Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Does This Bike Make My Butt Look Big?

In the last month I've gained about 10 pounds. Yet my body fat percentage has stayed almost the same, at least according to my Tanita scale. I've certainly increased my consumption of pie and cookies in that period, so it's not suprising that my weight has gone up, but for my body fat to remain the same is weird.

Then it occurred to me that besides eating more sweets, the other thing in the last month is that I've been riding my fixed gear almost exclusively. I think it's made my glutes and hams all huge. I'm not complaining, I'm just afraid I'm going to have to go get all my pants altered.

Anybody else notice a similar plumping when they started riding fixed?

After my first summer of riding fixed almost exclusively, I looked like I had a visit from the ass fairy.

that pie went straight to your ass

I had a visit from the ass fairy.
:roflmao:

I already had monster glutes, but when the snow falls and I'm pushing 42x17 on spiked tires @ 25 psi through 4" of sloppy snow for 3 weeks, the Quad Djinni visits me at night and pumps me up. Seriously, I put on some newish jeans, and after fighting to pull them up over my thighs, they sagged back down a little and were held in place by my quads and hams. Even with wallet, keys and lots of coins, they wouldn't droop. I felt stoopid, but strangely energized.

After my first summer of riding fixed almost exclusively, I looked like I had a visit from the ass fairy.

i don't think a "no ****" is gonna cover this one...

i'm scared...i'm already known by my friends as "Gello'' a play on j-lo...mind you i'm puerto rican but still, it's BIG

this thread is useless without flicks?

Man, if this is true, I need to get my girlfriend riding a FG.

i tried that, but she figured out her own method...i'd love for her to ride, but i'm still pleased

If anything, it's making me even thinner, even though I've been eating more all the time. I'm looking like those triathalon skeleton people, and I'm pretty thin as is. :(

When I started rowing freshman year of college, I gained 15 pounds of muscle. It's definitely not unheard of to gain that much muscle weight. I would normally say the scale is inaccurate, but since you're comparing across time, it's pretty cool you can tell what your body fat is.

Yeah, the Tanita scales aren't too reliable as a snapshot and they're certainly not as accurate as a dunk-tank, but they're good for looking at trends.

A year ago my dad gave me a beautiful 3-piece suit he had made in Ireland. It cost a fair amount to have a good tailor alter it to fit, but it was still cheaper and much, much, much better than something you'd get at Men's Wearhouse. I'm just afraid I'll have to get it altered again....

I know what you mean. In the last 6 months I've started riding beyond the bar (not always fixed) & I haven't lost an ounce, but my pants size is 4" smaller. I had to put on my wedding/funeral suit for the annual company xmas party & this is the 1st time it fit in 5 years. Word.

Racing cross, mtb, road, track, BMX, and using my bikes as transportation since I was a kid made my legs supersized. When I layoff fixed I don't see any change in my leg size.

A combination of cycling and water polo has made it so no pair of pants fits me very well, though I haven't had a visit from the ass fairy (I have a tiny ass, but you can bounce a quarter off it and get two dimes and a nickle). I wear a 27/28 waist, but the thigh portion on those pants are so small, it makes me look like an alien.

But seriously, if you want to see bigger quads, try squatting five sets of 15 three days a week with a minute rest between sets. People will think you're on the juice.

I've gained 20 lbs in the past year, and I am not fat. I think it's from cycling in general, because I used to just run exclusively, now it's about 80% bike 20% run.

When I started track racing I had to start wearing levi's 560's.

When I started track racing I had to start wearing levi's 560's.
Those are like teh hammer pants of Levi's?

Just by looking @ pro track racers vs. pro road racers..... hmm slight musculature difference in riding fixed? :lol:

But seriously, if you want to see bigger quads, try squatting five sets of 15 three days a week with a minute rest between sets. People will think you're on the juice.

If you want to blow your legs up, high reps is not the way!

Totally. Try sets of 4-6. I wouldn't recommend that to someone who's been doing squats for less than six months or so, though... too easy to blow out your knees or slip a disc.

A combination of cycling and water polo has made it so no pair of pants fits me very well,


I used to play water polo, at least until my horse drowned.



Ba-dum-bump! Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all week! Enjoy the buffet!

I used to play water polo, at least until my horse drowned.



Ba-dum-bump! Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all week! Enjoy the buffet!

ZZZZZZZZZZIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG

I just got into biking again (mostly to and from work) and I've been riding singlespeed for a couple of months. I live at the top of a huge hill and I swear if I keep this up my legs are going to look like the freaking hulk. and despite all the extra excercise i'm doing i'm actually gaining a bit of weight.

