Bicycling for toning?
mickimalbrough
Posts: 11 Member
I am try to become a recovered couch potato so I am beginning my exercise journey with work outs that I enjoy. I have begun Zumba and bicycling. I can definitely feel the burn in my legs from biking but I was wondering if anyone else has had toning effects on other muscle groups. Also, is there a way I can increase the toning effects of riding? Get the most out of it?
Thanks!!
Thanks!!
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Replies
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There is no such thing as "toning". This is a terminology used by the fitness industry to IMPLY losing fat and seeing some definition. All you need for that is just to eat a calorie deficit.
If your legs are burning, then they are just unconditioned to exercise as of now. As you get better, the burn goes away (lactic acid buildup).
Bike riding doesn't hit the upper body to the extend of actually working out. Maybe the core a bit more if you concentrate, but no work on the chest, back and arms.
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I cycle a lot ... but I know that cycling doesn't do much for the upper body or core, so I have to do other exercises to target those areas, like rowing at the gym.
As for that burn in your legs ... what is your cadence?0 -
No such thing. Cycling is considered cardio and will generally assist in burning fat. There really is no such thing as toning. Toning is just muscle definition which is created by increased muscle mass and decreased fat. Cycling won't increase muscle mass0
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Hey! Good for you! I also love biking and Zumba (3 Zumba really gives your whole body a fun workout! And biking is so relaxing. Did you know an hour of Zumba can burn 500-1000 calories! That's crazy because it's so much fun!0
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You legs and bum will benefit from it. In a "Toning" effect. But little to nothing else where.1
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Well, I've lost fat so now there is visible muscle on my arms and legs, if that's what you mean by toning. If you do a lot of hill climbing, you can build leg strength.1
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Do the exercise you enjoy, that makes you happy. If you don't enjoy it you'll soon give up. I've been cycling 4x a week for 4 months. I've lost 17lbs but gained in muscle mass (despite earlier poster). If you approach a hill and get up on your pedals you'll use abs and butt and some arms if a long hill. Most of all, you're working your heart and lungs. Healthy from the inside out. Sign up for a cycle ride for motivation and extend your milage week by week. Most of all, keep enjoying.1
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Do the exercise you enjoy, that makes you happy. If you don't enjoy it you'll soon give up. I've been cycling 4x a week for 4 months. I've lost 17lbs but gained in muscle mass (despite earlier poster). If you approach a hill and get up on your pedals you'll use abs and butt and some arms if a long hill. Most of all, you're working your heart and lungs. Healthy from the inside out. Sign up for a cycle ride for motivation and extend your milage week by week. Most of all, keep enjoying.
You will use them. Yes. But there isn't much resistance to exert them enough to call it a work out. Even cycling clinics, cycling web sites, cycling coaches tell you that you need to do core training out of the saddle and off the bike.1 -
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I'm a cyclist...I have nice legs and a pretty sweet *kitten*...I have to do other things for the rest of my body. Resistance training also makes me an overall better and stronger cyclist.
Never skip upper body day...
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Burn you are feeling is from electrons spilling out of the muscle cells as of result of conversion of ATP to ADP and/or AMP for energy. Lactate is a byproduct of metabolism of glycogen to generate ATP. (Lactate is either oxidation back to pyruvate by well-oxygenated muscle cells, heart cells, and brain cells; or converted to glucose via gluconeogenesis in the liver and release back into circulation.) It's an important metabolic feedback, an intermediate link between anaerobic and aerobic metabolism. Its concentration in your blood is used to determine your functional threshold. It is not the cause of the BURN. Lactate accumulation in the muscles actually delays fatigue by mitigating the effects of a phenomenon known as depolarization.
"Toning exercises are physical exercises that are used with the aim of developing a physique with a large emphasis on musculature. In this context, the term toned implies leanness in the body (low levels of body fat), noticeable muscle definition and shape, but not significant muscle size ("bulk")." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toning_exercises.mickimalbrough wrote: »I can definitely feel the burn in my legs from biking but I was wondering if anyone else has had toning effects on other muscle groups. Also, is there a way I can increase the toning effects of riding? Get the most out of it?
Yes, in the arms and size increase of the trapezius (20+ minutes in the tuck descending will really give the muscle a good workout). In my late teens and early twenties my thigh bulked up also. I lost a lot of it when I stop racing and switched to running when I enlisted in the Army followed by twenty years of inactivity. After restarting cycling two years ago and losing 45 pounds, I can now see the delineation of the various leg muscle groups. Losing weight and go on progressively longer and tougher rides will definitely help with the definition. I see marked changes after each century ride especially those with significant elevation gains and also on back to back shorter rides with 100+ feet/mile elevation gain in the 2-3 hours range. You need to ride at both spectrum of your functional threshold intensity (classic 80/20 split seems to work for most where 20% of your total ride duration per season is at or above your VO2Max and the intensity is introduce slowly as fitness progresses throughout the season) but I would not introduce threshold workouts until you have a good aerobic base (two to three years if you are new or coming back to the sport with no/limited aerobic base from other sports such as running). 10-12 hours a week will do wonders.
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Yes, that's why the majority of bicyclists have upper bodies that match their legs.NorthCascades wrote: »
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Lol, the OP was speaking from terms of her starting with biking. Any starting point of resistance exercise will lead to lactic acid build up quickly due to not be conditioned to the exercise. In other words, for some that say do curls with 10lbs and stop quickly from lactic acid build up, just mean that resistance is challenging for them at that point. It will subside unless one increases resistance or intensity. That's the point I was making.scorpio516 wrote: »
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Yes, that's why the majority of bicyclists have upper bodies that match their legs.NorthCascades wrote: »
You're way too myopic, upper bodies aren't the only things people work out. It's like complaining that doing bicep curls don't make you run faster.
