View Full Version : Finer Butt and legs
I am 5'7, 145lbs. I want to loose weight and tone my butt and back of my legs. I love to eat. I try to eat mostly healthy food ie; low fat, low sugar foods. I take a multivitamin and drink plenty of water. I haven't been riding a bike long, but I would like to know about how long and/or fast I need to go and how many days a week in order to really get my butt into shape and not have to starve myself. I do some weight toning about 2x a week. I ride 2-3 times a week, 3-5 miles each day. What device can I get on my bike to tell how fast I need to go?
cheebahmunkey
05-04-05, 07:07 PM
I am 5'7, 145lbs. I want to loose weight and tone my butt and back of my legs. I love to eat. I try to eat mostly healthy food ie; low fat, low sugar foods. I take a multivitamin and drink plenty of water. I haven't been riding a bike long, but I would like to know about how long and/or fast I need to go and how many days a week in order to really get my butt into shape and not have to starve myself. I do some weight toning about 2x a week. I ride 2-3 times a week, 3-5 miles each day. What device can I get on my bike to tell how fast I need to go?
I'm not sure I understand. You want to use the bike to get your butt into better "shape"? Just go as hard as you can and keep eating what you usually eat. It also doesn't sound like you need to lose a whole bunch of weight. 145 for that height is normal.
That's correct. My butt and the back of my legs are flabby and I don't like it. I'm wondering if I may need to increase my heart rate or just increase my mileage?
graham58
05-04-05, 07:13 PM
More sex that will fix it.
cheers
graham
KirkeIsWaiting
05-04-05, 07:45 PM
More sex that will fix it.
cheers
graham
;) lol
overthere
05-04-05, 07:47 PM
I think you need to go for longer rides to really notice a difference. Build up to an hour of riding. Then ride an hour, stop for a healthy lunch, ride back. And on up. 3-5 miles will get you healthier, but I really didn't notice a body difference myself, in bike commuting, which I had done for years.
Flabby body parts will become firmer as you increase lean muscle mass and decrease bodyfat. So continue doing your riding, but add in leg exercises on the weight machines- hamstring flexion, quad extension, squats, lunges, and that butt machine where you are leaning over and you push back with the leg to work each butt cheek.
Koffee
forum*rider
05-04-05, 08:20 PM
What about leg press? After a hard session on the leg press machine my rear end is always sore.
TheKillerPenguin
05-04-05, 08:24 PM
Yes, you will feel the leg press exactly where you want to firm up. Enjoy.
So is it like you have no ass or you have ass but it just sags? Gravity is mother natures bad joke on people with a weak asws. lol :)
Leg press too. Just get a personal trainer. I could go forever naming exercises to do for the legs. My list is nowhere as extensive and could include other exercises.
Koffee
forum*rider
05-04-05, 10:55 PM
I see, just giving the basics.
Just giving an idea of some common exercises. But if he really wants to work it, I would definitely suggest a personal trainer.
Koffee
I ditto everything Koffee says, really the bike isn't going to help completely, you need to get to the gym and do some weights. Lunges, squats, leg extension, hamstring curl, all these will help alot.
powells2
05-05-05, 09:00 AM
I agree ... longer riding, especially hill climbing will firm things up but to really have great results ... hit the weights!!!! The difference will be dramatic!
andygates
05-05-05, 09:14 AM
Leg press, squats and weighted lungs.
Or a bike-as-lifestyle choice: get loads of miles in, regularly. That'll do it.
superdex
05-05-05, 10:20 AM
play hockey!
(sorry, couldn't resist)
One exercise that always hurts so good: One-legged squats with dumbells. --Hold a 15-20lb dumbell in each hand hanging at your side, and standing on one foot squat until the dumbells touch the ground, then back up. You only need to do a handful (say 3 sets of 5-8 reps each leg). Works lots of muscles, including all the little ones used for balance...
Shell5
If I'm reading your post correctly you have flab (fat) on your butt and the back of your legs you want to get rid of.
If that is the case all those squats or weight lifting excercise is not going to do a thing. There is no such thing as spot fat reduction. However, doing those will made your shape look nicer once the fat is removed.
I'm sure you have heard this before but its simple calories in/ calories out. You need to burn more calories than you take in. To be more effective, and to answer your orginal question, it would be better to ride longer at a heart rate in zone 2 (burn more a percentage of fat). If you ride very hard, zone 4, your body will start breaking down muscle for energy and burn less fat.
Remember your body decides where it will get its fat from. We all have "problem" areas where its hard (and seemingly impossible) to remove fat. Generally hips for woman and bellies for men.
Koffees advice about a personal trainer is good if your not sure what to do. But you can learn a lot of this stuff by yourself. Just be careful where your getting it from. If the person writing the info is trying to sell something (eg weight equipment, supplements, etc) I'd be wary.