When I first started seriously riding every day I gained weight for about 2 months. After that I started to loose fat. My legs are massive (I'm big anyway) but the top half of me got thinner. And then I went all lazy for a couple months and gained about 1/3 of my weight back. I still have massive legs though ;-)

as far as squats go.. Since there are various opinions on what to do I'm wondering where a good place to start would be? I'm trying to put together a daily exercise routine and am wanting to include squats in there.

Muscle is more dense than fat so you can burn off and replace it with heavier muscle. No visible difference but you gain weight.

as far as squats go.. Since there are various opinions on what to do I'm wondering where a good place to start would be? I'm trying to put together a daily exercise routine and am wanting to include squats in there.

Check out this: http://strengthandfitness.blogspot.com/

Fred F. has been in the strength and fitness game for a long long time and knows his stuff.

Nope, your butt makes your butt look big, not the bike.

Your next thread should be titled: The dryer shrunk my pants...again!

Since there are various opinions on what to do I'm wondering where a good place to start would be? I'm trying to put together a daily exercise routine and am wanting to include squats in there.
Save up $75-100, go to a gym frequented by power-lifters, and pay for a single session with the trainer that has the longest waiting list of clients. One hour of doing them the absolute right way with someone who can tell you exactly what you're doing right and/or wrong is more valuable than twenty books.

I actually lost the flubby mass that was encasing my otherwise righteous man legs and ass hah hahh aha it is sad but true from 250 to 215 in 4 months 40 or more miles a day and I have the worst diet ever

screw weight lifting. take up climbing. the last summer where I had time to boulder every other day I gained ten pounds in a month, and my upper body became a solid mass to match my legs.

Save up $75-100, go to a gym frequented by power-lifters, and pay for a single session with the trainer that has the longest waiting list of clients. One hour of doing them the absolute right way with someone who can tell you exactly what you're doing right and/or wrong is more valuable than twenty books.

This is basically the best advice you can get for proper squat/deadlift/bench/anything technique. They will point you in the right direction for sure. I don't even know if you need to go with a trainer. The power lifting gym I go/went to (it closed down, but not before they filmed all the gym scenes for the new Rocky movie there) was filled with dudes who can squat 1000+, so they were more than willing to show me proper technique/the basics for free.

Also, sarcoplasmic hypertrophy increases with more repetitions. In other words, if you just want to get big, low weight high reps will do it. If you want to actually be strong (myofibrilar hypertrophy) you should do 5 or less. Any decent sports science book will confirm this.

If you want to blow your legs up, high reps is not the way!


When I raced track, our coach would have us do two sets of twenty squats, with a weight that was challenging for ten reps. I went from 175 pounds to 190 pounds in six months, and was squating 265 for twenty reps.

google super squats, deep breathing squats, or high rep squats for more info.

scale measurements for body fat are generally never right.

If you want to blow your legs up, high reps is not the way!

Maybe his purpose is endurance and not bulk. He didn't say what weight he was squatting, and he didn't say if he's lifting to failure.

I do 3 sets at 8-10-12. My quads are rock hard, and I could easily do another two ascending sets.

as far as squats go.. Since there are various opinions on what to do I'm wondering where a good place to start would be? I'm trying to put together a daily exercise routine and am wanting to include squats in there.

I recommend http://stumptuous.com/cms/displaysection.php?sid=3

I used to play water polo till my bike rusted

i don't think a "no ****" is gonna cover this one...

:roflmao:

I row and ride fixed--- my legs are large. Pants can be an issue. It's amusing when the waste doesn't fit at all, but the ass/thigh does.

I don't even know if you need to go with a trainer. The power lifting gym I go/went to (it closed down, but not before they filmed all the gym scenes for the new Rocky movie there) was filled with dudes who can squat 1000+, so they were more than willing to show me proper technique/the basics for free.
Yeah, that's true too. The thing is with squats is you really need someone who knows what they're doing to talk you through them correctly. Correct form is actually more painful and taxing than most 'cheats'; the problem is by cheating you're putting parts of your body under load with the wrong biomechanical position, and that's when people blow out their knees or backs.


When I raced track, our coach would have us do two sets of twenty squats, with a weight that was challenging for ten reps. I went from 175 pounds to 190 pounds in six months, and was squating 265 for twenty reps.

google super squats, deep breathing squats, or high rep squats for more info.
Good distinction. If you want to be strong for track, your workout sounds more appropriate. The way to train for peak single-rep strength requires alternating high/low rep scenarios, say a 3x15-rep week, 3x8-rep week, and a 3x4 rep week, with the occasional 'warmup - 1x12 - 1x8 - 1x1-2 to get a new personal best.