Muscle growth

emaichael

Is it true that muscle can waist away if you do excersise every day ? because i'm cycling 60-90miles per day on really...up hill terrain in lots of places, or sometimes 120miles. so its a proper proper work out on a steel heavy bike. But when i get back home, isn't a sleep enough for the body to recover and consider building muscle? in the legs etc. and also a day on the weekend, or sometimes 2 where i don't do much.
i'm eating lots of protein rich foods every day, but i was wondering do i need to take more time off, or is it ok to keep pushing yourself whenever you feel like it? and the body can keep up, or are ''non-training days'' necessary to gain healthy muscle growth,which ive heard people mention.
i cant remember who said these words but i remember hearing ''cycling can reduce muscle size if done to often, taking time off is vital for the recovery and growth of muscles''
is it ok if i just like... cycle for about 2-6 or 8-10hours a day, and the time in between that cycle, and the next days similar cycle is enough time for the body to grow muscle or recover etc. (i'm eating and drinking high in protein things every day(beans, chicken, eggs, milk) whenever i can and i eat healthily). please reply and say what you think, or link me to a site which gives info, because ive checked places, and all i find is damn nutrition information, and my internet struggles to load images and certain pages for some reason. so thats why i'm using a basic forum.

ut_och_cykla

Doing the kind of mileage you mention you will need carbohydrates primarily. Protein is good but only up to a point - past which your body can't use any excess.
Breakdown will occur when you run out of carbs - these are what you need
Carbs are to be found in bread, potatoes,pasta, rice (as well as fruits and root vegetables). Eat plenty during before and after your rides and you will 'spare' muscle to an extent.
I'm sure others more knowledgable will be along with some tips soon.

Pagem

firstly, i'd suggest you read a basic training manual as you've not quite grasped the whole concept of muscles becoming smaller with high endurance training. this doesn't occur with everyone, but the phenomenon exsits whereby high endurance work decreases the size of the muscle mass NOT in a negative way by is a positive change. the muscles are becoming smaller becasue they are becmoing more efficinet at meeting the demenads placed upon them. the slow twicth muscle fibres that are primarily trained at low intensity/ high endurance activity are actually smaller than their fast twitch counterparts when maximally trrained.

however, having said all of this it is pssobile to lose muscle mass theough metabloiuc breakdown if you are doing too much activity and not thinking about yoiur nutritiion. this is bad of course.

emaichael

i thinkil just eat what i like when i like, lots of crisps, chips, potatoes... food food food, anything! and itl have a better effect than what i'm doing at the moment, because i'm sick of beans and ham, and eggs.. but milk i'm addicted to hehe
thanks. i didnt know high carbs is as important as you say it is. because i didnt look intothat aspect.
should i have more non training days? or should i stick at it, and keep up the daily cycling routeen ive been doing? because my moto is, if i can keep going then i should, it wont hurt me to do this. anytime sitting around my body is itching to cycle thats the trouble. but should i have 3 days off a week? like ive heard some cyclists do...

ajohn9

Mate, if ur riding that much, that hard then id say 2 days a week off to aid muscle re-growth

SteveR_100Milers

Rest days are just as critical as effort days. Without them the recovery process that takes place after the breakdown of the muscle tissue that occurs during exercise cannot take place. You'll end up at best fatigued, worst seriously ill. Friend of mine caught pneumonia indirectly as a result of over-training.

Pagem

emaichael wrote:

should i have more non training days? or should i stick at it, and keep up the daily cycling routeen ive been doing? because my moto is, if i can keep going then i should, it wont hurt me to do this. anytime sitting around my body is itching to cycle thats the trouble. but should i have 3 days off a week? like ive heard some cyclists do...

unless you're a troll or have ocd then i can't see any reason why you'd not consider resting more. you know, professionaly athletes actually get paid to sleep at times as it's just as importnat as the training.

carry on the way you are and you'll prob most likely wind up with chronic fatigue syndrome at the very least!

