Training & Nutrition - Is it impossible to be a buff upper bodied cyclist?

I want to get into an upper body workout this summer so it actually looks like I have a chest and arms with mass on them. But at the same time, I love getting my ~15-20 miles per day in on the bike. Is it possible to be an avid cyclist but build up muscle mass in the arms at the same time? Do I need to change my diet so I'm eating huge amounts of carbs before biking and eating huge amounts of protein after workouts?

If you're only doing 15-20 miles a day, you've got lots of time to do an upper body workout. Building up your upper body has very little to do with what you eat ... and much more with lifting weights. Cycling doesn't do much to build the muscle in your upper body ... but a set of weights is fairly inexpensive. Start lifting!

I want to get into an upper body workout this summer so it actually looks like I have a chest and arms with mass on them. But at the same time, I love getting my ~15-20 miles per day in on the bike. Is it possible to be an avid cyclist but build up muscle mass in the arms at the same time? Do I need to change my diet so I'm eating huge amounts of carbs before biking and eating huge amounts of protein after workouts?

http://www.olympics.org.uk/BEIJING2008/images/athlete/Hoy_Chris_Action_1.jpg
Yes.

Fairly inexpensive, doesn't take up much room and works well.

http://www.getirongym.com

^that's awesome. Not the cheap bit of metal; the announcers voice.
"Now you can get one for free!"

Sadly, Olympic track stars notwithstanding, every bit of aerobic activity you do will likely hinder massive muscular development. Keep doing the strength training, though. You'll be much more resilient.

^that's awesome. Not the cheap bit of metal; the announcers voice.
"Now you can get one for free!"

:) Ha! Sorry about that, I had my speakers turned off when I pulled up the link- I didn't know how cheesy the commercial was.

Sure, you can keep upper body muscle when you cycle.

It's mostly about nutrition. You need food while you cycle, and good recovery nutrition - if you don't, your body will tear down muscle.

i'm more of a weight lifter who cycles to get a leg workout and cardio (HATE treadmills). Just get a protein supp and start hitting the weights.. 6-8 reps with HEAVY weight...like you should struggle to do the 6th set...every 3rd week go down in weight and do 12-15 sets..then the next week go back to heavy. that should give you good results for the summer.. once your resulrts start to taper off you should check out some creatine...an N.O-type pre workout drink...and all the other good body building supps out there

Shoot, we had an ex body builder who rode in the local club and he was still pretty big and reasonably buff. He was also a strong cyclist.

i work out with weights even during the summer...i find that if i go too long without any upperbody training i start to feel it in my back and neck. However, the common wisdom is not to do too much leg weights DURING the bike season...

eat muscle to build muscle; meaning: meat
go heavy or go home; meaning: light heavy weights and do pushups
be patient; meaning: plan on seeing results by this time next year

If you are not trying to be a bodybuilder, then cycling will not hinder muscle building, just look at Army Rangers or Special Forces, most of those guys are pretty big and run upwards of 10 to 12 miles a day.
Yes you can be a fantastic cyclist and even be huge in the upper body as well. The only downside is that if you race, the weight will hurt you in climbing, a lot actually, but it does actually help with endurance a bit. If you don't actually race competitively, go for it, your long term health will thank you.

i'm more of a weight lifter who cycles to get a leg workout and cardio (HATE treadmills). Just get a protein supp and start hitting the weights.. 6-8 reps with HEAVY weight...like you should struggle to do the 6th set...every 3rd week go down in weight and do 12-15 sets..then the next week go back to heavy. that should give you good results for the summer.. once your resulrts start to taper off you should check out some creatine...an N.O-type pre workout drink...and all the other good body building supps out there

This is good advice for bodybuilding, but might be overkill for a cyclist who just wants some shoulders and arms.

Go for power and keep short, 3 sets per movement, 6-9 sets each for shoulders, back, and chest. Stick to free weights as much as possible, and focus on compound movements like dumbell bench press and military press. Wherever possible, I personally favor body-weight movements like dips and chinups. Add arm exercises in a couple of months if you feel like you need to.

I haven't read this but some people say it's good: http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Training-Cyclists-Ultimate-VeloPress/dp/1884737439

BL

Get a summer job where you have to lift and carry stuff all day. I work in a pet food store and I'm doing 8 hour sets of 5, 15 and 30lb lifts... last week I ended up restacking 2 piles of 15 big bags of dog food (30lbs x 30 bags x 2 moves for each bag; the last 5 on each stack were the hardest sincce they were at my chest to shoulder level). My arms have never been so strong. It's actually quite amusing to see people's faces when they watch me sling the bags around :lol: - I don't look like I can lift up a kitten, never mind 80 pounds of cat litter...

(This sort of thing doesn't build up a lot of bulk, but you do get a lot of strength, tone and definition. Mind you, I am wiry by nature - classic cyclist I guess! - and I don't think I could build a big muscle if I tried. Your mileage will vary!)

Extra bulk=extra weight, extra weight doesn't usually effect performance until the gradient starts to change in the upward direction. I think it depends on what you consider "buff" - Tone or mass?
Mass tends to slow most riders down on the incline.

Nutrition, protein, dumbbells, running, short rides high cadence

some of the guys at the mountain bike race i went to had a massive upper body. looked like they could pick up their bikes and throw it at you as if it were a baseball.

i do landscaping work and have put on a bit of muscle because of it. The muscle hasn't disappeared yet!

some of the guys at the mountain bike race i went to had a massive upper body. looked like they could pick up their bikes and throw it at you as if it were a baseball.

i do landscaping work and have put on a bit of muscle because of it. The muscle hasn't disappeared yet!

It's true that if you don't eat enough, your body will start to feed on muscle. However, that doesn't happen to people with relatively normal diets unless they're spending way more time on aerobic exercise than you say you are. But nutrition alone isn't going to build muscle, so you should consider incorporating an upper body workout into your exercise regimen two or three times a week -- but not on consecutive days, because the most important part of building muscle through exercise is rest and recovery.

I recommend something like these (http://www.simplefitnesssolutions.com/products/exercise_band_kits.htm) resistance bands or tubing for upper body training. Pushups are really good too. For pushups, if you keep your hands shoulder-width apart or closer, you work your triceps. Wide-grip pushups (hands wider than the shoulders) works chest muscles. Perhaps more importantly, in addition, if you do them right (the drill sergeant who runs the exercise class I attend says tells us to squeeze our butt muscles like we're on a first date and we have to fart), pushups build strength in your core.

Here's a web page with a number of resistance tubing exercises:
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/l/blbandworkout.htm

And here are some helpful youtube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X72LtRcXR6g (pushups)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P18RulSIVc (tubing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp0VEAZMW1o (tubing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUek79YpZGA (tubing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Niww4BMazrQ (tubing)

I also recommend the book Cycling Anatomy (http://www.amazon.com/Cycling-Anatomy-Shannon-M-D-Sovndal/dp/0736075879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243741816&sr=8-1#) by Dr. Shannon Sovndal. It explains the physiological process of building muscle, and it describes each of the muscle groups used in cycling and provides strengthening exercises for each of those muscle groups.