The heart rate books by Sally Reed are a good start.
And if you find a personal trainer who says you will loose the fat on your legs by doing squats, personally I'd start looking for a new trainer.
Bill
I don't think you read my post correctly. I said that you'll be able to see muscle as bodyfat DECREASES, and muscle mass INCREASES. In order to DECREASE the bodyfat, he will need to increase the riding, but to INCREASE the muscle mass, he will need to INCREASE leg exercises with weight machines. There's no advocating the mythical "spot reduction" technique in there. I think at 5' 7" and 147 pounds, he's probably not going to need very much more cardio than what he's already doing. But by adding in resistance training, he'll increase his metabolism, which will result in additional bodyfat loss and increased muscle mass. I wouldn't advocate so much a drastic increase in cardio, since he already seems pretty dang thin to begin with.
Actually, the heart rate books are by Sally Edwards. Sally Reed co-authored one book with Sally Edwards: "The Heart Rate Monitor Book for Outdoor and Indoor Cyclists". All other books on heart rate training are Sally Edwards books.
Koffee
Koffee
Koffee:
Sorry if you took my post the wrong way, but I was not responding to your post, but to the orginal poster. It seemed to me he/or she was looking for a way to spot reduce in certain areas. Since its impossible to know all that much about a person with 3 lines in a post, I don't know what he or she knows about diet and exercise. There is a LOT of bad information out there and a lot of people do believe you can spot reduce. I thought it may be helpful to make the poster aware of that fact. bettter to give too much informantion than too little. As a wise person always tells me all the time "its always dangerous to make assumptions." But in forums like these its almost necessary.
Also, to mention how its hard to tell anything about a person from a few lines, I too am 5'7", male 45 yrs old and right now I'm about 148 (I say about because I don't regularry weigh myself). But at 148 I can stand to loose a few fat pounds. And I can tell that by standing naked in front of the mirror. When I'm down to the low 140's I'm about 20% body fat. Sure 20 is in the "normal" range for someone my age, but there is still "stuff" in my problem areas. To look "really good" body image wise the middle 130's would be good for me anyway. I just have thin bones. When I buy watches I have (as I have always have) to put an "extra" hole in it. So I may be a bit thinner bone wise for a 5'7" male I don't think you could call me really thin at 147 pounds. Chances are this is not true for the poster..but it may be.
Go to this web site click on "members" than "Bill N" if you want to see what I look at at 150 pounds.
http://www.quartercenturyclub.org/
Bill
Huh? How is this physically possible? Do you bend your standing leg and then lift your heel until you are sitting on it (with your back straight) and then stand up again on the same leg all the while holding your other leg in the air? I can't even do that on one leg without weights and I have been taking ballet for 17 years!
Or are you just supposed to bend your knee and also bend your torso so you can get the weights to the ground? I am so confused! LOL!
play hockey!
(sorry, couldn't resist)
One exercise that always hurts so good: One-legged squats with dumbells. --Hold a 15-20lb dumbell in each hand hanging at your side, and standing on one foot squat until the dumbells touch the ground, then back up. You only need to do a handful (say 3 sets of 5-8 reps each leg). Works lots of muscles, including all the little ones used for balance...
I was reading one of Chris Carmichael's books and he said that although riding in the "fat zone" has a greater % of fat being used for engery, if you are riding in a higher zone, you may burn a greater % from glycogen, but the absolute amount of fat burned will still be higher than at the lower zone, if that makes sense. I don't recall if he said anything about breaking down muscle...then again I have a bad memory. I guess you just build the muscle up again with rest and protein.
Shell5
I'm sure you have heard this before but its simple calories in/ calories out. You need to burn more calories than you take in. To be more effective, and to answer your orginal question, it would be better to ride longer at a heart rate in zone 2 (burn more a percentage of fat). If you ride very hard, zone 4, your body will start breaking down muscle for energy and burn less fat.
Bill
*new*guy
05-05-05, 02:39 PM
Huh? How is this physically possible? Do you bend your standing leg and then lift your heel until you are sitting on it (with your back straight) and then stand up again on the same leg all the while holding your other leg in the air? I can't even do that on one leg without weights and I have been taking ballet for 17 years!
Or are you just supposed to bend your knee and also bend your torso so you can get the weights to the ground? I am so confused! LOL!
You alternate putting one leg on a bench (behind you). see here for an explanation and animation of the exercise. http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSingleLegSplitSquat.html
p.s. I'll take any opportunity to push exrx.net. take a look around.
superdex
05-05-05, 03:15 PM
You alternate putting one leg on a bench (behind you). see here for an explanation and animation of the exercise. http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSingleLegSplitSquat.html
p.s. I'll take any opportunity to push exrx.net. take a look around.
