Originally Posted by
Rimmer
It's a threat to my masculinity. If intense cycling, whatever that is?, caused estradiol concentrations to be 2-3 times higher than in triathletes and rec athletes (what is that?), and test levels were about 50% higher in cyclists than in the rec athletes, then I think it depends on the base numbers to make any sense of it. If estradiol is already low (how much?), then 2-3 times would be nothing compared to 50% higher test levels (again how much?).
+1. Another useless study that proves nothing. With that said, I personally don't think too much cycling is good for you. Human body is not designed to be hunched on bicycle for hours on end. Cycling does nothing to your upper body and to your bone density (due to that no-impact thing). Cycling does help your endurance, but in a weird way. I was riding quite a bit a few years back (2001 - 2003) and I thought my endurance was pretty good until a friend of mine invited me running. That was a real eye-opener - I lasted only 3 miles at around 9-10 minutes/mile pace. Just for the record, I was a fairly good runner and I could easily keep 8 mins/mile for an hour. Even now, after I started running again, I can run the above-mentioned 3 miles in under 24 minutes. My rowing coach had a theory which has proven to be true for me over and over again - running and lifting weights are the keys to success in almost any sport. That's why my typical workout week consists of two days in the gym, one day running and cycling on the weekend. Since I started this regimen, my cycling results improved over that 2001-2003 period despite that I'm 10 years older now. Of course, Rick and JohnR can still kick my arse but that's a different conversation.
