I have been doing TBT for two cycles and absolutley love the results. I’ve grown a lot and am very happy with the changes. The only problem I face is that I have always ridden competativley on bicycle for the summers. I don’t plan on doing so this summer but I still want to ride with my local cycling club. They ride 3-4 days a week for about 2 hours per ride of intense cardio. How do I balance lifting and cycling…is it even possible???
Just keep lifting. You may want decrease your leg work in the gym and also make sure that you are eating enough to offset the increased energy expenditure.
I would plan to lose some LBM during the summer but dont worry too much about that if you are doing something that you really enjoy.
Life is a series of trade-offs and compromises. Choose wisely.
Perfectly said Snoop
Relax–Enjoy
I’ve been lifting since I was in high school, I’m 36 now. I just started road cycling 3 years ago. I’ve found that if I keep my rides to about an hour, (Avg. Speed 18 mph) 3 days per week, I don’t lose any mass. Any longer than that, however, I start to lose everything I’ve worked for in the gym. I know that both activities contradict eachother, but I have come to love cycling so much, I refuse to give it up. You just have to find a distance that satisfies your cycling needs without losing too much muscle. Good luck!
Yeah, I enjoy lifting a bunch but am not ready to give up cycling totally. I was wondering if I would be better off to give up lifting for the summer or do both and use the cycling to cut a bit and try to retain mass. I grew up cycling and my average ride is about 2hour with an average speed around 22-25mph depending on the route I’m taking. I knew that I would have to adjust my diet too not loose a ton of mass but I was still worried the cycling would either kill gains I have already made or slow down any new gains and hurt my cycling at the same time.
When I first started cycling 3 years ago, I went a little overboard. I was doing 40-50 mile rides just about every day. I only took a day off if it rained. I was still lifting, but my workouts suffered. Sure, I was ripped, but I lost a lot of mass. I know by doing both, I’ll never be Lance and I’ll never be Arnold either. My goal is to fall somewhere in between, but most of all, be healthy. In my experience, putting in too many miles in the saddle will definitely strip away the muscle mass you’ve tried so hard to put on.
[quote]Sarge131 wrote:
When I first started cycling 3 years ago, I went a little overboard. I was doing 40-50 mile rides just about every day. I only took a day off if it rained. I was still lifting, but my workouts suffered. Sure, I was ripped, but I lost a lot of mass. I know by doing both, I’ll never be Lance and I’ll never be Arnold either. My goal is to fall somewhere in between, but most of all, be healthy. In my experience, putting in too many miles in the saddle will definitely strip away the muscle mass you’ve tried so hard to put on.[/quote]
I tried run a marathon, cyclin and spinning, aerobiccing and lifting heavy same time (3 years a go).I didn’t do much leg trainings. But my glute and hams can’t handle that much endurance and resistance trainings. I had to quit that marathon race after 18 miles.
I was ripped too (5-7% bf, 170 pounds, 5’11), can benched 245, and few squat reps of 270 pounds. Not bad with over 10 hours of endurance training per week. But I haven’t been Arnold either.
I think, that endurance sports gives enrgy and balance with lifting (of course not that much I did). It’s a good mix. But you have choise what is your main goal. You can’t lose too much, if you planned wisely your trainings, eatings and rests. I really want back my better endurance condition. Now I weighted 190-195 pounds, and after 4 miles of easy running, my leg feel heavy as sandbags (but I squatted 1,5x more than 2 years a go). Whatta do? Try to be Arnold or middlesized fitness-feel-and-look-guy?
That’s your choice.