Forums > Cross Training > Biking Hills=Big thighs??
I don't half-ass anything
"I have several close friends who have run marathons, a word that is actually derived from two Swahili words: mara, which means 'to die a horrible death' and thon, which means 'for a stupid T-shirt.' Look it up." - Celia Rivenbark, You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning
Look at elite cyclists...more meat on their thighs than elite runners for sure, but still skinny little stick dudes and chicks in comparison to your average 40 lb overweight person from your office.
tipsy chicks
I'd go for those hills, both on the bike and on-foot. They will make you a stronger/faster athlete in both disciplines.
Kirsten
'07: 1324.5 ••• '08: 1561 ••• '09: 1810.9 run ~ 208.7 bike ••• '10: 1,000.3 run ~ 3513.5 bike ••• '11: 710.3 run ~ 4157.9 bike
• more off-road
• gain proficiency @ CX mounts & dismounts (ie stop leap-frogging w/people who ride slower after every obstacle -- finish further up the field)
• punch Type 1 in the junk, again
yes. you will probably get more muscle.
if you are a woman with relatively lean muscle mass on your legs you'll probably notice very little difference. Eric Heiden and Lance Armstrong have/had very different body types.
In an infinite universe, the one thing sentient life cannot afford to have is a sense of proportion
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The King of Beasts
Big Hills = Big Money
Hills will make you stronger, run them and bike them.
My guess is that you will not get bigger.
A Saucy Wench
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7
$$Cha-ching$$
You are tiny so I will echo what zoom-zoom said but also. You may notice a change in your thighs. My friend who was about your size started running and rock climbing and at first got distress because she thought her thighs were getting bigger. But eventually she realized they were getting a different shape as well. They might have been a tiny bit larger in the bulk of the quadricep, but they were smaller at the top and more toned all around. Athletic legs are sexy legs.
My thighs are kinda chubby, so when I started running I noticed that my legs got a bit bigger at first (new muscle + existing chub) but they got smaller soon after cause I lost some of the fat. Echoing what the others said - you are small enough I doubt that will be an issue for you...but I bet you will notice some (likeable) changes from the add'l biking.
Being the best tiny spec that I can be!
Be sure not to grind up the hills and exhaust your legs. You'll go farther and faster in the long run over any terrain by using the right gears, keeping your cadence up, and letting your aerobic system share the load in creating power.
From what I've seen, the best climbers tend to have the most slight builds. It's the sprinters who who are often built like tree trunks. Be sure not to grind up the hills and exhaust your legs. You'll go farther and faster in the long run over any terrain by using the right gears, keeping your cadence up, and letting your aerobic system share the load in creating power.
+1 on all of this.
You can only build as much muscle as your body is naturally inclined. I haven't looked at your profile but I'll trust the chorus of people who state that you seem tiny and ectomorphic.
I was a cyclist for a number of years before resuming running, and many of the individuals who excelled at flying up hills lamented their inability to put on the kind of "power" muscle that would enable them to time trial better and to develop the sort of "Lance Armstrong" body type you might be thinking of. Climbing specialists are almost always highly ectomorphic.
Furthermore, for long inclines, you're better off spinning a low gear at around 100-120 rpm (as the above stated), which requires a lot of control and is aerobically challenging. For short inclines you may be more comfortable climbing out of the saddle in a larger gear to get it over with. Others advocate mixing up your climbing styles to activate other muscle groups and therefore keep your legs from tiring.
Over all if you're concerned with bulking up or whatever, cycling is not the sport that is going to make you beefier (unless you're overeating to compensate for calories burned, as is the case with all exercise). Good luck!
I look my best blurry!
For those of you who bike a lot, does biking a path with lots of hills make your thighs bigger? What about running hills? I'm just getting into biking more often and I want my thighs slimmer, not like tree trunks. I've heard conflicting opinions from my friends that run and bike. I like in an area with hills, hills, and more hills and I run and bike a fair amount. Thanks for the input!
Maybe I should try if it does! More muscles to protect my wimpy hip. That's what I need!
jules2
Athletic legs are sexy legs.
I must be the exception that proves the rule.
kunland, I doubt your thighs will get bigger, if you want to be a good at hills on a bike you must weigh less than 2 pounds for each inch in height.
I must be the exception that proves the rule. kunland, I doubt your thighs will get bigger, if you want to be a good at hills on a bike you must weigh less than 2 pounds for each inch in height.
That's it! I'm going for it! I can do it! (my next plan to overdo and injure myself revealed)
Big Hills = Big Money Hills will make you stronger, run them and bike them. My guess is that you will not get bigger.
This man has practiced what he's preaching and has an eye-popping new half marathon PR to show for it. I'd listen to him.
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