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Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle (Read 6460 times)

abarro81

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#50 Re: Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle
September 22, 2022, 07:32:32 pm
Those telling people that their legs somehow didn't get bigger are funny. I guess those of us that got bigger legs must all have a vivid imagination... Next you'll all be like Tyler and claim that those finger strength improvements from repeaters were all a dream.

Unlike the OP I don't find running makes my legs bigger, but I can believe that some people do

AMorris

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#51 Re: Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle
September 22, 2022, 07:48:58 pm
I dunno if looking at top end cyclists is really useful for the impact of cycling as purely an accessory for an amateur climber. They are combining high levels of cycling with very specific diets and, yes, drug use in order to create a specific adaptation. That's not what the OP would be doing.

The point I am trying, and apparently failing, to make is that people are using the term "cycling" like all kinds of cycling are the same. This is incorrect, and you just have to look at the difference between sprinters/track cyclists and endurance climbers to see this. It's interesting that you cite specific diets and drug use creating a specific adaptation, but not specific training regimes and types of cycling. Surely that is the most influential factor in the physiological development of an athlete? OP is looking to improve his cardio, and the kind of cycling used just to improve cardio is not the kind of cycling which generally leads to large, bulky legs. Muscular development? A bit yeah, but you won't suddenly start looking like Chris Hoy just by doing some Zone 2 for a few hours a week.

Wellsy

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#52 Re: Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle
September 22, 2022, 08:03:33 pm
Sorry yeah you are totally right, they are using specific training for particular kinds of performance, my point is that what they are doing is so in depth, regimented and extreme that I don't think it's hugely relevant to doing some cycling for accessory cardio as a climber.

That said if you grow big legs at the slightest stimulus... swimming? Doing that thing with the two big ropes?

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#53 Re: Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle
September 22, 2022, 10:03:53 pm
Those telling people that their legs somehow didn't get bigger are funny. I guess those of us that got bigger legs must all have a vivid imagination... Next you'll all be like Tyler and claim that those finger strength improvements from repeaters were all a dream.

Unlike the OP I don't find running makes my legs bigger, but I can believe that some people do

So you first say people saying their legs didn't get bigger are funny and have a vivid imagination, then one sentence later say your legs don't get bigger from running?

abarro81

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#54 Re: Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle
September 23, 2022, 07:44:40 am
Sorry, poor phrasing, I was meaning person A telling person B that low-intensity cycling won't get you bigger legs when person B has already experienced it giving them bigger legs

SA Chris

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#55 Re: Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle
September 23, 2022, 08:21:06 am
Ah, gotcha.

Fultonius

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#56 Re: Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle
September 23, 2022, 09:01:13 am
 This thread is hilarious.

AMorris

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#57 Re: Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle
September 23, 2022, 11:23:46 am
Those telling people that their legs somehow didn't get bigger are funny. I guess those of us that got bigger legs must all have a vivid imagination... Next you'll all be like Tyler and claim that those finger strength improvements from repeaters were all a dream.

Unlike the OP I don't find running makes my legs bigger, but I can believe that some people do

I don't think anyone has told you your legs didn't get bigger, this is a strawman. Vivid imagination indeed!

The point I am making is not that you wont see some level of leg development, it's that you wont get bulky legs. I have already said there will probably be some development, but people seem to be terrified that by cycling you will build significant leg muscle to the detriment of your climbing. Please reread what I have previously posted about what the context of my point is. OP was asking for Cardio which doesn't build leg muscle. Low intensity cycling is a fantastic option which has worked for many people, and will not result in you looking like a t-rex. Lets stop pretending otherwise.

Sorry yeah you are totally right, they are using specific training for particular kinds of performance, my point is that what they are doing is so in depth, regimented and extreme that I don't think it's hugely relevant to doing some cycling for accessory cardio as a climber.

I am certainly not advocating for getting on a training and diet regime of a Grand Tour cyclist! Apart from anything else, that would result in injury. The point I am trying to make is that cycling does not necessarily mean you will end up with big legs (citing top level grand tour cyclists as an example of this), as seems to be the general line of reasoning for some people here. At low intensities, it can absolutely be used to build cardio without significant muscular growth.

Yossarian

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#58 Re: Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle
September 23, 2022, 11:32:29 am
I've got the same dilemma at the moment because an old heel fracture has flared up, possibly osteoarthritis, and I can't run any more (or even walk very well at the moment). When I was recovering from that operation, my calf in that leg shrank an insane amount. I started riding my bike on the turbo trainer before I could properly load it / walk on it, and eventually (obvs with gradually walking on it too) it got back to normal size.

Anyway, I'm slightly uneasy about doing too much cycling now, partly because it's easy to get sucked back into, but mainly because I've always found my legs get bigger. In the year I did the Marmotte, I was around 92kg in January and dropped to 80ish kg by July. I got skinnier but, as evidenced by various pairs of pre-stretchy era jeans, both my quads and calves got noticeably bigger. I wasn't doing any weights. I did mainly long rides, some low cadence hill repeats, and various turbo intervals (2x20, 3x10 etc). I imagine there was also an element of water retention as, if I understand it one of the adaptions is increased glycogen storage (which requires water as well). I did / do tend to push a relatively low gear which might've contributed.

Anyway, if I do start again I'll probably try to limit it to 5hrs a week, try to spin fast as much as possible, and avoid grinding up hills.

Having said that, I once managed t0 (unintentionally) lose an enormous amount of weight in a very short time by cycling. I tried to ride my old Litespeed from Hanoi to HCMC fairly quickly. This involved cycling around 100-150 miles a day, carrying some gear on the bike (which IIRC had fairly old school gearing - 53/39 and 13-29) and not eating very much (I was probably unnecessarily wary about getting ill eating at Vietnamese truck stop cafes). I didn't make it all the way because I knackered my knee going over the Hai Van pass, but when I got to the hotel after the last day of cycling, my abs looked like Peter Andre and when I got home after spending the last few days drinking beer on the beach it turned out I was 12kg lighter than when I'd left.


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#59 Re: Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle
September 27, 2022, 01:27:34 pm
My experience over the last few years after getting back in to cycling (lycra clad roadie) is i've not put on any weight from extra muscle, i still hover around the 58-60kg, the extra benefits from the cardio fitness and it helping keep the fat off id say way out weigh the slightly heavier legs.

Paul B

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#60 Re: Cardio that doesn’t build leg muscle
September 27, 2022, 05:08:50 pm
That's because you don't eat enough.

 

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