Weight lifting

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gazza81

Über Member
Location
Edenbridge
Hi all
Been going gym for the last few years lifting weights, not for bodybuilding just to keep healthy.
Ive recently got into cycling and and i want to go twice a week cycling and twice a week lifting weights, thats really the absolute maximum i can put into gym/cycle time due to work, kids blar blar
I go gym tues cycle wed gym sat cycle sun

So are there any weight lifters here that manage to do both and how do you structure your weight lifting? Upper body only?
Is the cycling twice a week enough to drop my lower body gym days? I really dont want to get twig legs!
 

Citius

Guest
Did you read this thread before posting ? https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/weight-training.182371/
 
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gazza81

gazza81

Über Member
Location
Edenbridge
Yeah, well kinda, got bored after a few pages.

Seems to be talking about how leg workouts may or may not help cycling performance.
Im not cycling for performance im cycling for fitness/fun and to burn a little fat.

So not really the info i was after, i wanted to know if i would lose muscle mass in my legs (not that i have huge legs!) if i cut out leg workouts and cycle instead, or if cycling could even actually build leg muscle?
 

Citius

Guest
Sorry you got bored of that thread - it would have answered your questions if you'd managed to stay with it.

Endurance cycling is significantly sub-maximal, so will not result in any significant hypertrophy. If you want to keep big legs, stay in the gym.
 
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gazza81

gazza81

Über Member
Location
Edenbridge
So, you want to know if cycling makes leg muscles smaller? :whistle:

It certainly makes mine bigger, though not bodybuilding big!

Maybe u started off with twig legs? so the cycling has built them up?

Ive already built some mass through lifting weights so im thinking if i stop lifting weight and replace it with cycling maybe id lose some leg mass.
And if i carry on lifting for upper body and lose mass in my legs i might look really silly!

I was just wondering if anyone does this really, train upper body only and cycle and has a balanced physique
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Maybe u started off with twig legs? so the cycling has built them up?

Ive already built some mass through lifting weights so im thinking if i stop lifting weight and replace it with cycling maybe id lose some leg mass.
And if i carry on lifting for upper body and lose mass in my legs i might look really silly!
I've never had what I would describe as 'twig legs'.

I don't know what your definition of 'twig' is. I have 15 inch calf muscles and 23 inch thighs. Not huge, but not tiny either.

Very few cyclists have legs that look like bodybuilders, and very few bodybuilders seem to do much cycling!

A colleague of mine used to be into competitive bodybuilding and he had big legs, but they were not fit legs. I am about 15 years older than him with smaller legs, but I reduced him to a quivering heap on our first ride together which was only about 20 miles over the local hills at an easy pace.
 

ayceejay

Guru
Location
Rural Quebec
Tom Platz has mahoosive legs, buying jeans is a nightmare, and he would ride a bike to get the definition you see here
tom.jpg
 

barachus

Active Member
I doubt cycling will give you the same kind of muscle size and definition you get from weight lifting
I would suggest you maintain both upper and lower body workouts if you want to maintain your muscle mass
I do weights 3 times a week when I go into work
It doesn't do anything to improve cycling ability, but I don't really care
 

adamangler

Veteran
Location
Wakefield
I struggled a few years ago when wanting to come from bodybuilding into cycling. Youll never get the most out of either but can make improvements at both.

Now im a bit older (35) im no longer interested in being massive bodybuilding wise, im more interested in looking decent and being healthy, cycling is my main priority.

I cycle 3/4 times a week and do the weights twice, i concentrate on the upper body and only do very light work on the legs if at all. I find this gives me a good balance.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Ex body builder turned powerlifter here. Quit a year of so back due to orthapaedic problems. I still lift, bit lighter weights, higher reps just to beep a bit of lean bulk but nothing too strenuous now. Still got a 54" back/chest and 18" pipes, and can put on a lat spread with the best of them.

Mike Mentzer and Dave Draper were my lifting heroes. Draper still lifts in his 70's and is still a big, well cut feller.
 
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