Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted (edited)

Hi guys,

 

I used to play rugby and gymed the typical "mirror muscles" but I have since started cycling and I really enjoy it. I am. however, a competitive freak and I now want to be lighter. I am working on my body fat(which is low teens) so I know I can cut down another 5 to 8kgs without too much of a hassle.

 

I'm 1.89m and now weigh 99kg(I was 112kg about a year ago) and just for reference my arms are now 38cm(down from about 44cm). So I am losing fat and muscle but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to do so. Any pointers on losing muscle mass?

 

I no longer gym my upper body and I'm doing cardio only, will this be enough? How difficult is it to lose muscle around your chest/back ect?

Edited by Stefmyster
Posted

Long hours in the saddle... You'll be surprised how much weight you lose...

 

I started a bit lighter after my weight training a couple of years back... 85, but 4 years later, a couple of Comrades and long rides, I now weigh 76. Don't have the biceps anymore, but my legs stayed about the same...

 

My 2c. You don't have to diet, just keep on riding. Your body will decide what the optimal musle and body mass is.

Posted (edited)

I no longer gym my upper body and I'm doing cardio only, will this be enough? How difficult is it to loose muscle around your chest/back ect?

 

Judging by your post you appear to be pretty clued up on what to do, I think you just need some support and encouragement, I get the feeling you know changing your body composition is difficult, and like it took you years to build that muscle mass, it takes a long time to lose it as well.

 

Theres not much else you can do in my opinion, by just not working the muscles as you are doing will slowly change the muscle size and you will lose the bulk, but you pretty much know you will never be 70 kgs, lots of cyclists are 95 kgs or even more, its definitely not unusual and in my opinion unless you are putting food on the table with your cycling, as long as you feel healthy I think its all good, some muscle is never a bad thing anyway, "string bean" is not all its cracked up to be. laugh.png

Edited by GrumpyOldGuy
Posted

Hi guys,

 

I used to play rugby and gymed the typical "mirror muscles" but I have since started cycling and I really enjoy it. I am. however, a competitive freak and I now want to be lighter. I am working on my body fat(which is low teens) so I know I can cut down another 5 to 8kgs without too much of a hassle.

 

I'm 1.89m and now weigh 99kg(I was 112kg about a year ago) and just for reference my arms are now 38cm(down from about 44cm). So I am loosing fat and muscle but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to do so. Any pointers on loosing muscle mass?

 

I no longer gym my upper body and I'm doing cardio only, will this be enough? How difficult is it to loose muscle around your chest/back ect?

 

I have the same story. 108 kgs 6'3 gym addict a year ago to 94kgs today from cycling. I was never fat but the change in weight makes me feel way more healthier. For me time on the saddle drops weight and you can normally eat what you want as long as you are not eating junk. Believe me the muscle will soon burn. I am no expert but logic says that fat will fall off before muscle and I believe you will see this soon.Weight loss for me has slowed down lately (lost lots of muscle mass). I am sure though if I was earning money cycling my climbing speed would be more important than food. However I am enjoying being able to eat what I want while I ride most days including a weekend warrior race and with a long ride at least once a week ..... oh yes and once a week hill repeats. Do the time and the rest will happen.

Posted (edited)

I can give a personal testimony fwiw. I was seriously unhappy with my weight so my aim was to concentrate on weight loss for a month, even though it meant losing time in the saddle. Once I had my weight down, I readjusted my exercise routine and diet.

 

I actually lost weight quicker by incorporating cardio with supersets in my weights workouts with higher reps - 15 to 20. I would do weights 3-4 times a week, (starting with a warm up of rowing, spinning etc to boost my heart rate) and cardio every alternate weight day (cycling, running and stepping). Weight workouts, done the right way, will help you lose weight and build lean muscle just as much as cardio.

 

Exercising early in the morning on an empty stomach burnt fat and also boosted my metabolism for the day. I ate healthily, reduced my meal sizes, and cut out every ounce of junk food. Also lived on protein shakes.

 

In 30 days my weight dropped from 85 to 75kg and although I had built muscle, my build was leaner and I was still lifting heavier weights and running as fast as when I was 10 years younger. Admittedly, losing 10kg in a month is probably a bit drastic, but it got me to a point where I could focus on my cycling without the weight disadvantage.

 

Each person's build and metabolism is different, but the above worked for me.

Edited by discostu
Posted

I transformed from benching sets of 135kg to struglling with 70kg in 9 months. Keep the diet clean (you know what that means). Change the workout to only core and cycling. No arms, back, legs etc. You have enough to chip away. Dont chase the bodyfat with diet but rather use cardio. I am a big believer in a low carb diet. I am as weak as a girl in my upper body now, but my cycling is on the up and up

Posted

I can give a personal testimony fwiw. I was seriously unhappy with my weight so my aim was to concentrate on weight loss for a month, even though it meant losing time in the saddle. Once I had my weight down, I readjusted my exercise routine and diet.

 

I actually lost weight quicker by incorporating cardio with supersets in my weights workouts with higher reps - 15 to 20. I would do weights 3-4 times a week, (starting with a warm up of rowing, spinning etc to boost my heart rate) and cardio every alternate weight day (cycling, running and stepping). Weight workouts, done the right way, will help you lose weight and build lean muscle just as much as cardio.

 

Exercising early in the morning on an empty stomach burnt fat and also boosted my metabolism for the day. I ate healthily, reduced my meal sizes, and cut out every ounce of junk food. Also lived on protein shakes.

 

In 30 days my weight dropped from 85 to 75kg and although I had built muscle, my build was leaner and I was still lifting heavier weights and running as fast as when I was 10 years younger. Admittedly, losing 10kg in a month is probably a bit drastic, but it got me to a point where I could focus on my cycling without the weight disadvantage.

 

Each person's build and metabolism is different, but the above worked for me.

 

you would lose weight quicker by building muscle (supersets) as muscle itself needs energy just to 'be', more muscle = more calories burnt even while you sit and pick your nose.

Posted

Long hours in the saddle... You'll be surprised how much weight you lose...

 

I started a bit lighter after my weight training a couple of years back... 85, but 4 years later, a couple of Comrades and long rides, I now weigh 76. Don't have the biceps anymore, but my legs stayed about the same...

 

My 2c. You don't have to diet, just keep on riding. Your body will decide what the optimal musle and body mass is.

+1
Posted

LOSING damn it. LOSING not lOOsing.

 

I can help you not loose muscle mass. But when it comes to loosing..... Sorry

 

Sorry about that poor spelling guysblush.png

 

Thanks for all the feedback, I basically agree with every post and reckon I'll be mixing all your advice to find something that suits me!thumbup1.gif

 

Do some cross training, cycling alone is pretty inefficient, running will help you quicker, throw in some swimming as well

 

I've been thinking about this for awhile. I know I would stop running when I wanted to bulk so maybe I should start running again. Something to do with pushing your body into a catabolic state.

 

Hopefully I'll be posting with some decent results in a few months!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Settings My Forum Content My Followed Content Forum Settings Ad Messages My Ads My Favourites My Saved Alerts My Pay Deals Help Logout