# Q for Ladies re: Leg Muscles, gf thinking of picking up cycling



## Lartymarf (Aug 10, 2005)

Hi Ladies,

My gf is considering picking up cycling. She has relatively developed outter
quads compared to her inner quads. If she starts cycling more and more, 
which leg muscles will start to develop more for her? (Speaking from your
past cycling experiences etc.) What leg muscles have you seen develop
from cycling? Did your legs get thinner more toned? Or did it bulk up a little?

Much thanks.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

I did not ride for about two months this summer so this fall, I have been able to see the changes my body goes through when I ride as opposed to when I'm not riding. 

My legs don't bulk up much at all. They get toned with lots of definition. My back and torso build up as I put the miles on. It was a bummer. When I wasn't riding I lost an inch or two around my waist. Now I've got those inches back.


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## SilasCL (Jun 14, 2004)

Go on cyclingnews.com or velonews.com and look at some photos of female pro cyclists.

Your wife won't get that developed riding 200 miles a month, but she will get some of the same look. Bigger butt for sure, along with more muscles on the outside of the thigh and also the hip flexors, quad just above and inside the knee and some lower back development as il sogno noted. Maybe calves too, but not a lot.

Silas


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

In my experiencing cycling absolutely has not added bulk at all and conceptually it shouldn't be expected to. I also don't really agree with Silas about a bigger booty... maybe a little "perkier" is all. Bigger=bad. Perky=good!

Pro cyclists may give us a hint what cycling will do to a body, but they do so much more weight work than the rest of us (not to mention logging a ton more miles) that its only a hint.


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

Lartymarf said:


> Hi Ladies,
> 
> My gf is considering picking up cycling. She has relatively developed outter
> quads compared to her inner quads. If she starts cycling more and more,
> ...


She will soon have bigger legs than Arnold Schwartzenegger--better dump her now.


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## theBreeze (Jan 7, 2002)

*Changes in shape not just size*

I noticed a definate change in quads and hamstrings. So from the side my legs look bigger than before cycled a lot, but from the front they look thinner; got rid of that "saddlebag" look. That is probably a result of general body fat loss. And yes, the glutes will develop, but like jtolleson said "perkier" not necessarily bigger. I work in the fitness department of a YMCA. I walked into the aerobics room at the end of a class one day while a couple women were talking to the instructor. "I want a butt like hers" one said pointing to me. I offered to be a partial "butt donor" but I don't think it would work. 

I also do quite a but of weight training, not just cycling.


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## SilasCL (Jun 14, 2004)

jtolleson said:


> In my experiencing cycling absolutely has not added bulk at all and conceptually it shouldn't be expected to. I also don't really agree with Silas about a bigger booty... maybe a little "perkier" is all. Bigger=bad. Perky=good!
> 
> Pro cyclists may give us a hint what cycling will do to a body, but they do so much more weight work than the rest of us (not to mention logging a ton more miles) that its only a hint.


Bigger=bad?!? We must not have the same taste in women...

When I say bigger, think bigger muscles. If she has a flat butt now, cycling will definitely make it rounder. Is this a bad thing? I would say not,

Silas


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

well, let's just say to a woman's ears, "bigger butt" usually won't sound like a good thing, but you are right about the, uh, "rounder" result.


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## sarah (Jul 29, 2004)

I don't know if they've bulked up, but they've definatley gotten more toned and defined. I think they look a lot better now than they did before I started cycling!! My butt has gotten smaller also. 

Sarah

P.S. I apologize for any spelling mistakes in any of my posts. I can't spell and I'm too lazy to look anything up.


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## vonteity (Feb 13, 2005)

Lartymarf said:


> Hi Ladies,
> 
> My gf is considering picking up cycling. She has relatively developed outter
> quads compared to her inner quads. If she starts cycling more and more,
> ...


The only way to find out for sure is to start riding. Some people bulk up, some people thin out. It's not about what cycling will do to her body, it's about how her individual body will respond to cycling.


