Road Cycling - Lifting and Biking anybody?

Hello all. I was just wondering how many of you all on this forum lift to build muscle and size as well as bike to loose weight. I know it sounds like 2 opposites, but being an actor I am slave to the theatrical world. I was told to get bigger muscle wise and loose a few lbs of the flab. I have been biking or about 6 years or so now and have gotten myself up to a fairy lean 211 lbs. Just wondering how many others there are and if there are sets I should consider adding! Thanks

You're supposed to have a healthy amount of both aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

Lift to build the muscle, and bike to lose the fat over that muscle.... now if I could only find the time (and motivation) to lift. Biking is easy (need for speed). Lifting... not so much.

I bike year round and lift in fall/winter/spring. I just stick to upkeep body weight exercises during the summer because I'd rather be doing outside sports than lifting in a stuffy gym.

Yeah, lifting really won't get rid of fat... Cycling will. Nevertheless, lifting will define that muscle under the fat (don't worry! there is actually something under there!) I'd lay off the leg exercises for the most part if you are intense about your riding.

I have found that it is a true ***** kicking work out to bike for 20 some miles, come back grab a cold water and then do some good circut sets of lifting. Not only do I feel better than I have, I have very little problem seeping haha!

I have always known one had to be fit both aerobic and anaerobicly but I always read about losig weight and becoming better climbers etc etc. SO I was just curious as to how many actually lift to gain and not tone.

i lift 2-3 times a week. do abs every other day.
doesn't directly help me on the bike, and i have to sacrifice one hard day on the bike a week to recover enough, but i just feel so much better overall. if i don't strength train, i start to look like rasmussen after a month or two. if i'm peaking for something on the bike i'll cut back to 1 or 2 days a week.
i ride too much to ever get big, but i'm almost 40, and i find lifting critical to keeping lean mass.

I lift 3-4 days a week and bike to the gym every time. I also try to commute on bike as much as possible so I'm on the bike 4-7 days a week for short 3-5 mile rides, and an occasional long (15-30 mile) ride throughout the week. I usually try to maintain 75-90% effort on my to-gym bike rides, and it's a really really great workout. Overall it takes me 2-3 hours to bike there, take a breather, lift heavy, and then bike home, but by the end of it I feel great (and exhausted!) I've recently been focusing a bit more on legs and it's really paid off with cycling - I have way more power and can gun it up hills much quicker now. I'm not here to enter races or win tournies on the bike - I just want to be fit, have fun, and get built!

I lift 3-5 times a week. From a powerlifting/football background, i personally LOVE lifting more than riding. I also think that being an avid lifter has helped me transition to cycling. I have a lot of power in my legs...which helps on climbs and sprints.

I come from a running background and have lifted off and on for a while. I have always had larger legs and most of my strength comes from there. Lifting has only helped as well. As I was doing it I just figured it was counter productive because I was gaining weight rather than losing it and not looking like Rasmussen:)

I'd lay off the leg exercises for the most part if you are intense about your riding.

+1 I don't hit the lower body at all. I don't lift in sets either, I do single sets to failure.

I've been lifting for about 16 years, and only started road biking this year. The combination seems to work pretty well for me, but I have to be more careful to avoid overtraining. I do between 150 to 200 road miles a week, but I still get in my 5 days a week of lifting + some additional cardio sessions as well. It's fun but sometimes a little crazy.

yeah... Legs is not something I focus on. I figure if I'm doing the bike thing, it would not really need to be done. I just focus on arms chest and back now. Going for that all too ilusive "v taper" haha

Yeah, lifting really won't get rid of fat... Cycling will. Nevertheless, lifting will define that muscle under the fat (don't worry! there is actually something under there!) I'd lay off the leg exercises for the most part if you are intense about your riding.

I really don't like calling out posters on BF (especially those with good intentions), but this is another case of misinformation.

Lifting weights will certainly "get rid of" more fat than will cycling. Here's an over-simplification of a basic exercise axiom, "more muscle will burn more fat". Cycling will certainly burn some fat given a certain level of intensity and duration, but packing on ten extra pounds of muscle will burn fat and keep your metabolism high throughout the day and even when you sleep.

To the OP, I lift rather seriously (so much so, that in recent years it has basically detracted from any serious attempts at road racing). Like a few people mentioned herein, I don't do much lower body work during the warm months. I think that someone who rides recreationally can get away with lower body work concurrent with riding, but if you ride four or more days you might find that you won't give your body adequate time to rest, regenerate, and therefore build the intended muscle.

I really don't like calling out posters on BF (especially those with good intentions), but this is another case of misinformation.

Lifting weights will certainly "get rid of" more fat than will cycling. Here's an over-simplification of a basic exercise axiom, "more muscle will burn more fat". Cycling will certainly burn some fat given a certain level of intensity and duration, but packing on ten extra pounds of muscle will burn fat and keep your metabolism high throughout the day and even when you sleep.

To the OP, I lift rather seriously (so much so, that in recent years it has basically detracted from any serious attempts at road racing). Like a few people mentioned herein, I don't do much lower body work during the warm months. I think that someone who rides recreationally can get away with lower body work concurrent with riding, but if you ride four or more days you might find that you won't give your body adequate time to rest, regenerate, and therefore build the intended muscle.

I disagree. There are plenty of heavy duty lifters out there who lift day in and day out, yet swear off cardio. They look like they live at McDonald's from a distance. Ever check out olympic powerlifters?

