ive been swimming and lightly lifting for 4 months now and have built my uper body like a swimmer/rock climber. anyway, my question is, will my body redistribute the protien from the uper body to my legs?and will the muscle from my uper body use oxygen during sprint efforts decreasing the ammount of oxygen going to my legs?

thanks.

i doubt it, muscle is muscle, how in gods name can it be bad in any way

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good riding ,
Umberto

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1)no - protein doesn't redistribute
2)no - O2 doesn't redistribute - it goes where it's needed

You'll climb better as long as you're still doing plenty of cardio, abs and weight training for your legs. You're just making yourself stronger!

Tim

What is your source regarding "2)no - O2 doesn't redistribute - it goes where it's needed." So you're saying the additional upper body mass will not steal oxygen that could be used by the legs?

Also, I used to agree with your last statement about stronger legs making for a stronger climber. But after reading this:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?id=strengthstern
I'm not so sure it's as important as I used to believe.

Leif

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www.leifclarke.com

Leif,

I don't have a source. It's my opinion - take it as you like.

Sure the more body mass you have, the more there is to feed the O2 to, but when you're burning on a climb, it's your legs filling up with lactic acid, and running out of O2, not your arms. Your arms aren't asking for any. The O2 circulates through your bloodstream and the muscles that need it most get it first.
I think you would reach a point of diminishing return if you got really into weight training to be buffed and expected to be an ever improving cyclist too. Now if you are like "Governor Arnold", you'll never be a great cyclist 'cause you have so much muscle to feed but that's an extreme case.

As for the article you cite, I totally agree with the last comment. However I think there is a balance that each individual has to strike between aerobic ability and muscle strength (including fast twitch and slow twitch fibers). When that is individualized, then you'll have a lot more athletes reaching their maximum potential.

Tim

As the author of the above article (@ cyclingnews), and of numerous threads in the Cycle Training section of this forum, i can state that strength is not a limiting factor in endurance cycling performance (unless, for e.g. you have some form of functional disability).

The force requirements during (endurance) cycling are very low, such that (practically) no one would be limited.

Ric

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http://www.cyclecoach.com

I don't understand the original posters question in relation to "expensive supplements".

Tim

Since I have a larger then average upper body for a cyclist I hope you're right. I'm a trackie omnium contender so I'm not concerned about hauling the weight around however 20 minutes into a points race when my heart rate is sky hight I'm always thinking my upper body is eating up my valuable oxygen.

BTW, sorry to divert the subject of the thread but I also do not know how any of this pertains to supplements.

THanks,

Leif

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www.leifclarke.com

i guess the question i wanted answerd was, what happens to all that muscle when i stop my lifting program during the race season.so what happens to it when it goes away?whare does it go?

I have cycled up in strength to over 500 lb squats and 400 Bench Press as a former linebacker. Over the years, I have taken more than a year off from lifting concentrating on running and cycling. When I go back to the weights, it is a couple weeks and I make major strides back to where I was in mass and strength. Some people call this muscle memory. often time the mass of new muscle is largeley water, but strength, in my opinion, is mostly genetics combined with training your body to handle heavy loads (neuro transmitters or something). This is why football players do alot of speed exercises like power cleans and squat jumps and bodybuilders do not. One increases strength, the other mass.