses the core muscles more, weirdly more than ss, dunno why.

 

[Rob3rt]

Skinny arms are more aero!

 

[ayceejay]

Muscle is not all beef, stored within muscle are two energy sources (glycogen and fat) you have been using these stored sources by the sound of it without replenishing aftr your ride.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Muscle is not all beef, stored within muscle are two energy sources (glycogen and fat) you have been using these stored sources by the sound of it without replenishing aftr your ride.

Nothing to do with metabolizing actual muscle tissue of course.

 

[ayceejay]

Wow! how predictable is that?
Personally I find advice offered on the internet a poor substitute for the advice one might get from a professional. Most who answer a question do it in the spirit of "this is what I have found in my experience", when I have received advice of this nature I use this as a kind of Coles notes and do some research of my own. I imagine star 84 will do the same with everything that has been posted here rather than assume that within it is his definitive answer.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Skinny arms are more aero!

Unless you're Chris Froome out of the saddle, in which case you're a stick insect engaged in mortal battle.

 

[Herbie]

Skinny arms are more aero!

thats why pro cyclists are so slim up top....i've never seen a fat pro biker although Sir Chris Hoy is no lightweight

 

[star84]

anyway mayb my arms muscle were just only fat or something though i am not a fat person but my arms are big...i started liftiing when i was 13 so i kinda of grew with that shape and if im honest i havent been to the gym for the past 2yrs but i still look like someone that goes to the gym regularly and when i do go to the gym i dont have to do alot for my muscle to get bigger again beside the reason i stoped going to the gym was becos i get too big even if i only lift for a week or 2 the only way someone can tell i dont use the gym regularly is my belly...i love cycling and would love to continue i jus dont want to be skinny like the pro cyclist i jus want to retain my upper body muscle and also achieve a nice cyclist tighs/legs...would regular push up help ???