As they say, the key to six pack abs are not crunches, but cardio. I'm not saying that lifting doesn't "convert" fat to muscle, but I simply do not see it as effective as consistent cardiovascular conditioning, in terms of losing excess flab.. IMO it's all about calories in/calories out.

It is totally 100% true, more muscle burns more fat, but you have to have a good sense of body awareness to utilize this. I knew some kids on my girlfriends power lifting team who were HUGE. Sure they could lift WAY more than i could ever dream of, but they were McDonald's DO NOT spokes kids. You MUST couple it all with aerobic activity. I cycle 3 to 4 times a week and thus don't focus on my lower half. I am burning calories by lifting, cycling and building a metabolism. There really is NO other way of doing this. If you want to be cut, big and in shape you have to have some aerobic activity with anaerobic. With out this you lik like Rasmussen OR like a hippo :)

I disagree. There are plenty of heavy duty lifters out there who lift day in and day out, yet swear off cardio. They look like they live at McDonald's from a distance. Ever check out olympic powerlifters?

As they say, the key to six pack abs are not crunches, but cardio. I'm not saying that lifting doesn't "convert" fat to muscle, but I simply do not see it as effective as consistent cardiovascular conditioning, in terms of losing excess flab.. IMO it's all about calories in/calories out.

I don't want to start going back and forth in the typical custom of BF, but you should probably read some research on exercise and physiology before you make claims on a public venue.

This is not even a debate in the exercise world - muscle burns fat. Aerobic exercise (at certain levels), generally speaking, deteriorates muscle. Its simple math.

The problem with your premise is that you are not considering the most important factor in body composition, its diet (actually there is another factor that even trumps diet -- i.e., genetic predisposition). Olympic powerlifters eat a certain way for additional mass. This mass not only allows them to lift more weight but provides foundational structure.

Again, read some real research (i.e., the kind that you find at a university library and not BF and/or a magazine found at Borders).

Oh, one last note, research indicates that a six-pack set of abs has more to do with genetic predisposition than caloric input vs. usage (consider "The Chicken" reference aforementioned -- lots of cycling calories burned and no six pack).

I lift one day a week, but only upper body work. I also swim laps one day a week which works my upper body. Having been blessed with a torso suitable for an offensive lineman (which I was) I can say that my upper body fitness has only added unproductive ballast to my body as a cyclist. But then again, I'm not a good cyclist anyway, just a guy who loves to be a kid again with a breeze in my face.

As they say, the key to six pack abs are not crunches, but cardio. I'm not saying that lifting doesn't "convert" fat to muscle, but I simply do not see it as effective as consistent cardiovascular conditioning, in terms of losing excess flab.. IMO it's all about calories in/calories out.

Really??

Hmmm....I've been road riding for 4 years now, ave. 7000km's a year (5-6 times a week), and I do not have a 6 pack...So I can safely say that cardio does not produce that ever elusive 6 pack....Not that I care...

To the OP, I lift rather seriously (so much so, that in recent years it has basically detracted from any serious attempts at road racing). Like a few people mentioned herein, I don't do much lower body work during the warm months. I think that someone who rides recreationally can get away with lower body work concurrent with riding, but if you ride four or more days you might find that you won't give your body adequate time to rest, regenerate, and therefore build the intended muscle.


I think you're right. If the goal is to be fast on the bike, you shouldn't lift for your legs, certainly in season.

Light upper body workout, and core stregthening will help your cycling.

But if the goal is to be fast, intensity work on the bike is what makes you fast, i.e. intervals, racing, competitive group rides, combined with recovery.

Intense leg lifting is not consistent with this.

So if your lifting a lot for you legs, just realize, as I think Tio does, you're doing it for purposes other than being fast on the bike.

I don't mean to step on any toes but Tio is correct on all points.

-Scott

When I get back from a ride I lift my bike to hang it from the hook in the ceiling. Done.

I commute to work on my bike, and lift for 30-45 minutes after I get there 2 to 3 times a week. Just ride on the other days.

I want a job where I can commute to work, be all nasty hot and sweaty and then LIFT WEIGHTS for half an hour and THEN Go to work... amazing!

I lift 5 days per week, but pretty much lower weight (for me) higher reps. I just try to maintain and not gain much muscle. I'm 6'3" 200lbs and I do race. Sure, I have extra weight to carry around, so I have to work hard at it but I wouldn't lose the muscle if I wasn't lifting. From January through July of this year I didn't lift at all and I didn't lose muscle, when I started back I hadn't lost much strength. During racing season I don't do any legs at the gym, but during the winter when I'm not riding outside as much I do legs once a week. And Tio is correct, muscle does require more energy, therefor burning fat as fuel, IF a proper diet is followed. So unless you're looking to become an elite bike racer some lifting probably isn't a bad thing. If figure I'm very unlikely to make it beyond Cat 3 anyway, so I'd rather enjoy lifting...and my six pack. (We are talking about beer, right?)

I do lifting two days per week (run, cycle, lift, run, cycle, lift, rest). The book Strength Training Past 50 describes a study that shows minimal strength gains when lifting three days per week versus two.

I include dumbbell squats, and it doesn't seem to interfere with cycling -- I figure it strengthens my quadriceps for cycling.

Fat loss is primarily a function of caloric deficit. How you choose your deficit is up to you.