completely different muscles

The main muscle used in cycling is vastus medialis which is the inside
part of quadriceps. This is used in walking but to less an extent.
The calves are used a lot in walking and little in cycling.
You will find if you go hillwalking that you will bomb up the hills but
be slow coming down. You need to train at walking.
Our muscles atrophy if we don't use them and hypertrophy (get bigger)
if we do.
The reason for this of course is that it spares food.

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

The main muscle used in cycling is vastus medialis which is the inside
part of quadriceps.

I don't think so. Vastus medialis is only active when the knee is almost
straight, and exercises to develop it are used to treat patellofemoral
maltracking problems.
This maltracking is often due to overdevelopment of vastus lateralis
(the muscle at the outside of the thigh) and rectus femoris, the muscle
at the front of the thigh. These (VM & RF) are used more in cycling.

Quoted message said:

This is used in walking but to less an extent.
The calves are used a lot in walking and little in cycling.
You will find if you go hillwalking that you will bomb up the hills but
be slow coming down. You need to train at walking.

Both cycling and walking involve the large muscles at the back of the
thigh (gluteals and hamstrings). Differences in posture whilst doing
these activities mean differing muscles are used.

Quoted message said:

Our muscles atrophy if we don't use them and hypertrophy (get bigger)
if we do.
The reason for this of course is that it spares food.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

"Geraint Jones" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Since our daughter was born (she's a little young to be
cycling yet) I've been restricted to no more than about
ten miles a day of my usual form of transport, but have
been obliged from time to time to practice "walking" as
it appears to be called. It's much slower than cycling
as far as I can see, and hurts the legs a lot more over
a comparable distance.

I am happy to report than even after a leg-aching couple
of miles across the Parks, I am still able to leap on
the bike and potter about with no difficulty. Is this
what they mean by "completely different muscles"? If
so, what are all those pedestrians doing with their
cycling muscles? More particularly, why aren't they?

I think it's more about joint angles and muscle movement speeds, or fitness
specificity. When you do mostly one type of exercise your body optimises
specifically for that activity, and you'll not do so well at other sports.
For example walking and cycling are quite far apart, and there is relatively
little benefit between the two. The opposite is true of cycling and
skating, where there's quite a lot of crossover. I'm assuming here that the
comparison involves a fair amount of training in the main sport. If you're
looking at relatively unfit people, the crossover benefit will be much
larger even between fairly unrelated sports.

Of course some types of exercise use completely different muscles in
different parts of the body, and even when two sports use, for example,
legs, there is still going to be differing emphasis on which muscles do work
and how.

Geraint Jones said:

Since our daughter was born (she's a little young to be
cycling yet) I've been restricted to no more than about
ten miles a day of my usual form of transport

Congratulations on the new arrival!

I was "home" for a family function at the weekend. One of my cousins
told me that you have a little girl.

Best wishes to you all.

Mike

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

Both cycling and walking involve the large muscles at the back of the
thigh (gluteals and hamstrings). Differences in posture whilst doing
these activities mean differing muscles are used.

AIUI, glutes are mainly employed when you go into a standing position
to power uphill. And I've only really noticed development in my
hamstrings since I started using clipless pedals - are the hamstrings
used much when using flats?

--
jc

Remove the -not from email

Quoted message said:

The calves are used a lot in walking and little in cycling.

Are you sure? A lot of cyclists (including myself) have pretty
well developed calves. I sometimes do weighted calf raises as
part of my weight training routine, but nowhere near enough to
account for their size.

I always thought that while cycling doesn't give much resistance
to the calves, they're in constant low-resistance use so you
develop the slow-twitch (endurance) calf muscles. Which AIUI
make up about two thirds of the calf muscle group.

--
jc

Remove the -not from email

"Jeremy Collins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The calves are used a lot in walking and little in cycling.

Are you sure? A lot of cyclists (including myself) have pretty
well developed calves. I sometimes do weighted calf raises as
part of my weight training routine, but nowhere near enough to
account for their size.

I always thought that while cycling doesn't give much resistance
to the calves, they're in constant low-resistance use so you
develop the slow-twitch (endurance) calf muscles. Which AIUI
make up about two thirds of the calf muscle group.

I know that towards the end of a '10' my calves have certainly done a fair
amount of work. As you are driving your legs down placing the weight onto
the front of the foot, I assume you are using your calves to keep your foot
in a more or less stable position. Therefore the more force you put onto the
pedal, the more work your calves are doing.

"Jeremy Collins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The calves are used a lot in walking and little in cycling.

Are you sure? A lot of cyclists (including myself) have pretty
well developed calves. I sometimes do weighted calf raises as
part of my weight training routine, but nowhere near enough to
account for their size.

I have exceedingly well-developed calf muscles... my DH tells me. Apparently
he finds my defined muscular calves quite fetching. Go figure... It's
definitely down to the cycling too, as it is my chosen form of exercise.
When Nathan was smaller & we did a lot of rambling, my calf muscles were not
nearly so well defined. But it does play havoc with trying to buy a pair of
knee-length boots. I have some gorgeous boots I used to be able to wear in
my pre-return-to-cycling days that I got on with ease. Now I cannot wear
them as my calf muscles are too big!

Cheers, helen s

On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 15:31:34 +0100 someone who may be "wafflycat"
<waffles*A*T*v21net*D*O*T*co*D*O*T*uk> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

I have exceedingly well-developed calf muscles... my DH tells me. Apparently
he finds my defined muscular calves quite fetching. Go figure...

I figure he is not unique. I speak as that ultimate evil person; a
white, heterosexual, meat-eating, male.

Quoted message said:

It's
definitely down to the cycling too, as it is my chosen form of exercise.
When Nathan was smaller & we did a lot of rambling, my calf muscles were not
nearly so well defined.

Then things have improved:-)

Quoted message said:

But it does play havoc with trying to buy a pair of
knee-length boots. I have some gorgeous boots I used to be able to wear in
my pre-return-to-cycling days that I got on with ease. Now I cannot wear
them as my calf muscles are too big!

I think that there must be a problem with the leather.

I take it you have asked him to give you a hand putting on the
boots:-)

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

David Hansen said:

I figure he is not unique. I speak as that ultimate evil person; a
white, heterosexual, meat-eating, male.

Psure! You don't even have a red lightsabre! ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

David Hansen said:

I figure he is not unique. I speak as that ultimate evil person; a
white, heterosexual, meat-eating, male.

Psure! You don't even have a red lightsabre! ;-)

You've looked inside his trousers?

Cheers, helen s ;-)