Zero Sum

Is it true that muscle can waist away if you do excersise every day ? because i'm cycling 60-90miles per day on really...up hill terrain in lots of places, or sometimes 120miles. so its a proper proper work out on a steel heavy bike. But when i get back home, isn't a sleep enough for the body to recover and consider building muscle? in the legs etc. and also a day on the weekend, or sometimes 2 where i don't do much

You need a serious rethink mate, you are really do yourself no favours here at all...quantity is not everything....

The training schedule you post is just going to do you harm just as Pagem says...

Read, get a coach, do anything other thanwhat you are doing...madness mate...madness

ut_och_cykla

I'm not sure the distance itself is a problem - as long as speed is lowish. On tour I've cycled 100-140 kms a day (with full camping gear on bike) 5 - 6 days a week for 7 weeks. I ate everything I wanted to and didn't lose weight :oops:
If you can't bring yourself to have cycling free days at least back off on the intensity/distance on some days.
And perhaps ask yourself why you want to cycle so much. When you've answered that question people will be better able to help you with answering specific questions.
Above all make sure youenjoy most of cycling most of the time!!

RyanBrook

I'm intrigued by your post. How old are you? Do you have a job? Clearly there is no time for work with your cycling routine.

Your mileage is probable similar to that of a pro so its not necessarily too much. In your case I expect your not a pro because you don't know anything about nutrition. So I suspect you're reasonably fit and retired. Carbs should make up around 80% of your calorie intake (mostly pasta). You need to work out how many calories you are burning per day and ensure you are eating this amount. Some protein and some fat is also essential 10% for both.

You should definately buy a book on cycling and read it during a rest day.

emaichael

RyanBrook wrote:

I'm intrigued by your post. How old are you? Do you have a job? Clearly there is no time for work with your cycling routine.

Your mileage is probable similar to that of a pro so its not necessarily too much. In your case I expect your not a pro because you don't know anything about nutrition. So I suspect you're reasonably fit and retired. Carbs should make up around 80% of your calorie intake (mostly pasta). You need to work out how many calories you are burning per day and ensure you are eating this amount. Some protein and some fat is also essential 10% for both.

You should definately buy a book on cycling and read it during a rest day.

sorry i went through a stage where i couldnt use the internet for a while cus it clunked out and i had to re-install windows etc... so annoying!

i dont consider myself a good cyclist, i;m nearly 18, and fit it around my full time college course, cycle there (16miles) and then after i do the same route backwards and forwards 4-5times a day, after, gets dark now before i can finish. and il probably get up earlier, in the morning to fit it before my course, rather than do almost all of it after. (i do all this because i enjoy cycling allot, and i suffer from depression, and excersise helps allot to prevent it. (its not serious depression, but excersise prevents it completely)
i take one look in the mirror and see a big upper body (muscular arms, slightly big shoulders, and a six pack, because theres no fat there covering the muscle.. and so whats the point in this when all thats getting a work out is my legs...

and so thats the problem. my legs are stick thin, almost a different persons legs..compared to my upper body. and i feel like there waisting away... side on they look, ok, but face on there stick thin, and dont look like cycling legs, i cover up when i can. i still feel physically able and pumping out the speed and endurance, but... i really do look more like... a boxer with thin legs than a cyclist.

my routeen is 60-90miles per day (depending on the weather conditions, as when its to cold, as it is now my lungs/chest become a lil painful from the constant hours of intake of cold air)
but theres my days in ok weather when its not to cold, (as it has been weeks ago, suddenly getting colder now) where my sessions 5 days of the week are 60-90, or 120,(if i can stop and get water in a garage that is open)
i use a steel bike, as its heavy, and theres barely ever moments where i get a much of a brake, because even on downhills i keep my legs moving, to stop even the slightest feeling of them seizing up. ive been eating all the right foods now i look at my diet, spaghetti balanaese, pop noodles, potatoes like 4times a week, lots and lots of cereal.. 4weetobixes a day, and a bowl of cheerios(for sugar and iron) around this i eat lots of tuna steak from tins, chicken, eggs, and everyone likes there chocolate (galaxy), as well as a hamsalad sandwich in the afternoon. people comment and say i eat to much and i will get fat... but i don't think i could get fat if i tried.