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Yes, that's why the majority of bicyclists have upper bodies that match their legs.NorthCascades wrote: »
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What a narrow-minded comment.
If you don't think cycling can be a workout you should try it perhaps? Might broaden your horizons to beyond the gym.
If you actually mixed with "the majority" of cyclists you might realise they come in all shapes and sizes.
Just like the majority of runners don't look like elite marathon runners.
Just like the majority of people who go to the gym don't look like bodybuilders.
How about encouraging someone just making their first steps on the road to fitness?3 -
While I agree with part of your statement, the bolded is inaccurate. This depends on the kind of bike you ride. I'm a long distance road cyclist, I train for events 100-200 miles. Road cycling absolutely uses your core, as you hold your entire upper body weight off the bars to prevent damage to your wrists and hands by leaning constantly leaning bodyweight into them. I use my arms, chest and back to, in essense, pull the bars back toward me, allowing for more power going into the pedal stroke -- especially at high speed or hill climbing.There is no such thing as "toning". This is a terminology used by the fitness industry to IMPLY losing fat and seeing some definition. All you need for that is just to eat a calorie deficit.
If your legs are burning, then they are just unconditioned to exercise as of now. As you get better, the burn goes away (lactic acid buildup).
Bike riding doesn't hit the upper body to the extend of actually working out. Maybe the core a bit more if you concentrate, but no work on the chest, back and arms.
Body position is different on a mountain or hybrid bike, and mileage may vary depending on how theyre set up, but even so, you still have to hang on, sometimes for hours at a time. The op didnt mention what bike she is on, so you cannot say she's not using core or upper body.
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I also just started riding my bike. I ride to and from work which is 10 miles each way. While I live in FL which is considered to have no hills, there are some uphill battles I struggled with in the beginning.... Now that they are a bit easier for me I have taken to riding up those "hills" with not holding handlebars as fast as I can. I keep my tummy sucked in and try to move my arms as if I am running up the hill on my bike. The day after I did it the first time I noticed that my core was really sore. I probably look really silly to drivers and other bikers but I really think it has taken my ride to the next level. That in addition to trying to beat my best time on every ride has really made my rides more challenging.
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While I agree with part of your statement, the bolded is inaccurate. This depends on the kind of bike you ride. I'm a long distance road cyclist, I train for events 100-200 miles. Road cycling absolutely uses your core, as you hold your entire upper body weight off the bars to prevent damage to your wrists and hands by leaning constantly leaning bodyweight into them. I use my arms, chest and back to, in essense, pull the bars back toward me, allowing for more power going into the pedal stroke -- especially at high speed or hill climbing.There is no such thing as "toning". This is a terminology used by the fitness industry to IMPLY losing fat and seeing some definition. All you need for that is just to eat a calorie deficit.
If your legs are burning, then they are just unconditioned to exercise as of now. As you get better, the burn goes away (lactic acid buildup).
Bike riding doesn't hit the upper body to the extend of actually working out. Maybe the core a bit more if you concentrate, but no work on the chest, back and arms.
Body position is different on a mountain or hybrid bike, and mileage may vary depending on how theyre set up, but even so, you still have to hang on, sometimes for hours at a time. The op didnt mention what bike she is on, so you cannot say she's not using core or upper body.
I am also a long distance road cyclist (randonneuring/audax) and while I find that cycling definitely uses my core and upper body, it doesn't do much to build my core and upper body. From my experience, I need to do core and upper body work in addition to cycling in order to maintain good posture on the bicycle and thus remain comfortable over a multitude of hours in the saddle.
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I actually bike every other day (mountain bike) but mostly on road and live in an area where it's hilly (feel free to check out my daily exercise logging on my TLFC thread). Let's be honest with the OP though.........................bike riding (with the possible exception of motocross) isn't affecting the upper body to the extent as much as it does the legs. That's not untrue. And if someone has a great upper body, it's likely because they are supplementing it with actual strength/resistance training for the upper body.
Yes, that's why the majority of bicyclists have upper bodies that match their legs.NorthCascades wrote: »
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
What a narrow-minded comment.
If you don't think cycling can be a workout you should try it perhaps? Might broaden your horizons to beyond the gym.
If you actually mixed with "the majority" of cyclists you might realise they come in all shapes and sizes.
Just like the majority of runners don't look like elite marathon runners.
Just like the majority of people who go to the gym don't look like bodybuilders.
How about encouraging someone just making their first steps on the road to fitness?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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If you can put on clothing, grab your water bottle and take a drink, and ride with no hands, your core is plenty strong. You are seated on a saddle! Soreness (or fatigue) in the lower back are from eccentric contraction of muscles that are design for concentric contraction. For the neck and upper back/shoulder, especially in an extreme aerodynamic pose, the muscles are contracted for prolonged periods. Strength/resistance training is not going to do anything more effective than spending time on the bike and holding that pose. Strength/resistance training serves other purposes especially doing the off season but a waste of time if your goal is to stay seated on a saddle (unless you have other health issues that impact your ability to stay balanced on a bike).0
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OP, I bicycle and it does make my legs and behind look nice and firm and toned. I also do the elliptical, swim, run, walk, and lift weights. It makes a huge difference in the way my body looks. My sister and I are the same height and wear the same size, I'm 43 shes 41, I exercise daily and she doesn't at all, she weighs less than me but I look way better! It completely annoys her, hahaha, but I workout hard and shes a couch potato! LOL...not that she doesnt look good but my body isnt showing my age the way hers is. Just being active makes a difference.
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