Building leg mass
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I'm trying a help fellow club member to make his legs bigger/stronger and perhaps be a better climber or sprinter. He asked me why are mine are muscly! I said because in the early 90's we would grind up mountains and hills with a 39/23 on steel, cause that's what most rode! And maybe this built my legs or maybe it's because I played lots of competitive tennis when I was young and they were easily developed. I have no idea.........probably genetic!
Does anyone have any exercises to help him?
I looked up a few on google...
lunges
leg press
calf press
any other suggestions, that would help me mate....cheers guys
Does anyone have any exercises to help him?
I looked up a few on google...
lunges
leg press
calf press
any other suggestions, that would help me mate....cheers guys
He should work on his endurance/power - more mass just will slow him down
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I'd rather have him do short (20s) hard intervals, and threshold work.
I don't believe riding at low intensity is good for anything except recovery, but I know there are other opinions.
I don't believe riding at low intensity is good for anything except recovery, but I know there are other opinions.
Marin wrote:I'd rather have him do short (20s) hard intervals, and threshold work.
I don't believe riding at low intensity is good for anything except recovery, but I know there are other opinions.
ok, well I find training intervals suit individuality as well, depending what type of rider you are or want to be. I always mix it up, but hard intervals @20s with threshold work will build intensity and build fast twitching fibres....later if your not too old!!! There are a lot of options, I believe he has a training programme already. I think he was more of asking why are my legs small and not defined as yours, I guess it's genetic makeup.
Leg mass is genetic. He should just work on the aspects of his cycling he wants to improve.
Studies show that weight room work can help power output so if he can add weights to his training, it's worth a try.
Studies show that weight room work can help power output so if he can add weights to his training, it's worth a try.
canoas wrote:I'm trying a help fellow club member to make his legs bigger/stronger and perhaps be a better climber or sprinter. He asked me why are mine are muscly! I said because in the early 90's we would grind up mountains and hills with a 39/23 on steel, cause that's what most rode! And maybe this built my legs or maybe it's because I played lots of competitive tennis when I was young and they were easily developed. I have no idea.........probably genetic!
Does anyone have any exercises to help him?
I looked up a few on google...
lunges
leg press
calf press
any other suggestions, that would help me mate....cheers guys
I changed my training up big time this winter focusing more on the gym than on the bike training. I went from 5-6 winter rides per week down to 2-4 and hit the gym 5-6 times per week focusing on strength (I did not only do legs). I started the season weaker than I had been, but now I am absolutely flying. On the very few long climbs in my area I am a bit slower (added weight), but on anything up to 5 minutes I am significantly stronger and on 2-3 minute climbs I am absolutely wrecking people now. I added nearly 3 inches to my thigh circumference. Overall I feel I am a better rider than I was a year ago as I now can seemingly drop people at will on shorter climbs.
I changed up my routine but I always included some form of squats and deadlifts. These are some Machines tire you out, but don't translate well to "real life" strength. They should always be considered the last part of your workout. Don't bother with calfs. These are most of the exercises I did, so pick one from the top 2, and include a few of the other exercises.
Back/front squats
Conventional/sumo deadlifts
Dumbell/Barbell walking lunges
Bulgarian split squats
Romanian deadlifts
Hack Squats
Leg press
How muscular your legs look is mostly genetics and BF%. You can increase your leg muscle size, but if you are at a higher BF%, your legs will just look "big".
Ghost234 wrote:canoas wrote:I'm trying a help fellow club member to make his legs bigger/stronger and perhaps be a better climber or sprinter. He asked me why are mine are muscly! I said because in the early 90's we would grind up mountains and hills with a 39/23 on steel, cause that's what most rode! And maybe this built my legs or maybe it's because I played lots of competitive tennis when I was young and they were easily developed. I have no idea.........probably genetic!
Does anyone have any exercises to help him?
I looked up a few on google...
lunges
leg press
calf press
any other suggestions, that would help me mate....cheers guys
I changed my training up big time this winter focusing more on the gym than on the bike training. I went from 5-6 winter rides per week down to 2-4 and hit the gym 5-6 times per week focusing on strength (I did not only do legs). I started the season weaker than I had been, but now I am absolutely flying. On the very few long climbs in my area I am a bit slower (added weight), but on anything up to 5 minutes I am significantly stronger and on 2-3 minute climbs I am absolutely wrecking people now. I added nearly 3 inches to my thigh circumference. Overall I feel I am a better rider than I was a year ago as I now can seemingly drop people at will on shorter climbs.
I changed up my routine but I always included some form of squats and deadlifts. These are some Machines tire you out, but don't translate well to "real life" strength. They should always be considered the last part of your workout. Don't bother with calfs. These are most of the exercises I did, so pick one from the top 2, and include a few of the other exercises.
