A more balanced shape?

Triangle Kebab

Hi all, just after a bit of advice really. I started cycling a while ago to loose some weight and improve my fitness, and this seems to be working. My weight is dropping (13lbs in around 7 weeks) but obviously as a side effect my legs are really building muscle, which is a good thing, but i dont want my legs to get to big as i am going to look a bit silly with a small top half and big legs. Is there any way that i can keep cycling but maybe keep my legs a little more in keeping with the rest of me?
Thanks

Herbsman

Do some upper body work to balance it out or just stop being bothered how you look...

cyco2

Is it possible that you have muscles in your legs which after years of being coated in fat are beginning to emerge.

steviecfb

Well done for the weight loss.

I always had big legs: it's just that now you can see the muscle, because it has some definition.

Could that be what you're finding, or is it that your legs have become measurably bigger?

Even if they have, they're not usually on show, are they? - or yes, you could do some simple exercises to build up your upper body. Not difficult, don't need a gymn.

neeb

madasahattersley wrote:

Big legs with a scrawny upper body just doesn't happen really. If you're the type to put on muscle then you'll be muscular all over. If you don't put on muscle much (I certainly don't) then you'll be skinny all over. Cycling is an endurance sport - you're unlikely to put on lots of muscle just from riding.

+1, unless you are doing track sprinting or something like that your legs just aren't going to get so big that they look out of proportion. Obviously you are going to look different from someone who does lots of upper body gym work and has underdeveloped legs, but that's because they are out of proportion, not you.

Endurance cycling gives you leg muscle definition, but there's a definite limit to how much bigger the muscles will get.

okgo

madasahattersley wrote:

Big legs with a scrawny upper body just doesn't happen really. If you're the type to put on muscle then you'll be muscular all over. If you don't put on muscle much (I certainly don't) then you'll be skinny all over. Cycling is an endurance sport - you're unlikely to put on lots of muscle just from riding.

Dunno, I seem to have kind of defied that and now am relatively diminutive up top vs my legs, I would also say someone like Tony Martin is also small up top with big legs.

As such I think I'd say mine were out of proportion, and its quite clear that is the case as clothing rarely fits.

phreak

If you feel your upper body is a bit leaner than you'd like, go to the gym and add a bit of muscle up top. We're only amateurs here so it's not like having a bit of upper body muscle is going to stop you winning the Tour.

I'm currently around 56.5kg but can bench press 130kg. Doesn't have to be an either/or thing if you don't want it to be.

Cookie91

phreak wrote:

I'm currently around 56.5kg but can bench press 130kg. Doesn't have to be an either/or thing if you don't want it to be.

I hope thats pounds not kilos. Otherwise you should quite cycling and become a circus strongman!
Im around 64kg , 178cm and certainly not fat and I struggle to bench 50 kg. Maybe I need to hit the gym?

okgo

Quite. I think that could be a world record at 56kg.

phreak

Cookie91 wrote:

phreak wrote:

I'm currently around 56.5kg but can bench press 130kg. Doesn't have to be an either/or thing if you don't want it to be.

I hope thats pounds not kilos. Otherwise you should quite cycling and become a circus strongman!
Im around 64kg , 178cm and certainly not fat and I struggle to bench 50 kg. Maybe I need to hit the gym?

No, it is kilos. The gym I go to had a competition just before the Maratona. You only had to complete 3 reps, so it's not like that's my usual workout or anything. Used to swim a lot as a lad so have quite a strong chest and have been in the gym since I was 16 because of swimming. There were guys lifting well over 200kg, but most were heavier. There were a few with weight lifted/their weight ratios of over 2 (mine was 2.3 or something), so it's not exactly that special.

Not sure if it makes any difference but it was using the seated bench press machine rather than the lying down version.

frisbee

Depending upon the machine, you could potentially lift double what you can with a free bar. Just the mechanics of your size will give you an advantage over the bigger guys, as the handles will be returning to a fixed point rather than the lifter's chest.

I certainly wouldn't put 130kg on a free bar and attempt to bench it, not without a spotter or two!

phreak

For sure. Not claiming to be some kind of superman here, just saying that you don't have to be weak in the upper body to also be lean/light enough to cycle well

napoleond

phreak wrote:

Cookie91 wrote:

phreak wrote:

I'm currently around 56.5kg but can bench press 130kg. Doesn't have to be an either/or thing if you don't want it to be.

I hope thats pounds not kilos. Otherwise you should quite cycling and become a circus strongman!
Im around 64kg , 178cm and certainly not fat and I struggle to bench 50 kg. Maybe I need to hit the gym?

No, it is kilos. The gym I go to had a competition just before the Maratona. You only had to complete 3 reps, so it's not like that's my usual workout or anything. Used to swim a lot as a lad so have quite a strong chest and have been in the gym since I was 16 because of swimming. There were guys lifting well over 200kg, but most were heavier. There were a few with weight lifted/their weight ratios of over 2 (mine was 2.3 or something), so it's not exactly that special.

Not sure if it makes any difference but it was using the seated bench press machine rather than the lying down version.

Yes, it's makes a huge difference. I thought you were talking proper bench press with Olympic bar.

phreak

Not sure why it makes a difference to this thread. As I said previously, I'm not making claims to be any kind of weight lifter, merely saying that it's perfectly possible to be reasonably strong in the upper body whilst also being lean/light enough to cycle well.

napoleond

phreak wrote:

Not sure why it makes a difference to this thread. As I said previously, I'm not making claims to be any kind of weight lifter, merely saying that it's perfectly possible to be reasonably strong in the upper body whilst also being lean/light enough to cycle well.

That it is. That it is.