I apologize for a terrible explanation. It's like this video (single leg squat) (http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article/0,2823,s1-1-77-122-642-3-4X9X13-4,00.html#video_996), but with dumbells at your sides. Yeah, yer gonna have to bend at the waist some, but keep the emphasis on the deep knee bend. I thought I had pretty good balance until I did this little ditty....
Treespeed
05-05-05, 05:31 PM
Maybe someone already said this, but all of this focus on exercise also needs to address diet too. The sad fact is the more you ride, the more efficient you get at using food, so you go farther on less and your body just stores the rest. The only way to see real results is to reduce intake and fill up on high fiber grains, veggies, and lean protein. I ride close to 150 miles a week, along with swimming, and running and I'll start seeing a paunch if I sneak into the cookie jar or have a little too much ice cream. This isn't too discredit any of the great advice already given, but I think the hardest, yet most fruitful task is to reduce intake just a bit and finally to focus your carb intake to the hour after you exercise to refuel.
This is what has worked for me and I've lost 30 lbs this last year.
-Marcus.
Oh, a BENCH! I was wondering where the support comes from. Thanks for the clarification! :)
You alternate putting one leg on a bench (behind you). see here for an explanation and animation of the exercise. http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSingleLegSplitSquat.html
p.s. I'll take any opportunity to push exrx.net. take a look around.
The sad fact is the more you ride, the more efficient you get at using food, so you go farther on less and your body just stores the rest. -Marcus.
That is one of the most depressing things I've ever read. And here I was cycling so I could eat more! Life is so unfair..... :(
TheKillerPenguin
05-05-05, 09:13 PM
But when you're off the bike your body keeps burninating the calories. :)
Maybe someone already said this, but all of this focus on exercise also needs to address diet too. The sad fact is the more you ride, the more efficient you get at using food, so you go farther on less and your body just stores the rest. The only way to see real results is to reduce intake and fill up on high fiber grains, veggies, and lean protein. I ride close to 150 miles a week, along with swimming, and running and I'll start seeing a paunch if I sneak into the cookie jar or have a little too much ice cream. This isn't too discredit any of the great advice already given, but I think the hardest, yet most fruitful task is to reduce intake just a bit and finally to focus your carb intake to the hour after you exercise to refuel.
This is what has worked for me and I've lost 30 lbs this last year.
-Marcus.
That doesn't make sense. It would mean that folks like Randonneurs and long distance riders, or even the guys that do the long distance racing (ie the guys that race in the Giro, Tour de France, etc.) don't eat as much, because if they ate more, they'd be fat? It would follow, then, that it would make more sense to ride less and eat more, since you're not as efficient with utilizing food. That theory is a mess.
I think caloric intake and exercise is a delicate balance. If you see someone who is a professional, they can help you understand how to balance both so you can achieve your objectives. Carb intake is important, but you have to understand that carbs are not the enemy- there are good carbs and there are bad carbs. If you're getting the majority of your carbs from processed wheat, it's bad. If you get the majority of your carbs from whole grains and wheat, you're going to be ok. It's good to know how to choose the right foods for your everyday activities.
Koffee
Treespeed
05-05-05, 11:03 PM
That doesn't make sense. It would mean that folks like Randonneurs and long distance riders, or even the guys that do the long distance racing (ie the guys that race in the Giro, Tour de France, etc.) don't eat as much, because if they ate more, they'd be fat? It would follow, then, that it would make more sense to ride less and eat more, since you're not as efficient with utilizing food. That theory is a mess.
I think caloric intake and exercise is a delicate balance. If you see someone who is a professional, they can help you understand how to balance both so you can achieve your objectives. Carb intake is important, but you have to understand that carbs are not the enemy- there are good carbs and there are bad carbs. If you're getting the majority of your carbs from processed wheat, it's bad. If you get the majority of your carbs from whole grains and wheat, you're going to be ok. It's good to know how to choose the right foods for your everyday activities.
Koffee
Koffee,
I was being simplistic and you're right. What I'm arguing is that even when you are riding your ass off you still need to be careful about intake. The picture that stays in my head is of Armstrong weighing his food. I know we're not talking about getting down to race weight here in this thread, but just that it is easy to think you need way more food than you really do when you first start racking on the miles. The efficiency I was referring to is for newer riders who lose a ton of weight as they first stack on the miles, but then their bodies become more efficient and it is not as much of a strain to knock out the same mileage and that it's important to adjust intake as you become more efficient.
If we want to get technical about the carbs then we need to talk about glycemic index which someone can google and find way more info than needs to be in this post. All I was saying was that diet and intake are a huge component of slimming down in addition to racking on the miles. I've known riders and had the experience myself of putting in 200 mile weeks without losing the pasta belly. Which if it doesn't bother you more power to you. And finally there is a good hour window after exercising where your body processes carbs more efficiently and it's good to take advantage of it.