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## vonteity (Feb 13, 2005)

SilasCL said:


> Go on cyclingnews.com or velonews.com and look at some photos of female pro cyclists.
> 
> Your wife won't get that developed riding 200 miles a month, but she will get some of the same look. Bigger butt for sure, along with more muscles on the outside of the thigh and also the hip flexors, quad just above and inside the knee and some lower back development as il sogno noted. Maybe calves too, but not a lot.
> 
> Silas


His wife won't get that developed unless she's on 'roids.

p.s. My butt disappeared... so much for "bigger butt for sure"!


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## SilasCL (Jun 14, 2004)

vonteity said:


> His wife won't get that developed unless she's on 'roids.
> 
> p.s. My butt disappeared... so much for "bigger butt for sure"!


Oh sheesh, should've known better than posting on the women's forum...with my level of tact it's remarkable I was able to get back on jtolleson's good side.

I'm sure you all have lovely, small and shapely butts.

Silas


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## physasst (Oct 1, 2005)

*She*

will definitely develop her lateral quads more. Her "inner" quads or more commonly referred to as your VMO or Vastus Medialis Oblique is hard to, if not impossible to develop with cycling, the problem is that you really only fire and strengthen this muscle in the last 20 degrees or so of extension. In cycling you are very rarely extending your leg fully, so the VMO will not strengthen or develop to the same degree as your lateral quads. I always laugh when I go to the gym and I watch the big weight lifters doing weighted leg extenions and they are flexing the knee all the way back and then rocking forward and lifting their legs to about 15 degrees short of full extension....I then ask them what they are doing, and they tell me that they are strengthening their quads....I just quietly laugh to myself and walk away. If she really wants to strengthen her VMO and ALL cyclists should do this, then get some weights, attach them to your ankles, let your leg lie at about 20 degrees of flexion on a stool or step, and extend all the way...hold to a count of ten, and then let it down.....Sounds easy...put 30 pounds on each ankle and try it....it isn't that easy. Now, my daughter decided to give me the flu...so I'm going to go take some more nyquil and blow my nose........again.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

physasst said:


> If she really wants to strengthen her VMO and ALL cyclists should do this, then get some weights, attach them to your ankles, let your leg lie at about 20 degrees of flexion on a stool or step, and extend all the way...hold to a count of ten, and then let it down.....Sounds easy...put 30 pounds on each ankle and try it....it isn't that easy.


Do this while seated on a chair, right?


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## physasst (Oct 1, 2005)

*Exactly*



il sogno said:


> Do this while seated on a chair, right?


yep...:thumbsup:


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## innergel (Jun 14, 2002)

My wife is primarily a runner, so she is long and lean. She's also 6' tall. When she rode with me a lot, she added a little bulk and a lot more definition to her legs. I think she looked better when she was riding, but that's not to say she doesn't look good now. Cycling is more about strength than running, so you can expect some more definition in her legs and lower back. I would bet that she shouldn't be worried about bulk until she starts really piling on the miles. A lot more miles than even any serious recreational rider would do. 

And I agree with whoever said it, rounder and more perky = good!


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## SilasCL (Jun 14, 2004)

Well, I had a training session at work today. One of the instructors noticed the graham watson photo on my desktop, and asked where it was. Turns out she's a road racer, and serious cyclist. We chatted a bit about cycling, women's racing, etc.

The point of the story? She had a large, very round, muscular looking butt. I rest my case,

Silas


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## vonteity (Feb 13, 2005)

SilasCL said:


> Well, I had a training session at work today. One of the instructors noticed the graham watson photo on my desktop, and asked where it was. Turns out she's a road racer, and serious cyclist. We chatted a bit about cycling, women's racing, etc.
> 
> The point of the story? She had a large, very round, muscular looking butt. I rest my case,
> 
> Silas


I'll have to post pictures of my butt (or lack thereof) after I get back to my spring racing weight. :wink:

p.s. You really need to stop using the words "large" and "butt" in the same sentence in a forum full of women.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

SilasCL said:


> Well, I had a training session at work today. One of the instructors noticed the graham watson photo on my desktop, and asked where it was. Turns out she's a road racer, and serious cyclist. We chatted a bit about cycling, women's racing, etc.
> 
> The point of the story? She had a large, very round, muscular looking butt. I rest my case,
> 
> Silas


So it was "perky", right?


