Stefmyster Posted January 14, 2013 Share 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 January 15, 2013 by Stefmyster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee_biker Posted January 14, 2013 Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witkop Posted January 14, 2013 Share eat less. exercies (cycle more) THe body will know what to do. Edited January 14, 2013 by Witkop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOldGuy Posted January 14, 2013 Share 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. Edited January 14, 2013 by GrumpyOldGuy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma77 Posted January 14, 2013 Share I can help you not loose muscle mass. But when it comes to loosing..... Sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagwil Posted January 14, 2013 Share LOSING damn it. LOSING not lOOsing. North Shore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fujiman Posted January 14, 2013 Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankG Posted January 14, 2013 Share 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 January 14, 2013 by discostu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TALUS Posted January 14, 2013 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanstone Posted January 15, 2013 Share Time in the saddle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geecee Posted January 15, 2013 Share watch what you eat 70% diet you can still train upper body but light weights with high reps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geecee Posted January 15, 2013 Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr SingleTrack Posted January 15, 2013 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Zone Posted January 15, 2013 Share Do some cross training, cycling alone is pretty inefficient, running will help you quicker, throw in some swimming as well geecee, M L and Stefmyster 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefmyster Posted January 15, 2013 Share 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 guys 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! 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclewizz Posted January 15, 2013 Share You can also cut down on protein. As I'm sure you know, cardio is the muscle killer, especially long cardio sessions. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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