I'm getting so exasperated, i think its down to genetics.
thanks for your help, and yes i wish i could retire at 18 unless theres an answer straight off, for this, i don't think i can help it... maybe its my age? do i need to stop growing completely and be about 20 before diet etc does things as it should?

ut_och_cykla

You'll only get bigger if you cut down on the cycling and carry on eating.
perhasp you need more professional help than can be given on this forum- to deal with your depression in a less time consuming way for instance Cycling so much without any clear goal does sound a teeny bit obsessive!
Sorry for being so blunt

nferrar

If your goal is to get big muscly legs then you want to do less miles but much higher intensity with lots of sprints etc + gym work. Lots of pros have skinny looking legs but the muscle is still very well defined and they obviously get the job done. Do you compete at all, would be interesting to see what sort of TT times you do with that mileage. You also must have a pretty high tolerance to boredom, cycling the same route 4-5 times each day! Maybe join a local road club and go on club rides with them and find some new routes + friends + advice.

Pagem

emaichael wrote:

(i do all this because i enjoy cycling allot, and i suffer from depression, and excersise helps allot to prevent it. (its not serious depression, but excersise prevents it completely)

are you sure? some might view this apparent obsession with both cycling and physical appearance to be a clear sign that you are over compensating for your depression. it may be worth seeing a counsellor to explore this?

emaichael

ut_och_cykla wrote:

You'll only get bigger if you cut down on the cycling and carry on eating.
perhasp you need more professional help than can be given on this forum- to deal with your depression in a less time consuming way for instance Cycling so much without any clear goal does sound a teeny bit obsessive!
Sorry for being so blunt

i do have a clear goal in mind, but i'm not going to brag about it on here as il get flamed and remarks etc...

crewebiker

ut_och_cykla wrote:

You'll only get bigger if you cut down on the cycling and carry on eating.
perhasp you need more professional help than can be given on this forum- to deal with your depression in a less time consuming way for instance Cycling so much without any clear goal does sound a teeny bit obsessive!
Sorry for being so blunt

Surely it doesn't matter it if is obsessive? As long as you enjoy it and it keeps you happy while you're cycling, that should be all that matters!

I'm 17 myself and went through a similar time while I was at school (not cycling as many miles as you though lol). School used to get me down quite a lot, and at times i'd say my depression did actually get quite serious. I used to cycle to school on a big heavy mtb and if there was a day where I felt I couldn't face going school, I used to go and explore the countryside instead and went for miles and miles sometimes not even knowing where i was going (which didn't really matter, i always had mapping software on a pda)! I found cycling in beautiful countryside was something that did actually make me genuinely happy. At that point I didn't actually have any goals, but eventually just before finishing school I bought my first road bike and a few months after that, joined a local club. Nowadays I do have goals, and cycling is one of the most closest things to my heart, i found it to be a great help during my last school year and still do!

As for beefing up your legs a little bit, your diet is okay... personally if i was in your shoes i'd do shorter mileage, but higher speed. Find as many hills as you can, go up them as fast and hard as you can. On traffic lights, try and keep up with cars acceleration and use raw power out of the saddle. Also you might want to read up on stretching techniques, these and tensing after exercising i believe can help, as it helps to seperate fibre or tissue or something like that (can't quite remember) which helps with the regeneration of your muscles. Walk around on your tiptoes whenever you can, this will do wonders for your calves!

I'd be interested in hearing what your goals are, and to be honest, anyone that does give bad remarks must not have ever had a dream of their own before!

I'd also recommend looking into joining a local cycling club, the guys in these clubs can give great tips and advice, and the social aspect to clubs is great as well.