Back/front squats
Conventional/sumo deadlifts
Dumbell/Barbell walking lunges
Bulgarian split squats
Romanian deadlifts
Hack Squats
Leg press
How muscular your legs look is mostly genetics and BF%. You can increase your leg muscle size, but if you are at a higher BF%, your legs will just look "big".
Thanks Ghost1234...that's a interesting evaluation and glad building strength has helped you, that's very positive feedback.
My fellow cyclist has started with a 4kg medicine ball at the gym with an instructor yesterday, he mentioned a lot of exercises like squats, dead lifts that can be achieved with a medicine ball, will be interesting to see how he progresses, weights were included as well. I'm sure there is always a positive side to any strength exercise for cycling it's just a matter of finding a suitable programme for what you want to achieve.
Ghost234 wrote:canoas wrote:I'm trying a help fellow club member to make his legs bigger/stronger and perhaps be a better climber or sprinter. He asked me why are mine are muscly! I said because in the early 90's we would grind up mountains and hills with a 39/23 on steel, cause that's what most rode! And maybe this built my legs or maybe it's because I played lots of competitive tennis when I was young and they were easily developed. I have no idea.........probably genetic!
Does anyone have any exercises to help him?
I looked up a few on google...
lunges
leg press
calf press
any other suggestions, that would help me mate....cheers guys
I changed my training up big time this winter focusing more on the gym than on the bike training. I went from 5-6 winter rides per week down to 2-4 and hit the gym 5-6 times per week focusing on strength (I did not only do legs). I started the season weaker than I had been, but now I am absolutely flying. On the very few long climbs in my area I am a bit slower (added weight), but on anything up to 5 minutes I am significantly stronger and on 2-3 minute climbs I am absolutely wrecking people now. I added nearly 3 inches to my thigh circumference. Overall I feel I am a better rider than I was a year ago as I now can seemingly drop people at will on shorter climbs.
I changed up my routine but I always included some form of squats and deadlifts. These are some Machines tire you out, but don't translate well to "real life" strength. They should always be considered the last part of your workout. Don't bother with calfs. These are most of the exercises I did, so pick one from the top 2, and include a few of the other exercises.
Back/front squats
Conventional/sumo deadlifts
Dumbell/Barbell walking lunges
Bulgarian split squats
Romanian deadlifts
Hack Squats
Leg press
How muscular your legs look is mostly genetics and BF%. You can increase your leg muscle size, but if you are at a higher BF%, your legs will just look "big".
Noted......will pass on
Back/front squats
Conventional/sumo deadlifts
Dumbell/Barbell walking lunges
Bulgarian split squats
Romanian deadlifts
Hack Squats
Leg press
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canoas wrote:Ghost234 wrote:canoas wrote:I'm trying a help fellow club member to make his legs bigger/stronger and perhaps be a better climber or sprinter. He asked me why are mine are muscly! I said because in the early 90's we would grind up mountains and hills with a 39/23 on steel, cause that's what most rode! And maybe this built my legs or maybe it's because I played lots of competitive tennis when I was young and they were easily developed. I have no idea.........probably genetic!
Does anyone have any exercises to help him?
I looked up a few on google...
lunges
leg press
calf press
any other suggestions, that would help me mate....cheers guys
I changed my training up big time this winter focusing more on the gym than on the bike training. I went from 5-6 winter rides per week down to 2-4 and hit the gym 5-6 times per week focusing on strength (I did not only do legs). I started the season weaker than I had been, but now I am absolutely flying. On the very few long climbs in my area I am a bit slower (added weight), but on anything up to 5 minutes I am significantly stronger and on 2-3 minute climbs I am absolutely wrecking people now. I added nearly 3 inches to my thigh circumference. Overall I feel I am a better rider than I was a year ago as I now can seemingly drop people at will on shorter climbs.
I changed up my routine but I always included some form of squats and deadlifts. These are some Machines tire you out, but don't translate well to "real life" strength. They should always be considered the last part of your workout. Don't bother with calfs. These are most of the exercises I did, so pick one from the top 2, and include a few of the other exercises.
Back/front squats
Conventional/sumo deadlifts
Dumbell/Barbell walking lunges
Bulgarian split squats
Romanian deadlifts
Hack Squats
Leg press
How muscular your legs look is mostly genetics and BF%. You can increase your leg muscle size, but if you are at a higher BF%, your legs will just look "big".
Noted......will pass on
Back/front squats
Conventional/sumo deadlifts
Dumbell/Barbell walking lunges
Bulgarian split squats
Romanian deadlifts
Hack Squats
Leg press
Does he want to be more muscular for aesthetic reasons or to be a better cyclist?
If he wants bigger muscles, he should work in an 8-12 rep range to get the best hypertrophy (muscle growth). If he wants strength and power on the bike, he should focus his weight training in the lower end of the 1-8 reps range. 8-10 rep ranges are geared towards strength but he'll see some hypertrophy too.
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Great Prices ✓ Broad Selection ✓ Worldwide Delivery ✓
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