Does elliptical training on non workout day build mass on legs ?

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  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    edited April 2018
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    L1zardQueen wrote: »
    tbright1965 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    The only cyclists I know with large muscular legs are sprinters and they also work in the weight room more than your typical endurance cyclist.

    Most competitive endurance cyclists are very slight.

    220px-Lance_Armstrong_Tour_de_Gruene_2008-11-01.jpg

    Lance Armstrong has pretty skinny legs...

    True, I should have been more specific. If you look at photos of sprinter's legs, one of them makes up both of Lance's legs in the above image.

    yzpxal604fdo.jpg

    There is a huge difference between the long distance cyclists and the sprinters. Do you ever watch the Tour?

    Chris Froome is one of the most elite distance cyclists in the world. He probably spends more time in the saddle in a month than most riders do in a year. I'd hardly call him an example of "large muscular legs":

    j678p3vt787p.jpg


    As for sprinters vs. distance cyclists, the same is true of marathoners vs. sprinters in the running world. The factor that can't be overlooked is that their excellence in their respective disciplines has a lot to do with genetic selection/predisposition in the first place. Their training programs cause further adaptations toward their disciplines, where the body keeps what is needed and discards what is not in order to be more efficient at the task being imposed upon it.
  • tbright1965
    tbright1965 Posts: 852 Member
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    So is someone suggesting a sprinter isn’t a cyclist?

    Just because 99 percent of folks think of Froome or Armstrong doesn’t mean they are the only cyclists.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
    edited April 2018
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    tbright1965 wrote: »
    So is someone suggesting a sprinter isn’t a cyclist?

    Just because 99 percent of folks think of Froome or Armstrong doesn’t mean they are the only cyclists.

    What? Let me ask again, have you ever watched The Tour?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited April 2018
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    tbright1965 wrote: »
    So is someone suggesting a sprinter isn’t a cyclist?

    Just because 99 percent of folks think of Froome or Armstrong doesn’t mean they are the only cyclists.

    Are you suggesting the elite sprint cyclists got their huge muscle from cycling alone?
    If so you must have missed Chris Hoy in the gym lifting huge weights!

    Back to the OP.....

    Can cardio build muscle?
    - Yes of course if the stimulation of the cardio exercise exceeds the individual's current muscular capability, overload in other words. So when I came back from 3 months on crutches just learning to walk again reversed some of my muscle wastage. But that quickly topped out when it ceased being overload. Ditto stair climbing. To get the last bit back took a lot of training with weights.
    - Yes of course part two. People must have noticed the typical musculature of high end athletes in different cardio sports? Swimmers look like swimmers, rowers look like rowers. Even non-resistance cardio sports such as soccer players you can see bigger development in their vastus medialis from all the kicking.
    - Yes of course part three. I had sustained muscle growth from taking up cycling in later life that tracked my increasing volume, intensity and stress (mileage, speed, hills.....). Note the progressive overload but that has pretty much topped out and changes are glacial now. But my legs are nowhere near as big as they would be if I could train them hard in the gym.

    Will you get "huge" from cardio alone?
    - No. More muscular than a non-exerciser of course.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    tbright1965 wrote: »
    So is someone suggesting a sprinter isn’t a cyclist?

    Just because 99 percent of folks think of Froome or Armstrong doesn’t mean they are the only cyclists.

    You seem confused on the topic of the thread. It's "does elliptical work cause leg mass gains". You raised the issue of bikers. In both cases, as well as runners, the answer is, after some initial gains, no. What does your statement above have to do with that.

    So, most people know about the pro tour distance cyclist and most don't know about sprinters. What is the connection to cardio activities and leg mass other than you are white knighting for sprinters?
  • J_Fairfax
    J_Fairfax Posts: 57 Member
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    I think it depends on your starting point.

    If you an average joe, you'll get some benefits to your from cycling.

    I've never done a calf exercise in my life but I have cycled regularly since I was a kid and my calves are somewhat ridiculous.

    Thighs are big by regular joe standards - but not by bodybuilder standards. Last year I was working as a bicycle courier for a few months and my legs definitely got bigger.

    Cycling is a great activity anyway and everyone should do it imho.

    If you want to see how pathetic your cardio really is, find a steep hill near you and blitz up it as fast as you can.
  • J_Fairfax
    J_Fairfax Posts: 57 Member
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    I do the elliptical in the gym but never really think of it as a leg exercise, definitely just a cardio thing for me. I think leg gains from elliptical would be minuscule.

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