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

Don't tease us... 
--

My girlfriend wondered about that, too, but as far as bulking up / not, it really seems genetic...

On my collegiate team, there was a cross-country runner who did road bike riding as rehab for knee injuries and ended up doing a couple of races, but had to quit because she was developing really massive quads and the XC coach wouldn't have it. Too bad, she was fast...

Then there is a woman at the LBS who is a master's nat'l 200m sprint champion, and she has very small proportions, even if "perky."

This became funny as I needed to tell my girlfriend to "go to the bike shop and look at the girl's butt," since she was worried about taking up cycling and getting too "big."


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## cyclequip (Oct 20, 2004)

With enough cycling you can pretty much develop most of the leg muscles. Posture on a bike does play a part in "butt" development - the more included hip angle you customarily ride hard with, the greater the glute development. 
Could women end up looking like this?


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## bill (Feb 5, 2004)

my wife and my cousin were teasing me that my legs were nicer than theirs. I think that they were half teasing about a man's having nicely shaped, shaved legs and half genuinely jealous.
Von is right -- some women seem to bulk up up a bit in the quads and butt, some just get leaner and more toned. Ina Tuetenberg -- a lovely person, by the way -- is built like a fireplug. And then there are others who are lean and lithe. That Canadian doper who tore everyone's legs off -- what was her name? she was a little slip of a thing. Genevieve Jeanson. 
Short of the whole female body-builder thing, which is definitely an acquired taste I have not acquired, there is nothing, nothing, nothing unfeminine about a toned, healthy body, even if it is of a type not seen on a Milan catwalk. Women are much harder on themselves and more critical about their bodies than men are. True.


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

*observations of my bride*

when she rides a lot:

Her calves look smaller and tighter

Her outer quads look more muscular but the same size

Her inner quads near the knees muscle up the rest looks the same.

Her butt looks higher and rounder.

Her hips look more narrow.

There are more changes than this, but those questions weren't asked.


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## MellowDramatic (Jun 8, 2006)

I think a lot of the "bigger" illusion comes from the emergence of muscle. When I'm at my fighting weight, I am a stick. But, a lot of people will look at me and say I've gotten bigger just because I have very little body fat and the muscle is more defined.

I have a very hard time believing that riding a bicycle can have a negative effect on a person's physique...that may be a naive thing to say, but I'm quite the advocate of getting anyone into cycling that wants to.


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## venus (Apr 27, 2006)

I've been a competitive bodybuilder for 20 years & won many titles. Riding bike will not build much mass unless you are taking steroids or you are a pro & that's all you do. I've used biking to stay lean & to cut up for a show. Drugs are key to developing striated quads, etc. How picky are you about your wife's legs? Lets see yours.


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## Guest (Dec 24, 2006)

Most guys would approve of the sort of toned legs developed through cycling....tell you gf to just get out and ride.


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

i dunno, i've built up my legs noticably riding, definately seeing it on my outer quads - but to be fair i may have been genetically predisposed to it, i've always had muscular legs disproportionately to the rest of my body.

i think riding style has a lot to do w/ it too. spinning away on a long flat route would lean you out.... sprinting up hills on a shorter course would build you up, particularily if you're heavy.

then there are ppl that spin a big gear and so on... too many variables to generalise..


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

the_rydster said:


> Most guys would approve of the sort of toned legs developed through cycling....tell you gf to just get out and ride.


yeah but girls don't dig it. some chicks i know generally like riding, but wont do it for fitness because they got "too big".. their words...

shame, i'ld like to take some of them out for a ride :aureola:


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