I wonder if the weight lifting had any impact on the cyclists' weight? Did they gain muscle weight? Lose body fat?

Probably need to get the whole article to find out.

I might have to agree with you on this. It appears only world champions do.

Current


2005

Nothing new here....

Defined: yes

Tanned: yes

Long: yes

Vascular: yes

Big: no

weight lifting does not immediatly mean big time hypertrophy.

It's a very simple argument, but: lifting can make my legs look more like bettini's. He wins wordls. I want to be a fraction of that strong. I should do whatever makes my legs looks like bettini's.

it cracks me up when people talk about Ullrich having "massive" legs. It's a joke! Have they never been to a track meet?

This is a crap photo, but Harnett had big legs

+1.

I met Ulli at a criterium in Holland years ago (nice bloke, BTW)

The SKINNIEST dude ever (it was 2 weeks after le Tour, though)....so lean it was frightening. Legs like twigs, but covered in veins.

I'd point out that Bettini's published height and weight is only:

Height : 1.68 m
Weight : 58 kg

Not exactly the stats of someone built. As other people have mentioned, a lot of pros look like they have large legs in relation to their upper bodies, which is heightened by tone/definition.

Bigger than Mine. I'm hitting the gym.

Just for sh*ts and giggles:

58kg/168cm=.35

Take someone of Boonen/Hushovd's size:
81kg/190cm=.43

And for perspective ol' Mr. Prison Camp himself Rasmussen:
60kg/175cm=.34

And, hey why not - an average NFL player
111kg/187cm=.6

In sum, Bettini is still skinny...although I think those weight numbers may be low for him or high for Rasmussen

This thread has been a joy. I have "thunder thighs" from my 13 mile commute. But then I am a natural Mesomorph, my genes give me the heavy quads as surely as the biking. Next time we can factor that in. When I realized the long term problems I might have with body-building I went back to my original love - Cycling. My main interest has been in ultra rides. For that I would train my stomach, back and neck muscles, for which I do not need a gym. If I lived closer to the San Jose Velodrome I would be back pumping iron. As it is dropping that last 18 pounds is the best thing for me.

I'll chime in with some more anecdotal evidence. I have kneecap tracking issues, and I lift quite a bit of high reps, lower weight to combat that during the base period. Towards the end of base I ramp up the weight and cut down on the reps per set. I can absolutely feel and SEE that weight lifting has made my legs more defined and bigger. The pros may not have "big" legs, but based on the "post your legs" thread we had a while ago their legs are still bigger than just about everyone, even those who race, on BF. I also definitely see an increase in short-power after I've hit the weights. It didn't come from riding base miles, but I think its great for stuff like this (which has nothing to do with LT or anything they tested):

-Sprinting
-Accelerating on a climb
-Attacking
-Coming out of corners in a criterium - a big one for most people
-Staying on that wheel in front when the pace is fluctuating a bit

All of these things require power of 30 seconds or much less. Obviously you can't do a WHOLE LOT with it, but if you don't have the power for that time period its going to be tough to put the gains you've made on the road to work. Sure you can probably develop these things on the bike, but I'd contend that lifting is easier and faster than being on the bike.

For their overall size-pro cyclists have good size legs, what is so hard to understand about this?