Thanks for calling me on my oversimplification.- Marcus.
Koffee,
I was being simplistic and you're right. What I'm arguing is that even when you are riding your ass off you still need to be careful about intake. The picture that stays in my head is of Armstrong weighing his food. I know we're not talking about getting down to race weight here in this thread, but just that it is easy to think you need way more food than you really do when you first start racking on the miles. The efficiency I was referring to is for newer riders who lose a ton of weight as they first stack on the miles, but then their bodies become more efficient and it is not as much of a strain to knock out the same mileage and that it's important to adjust intake as you become more efficient.
If we want to get technical about the carbs then we need to talk about glycemic index which someone can google and find way more info than needs to be in this post. All I was saying was that diet and intake are a huge component of slimming down in addition to racking on the miles. I've known riders and had the experience myself of putting in 200 mile weeks without losing the pasta belly. Which if it doesn't bother you more power to you. And finally there is a good hour window after exercising where your body processes carbs more efficiently and it's good to take advantage of it.
Thanks for calling me on my oversimplification.- Marcus.
Understood. But I don't get technical by talking about the glycemic index. The glycemic index is designed for diabetics, and it's one of those things that people have warped to suit their dietary needs, so let's not go there.
Sometimes, people's genetics play a big factor in where they lose weight, if they lose weight, and how they lose weight. My mom's family have big butts and hips. For me to lose what my mom's family gave me, I'd have to starve down to double digits. That's not my idea of fun, so I just have to accept that certain parts of me will not change no matter what. I EASILY do 200 miles a week. I usually do at least 40 miles per day 6 days a week, and more for my long days when I don't have to be in for work at all (or at least in later in the day). Even as a vegetarian (ovo-lacto) for 7 years, and with that much cycling, I still struggled with weight issues, and especially with fat in my problem areas.
There's no doubt food plays a role in fat loss, but people are getting away from the very easy question the original poster had- what to do about the flab. He seemed to think it was just more cycling to be done, and it's not. Weight lifting will have to be part of the lifestyle, but definitely, better eating will play a major role in all of this.
Koffee
lilHinault
05-06-05, 01:26 AM
If the OP is talking about building up some muscle on the legs and on the butt, they need to do inline skating for "fitness" which means using skates that are nearly like speedskates, doing some distance. Go to www.cora.org and look at the videos of the inline skate marathons, the guys standing around talking before and after, it will be your one and only look at white guys with Arsinio butts! That stuff will build your butt.
Frankly even though cycling can result in huge quads in some people, it doesn't in most and makes a much more balanced lower body physique than those big skater butts.
lilHinault
05-07-05, 02:00 AM
There's a guy who puts out a DVD etc of "bodyweight" excercises, sounds hokey but 500 "hindu squats" does not sound lightweight to me! You can find his program for sale on Ebay, or from his web site, for just general shaping/fitness there's a lot that can be done with just bodyweight.
free weights/bodyweight good, machines bad.
Machines are not so bad.
First, they provide some variety, which is never a bad thing when you're doing weightlifting.
They also help to work multiple muscle groups, which helps with coordination. Since when have you tried to do an action using only one muscle group?
They also can help with transitioning to heavier weights. It took me a while to get to chest presses that were in the next range for me. 5 pounds is a lot. But with the machines, I was able to add small amounts of resistance and build up my muscles to get to where I can get to the next heaviest weights.
Koffee
P.S. My recommendation, though, is to use machines WITH free weights.
Koffee
lilHinault
05-08-05, 05:44 AM
Push-ups kick ass for building the chest and the lats and you don't need to build anything. Don't underestimate 'em..... :-)
Thank Everyone For The Info. I Have Gotten A Lot Out Of It. By The Way, I Am Female.
Biking is good for the legs and butt. I've been riding for about two months and for the first time in my life I am building some nice rounded glutes. And I used to lift a lot, doing heavy squats and leg curls, and I never got any results.
You should try riding longer distances than 3-5 miles. Also, clipless pedals are key, because then you can pull up on the pedals as well as push down. That action will work your glutes and hamstrings more than pushing down will.
Thanks for the clarification on gender, I was wondering.
Personally I have toned up and lost 30 pounds just by increasing the distances of my rides. I try to eat healthy to begin with and balancing intake with your exercise is something you have to determine for yourself. I would mostly say add distance to your rides. Weight lifting won't hurt but the extended aerobic workouts will do wonders. My rides are normally determined by which bike I'm using but I try to stay out for at least one hour. The mountain bike rides are usually 25 Km/ 16 Miles while the roadie tends to get at least 60 km/37 miles. This has resulted in virtually no fat on my legs. My wife tried to give me a charlie horse recently and lost (I asked if she hurt her hand). I like to joke that everything from the waist down is now made of steel. You can take that however you want to...
Andy
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