Can you tell if some is a serious cyclist by looking at their calves?

[LS17]

I know this sounds superficial but summer coming up and I want to look my best. I've always been off and on riding my bicycle due to work...so I never really was able to build up to a good fitness level. I am wondering if I stick with it can I develop awesome looking calves? I wear shorts a lot since I live in socal and I want some muscular looking legs. What would be the best way to achieve this?

 

[janiejones]

Can you tell if some is a serious cyclist by looking at their calves?

Maybe you could tell if they are a serious farmer, but I don't know about cyclist.

sorry it had to be said - I just thought I'd get in first.

 

[HowardSteele]

I'm sure if you checked out all the top cyclists they have serious calves, and i must admit I’m impressed with how my calves are looking thanx to cycling, but is it a prerequisite?

I have a mate with really serious calves, and a perfect cyclists build, he’s always at home with excuses not to ride, and when he is ridding he is not the front ridder, another mate has matchsticks for legs, no muscle definition whatsoever and he flies, he’s always out ridding always leading the group. Go figure.

 

[Sillyoldtwit]

I know this sounds superficial but summer coming up and I want to look my best. I've always been off and on riding my bicycle due to work...so I never really was able to build up to a good fitness level. I am wondering if I stick with it can I develop awesome looking calves? I wear shorts a lot since I live in socal and I want some muscular looking legs. What would be the best way to achieve this?

This link http://www.cyclingforums.com/t324831.html should give you all the answers or not, but anyway will give you plenty of reading.

 

[mikesbytes]

I have a mate with really serious calves, and a perfect cyclists build, he’s always at home with excuses not to ride, and when he is ridding he is not the front ridder, another mate has matchsticks for legs, no muscle definition whatsoever and he flies, he’s always out ridding always leading the group. Go figure.

I have good muscular legs and I'm definently not as fast as the guy with the matchstick legs. If your objective is to be fast on a bike, then don't worry about what your legs actually look like.

 

[dm69]

HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA!!! This thread isn't serious is it?

 

[dm69]

Can you tell if some is a serious cyclist by looking at their calves?

Maybe you could tell if they are a serious farmer, but I don't know about cyclist.

sorry it had to be said - I just thought I'd get in first.

LOL

 

[rule62]

Hey it's all about the calves man. Ride on socal!

 

[AussieRob]

Hey it's all about the calves man. Ride on socal!

Actually its all about the ****. Unless you ride track Fat = Bad

 

[frenchyge]

Sure you can tell. If they have black chainring marks on their right calf, they're a cyclist.

 

[artmichalek]

Sure you can tell. If they have black chainring marks on their right calf, they're a cyclist.

Don't forget the sock tan lines.

 

[kopride]

I know this sounds superficial but summer coming up and I want to look my best. I've always been off and on riding my bicycle due to work...so I never really was able to build up to a good fitness level. I am wondering if I stick with it can I develop awesome looking calves? I wear shorts a lot since I live in socal and I want some muscular looking legs. What would be the best way to achieve this?

If you figure out a way to develop great calf muscles, other than choosing your parents well, I am all ears. I have tried to do calf raises and all the rest of those exercises with minimal aesthetic afffect. People that walk on their toes or weight more forward appear to have larger calves than people that walk flat footed.

And no, I don't think cycling is a great exercise to do to develop calves, because you never really bring that muscle close to muscular failure. After a long ride, I can feel it in my quads and to a lesser extent hamstrings and lower back, but calves? I do think that stretching your calves after every ride is helpful.

 

[rule62]

fa·ce·tious (f

-s

sh

s) adj. - Playfully jocular; humorous: facetious remarks.

 

[Catabolic_Jones]

Agreed, cycling is not great for developing calves. Maybe if you ran a really huge gear at a low cadence, and employed a really Pantani-esque pedalling style, then you might get some hypertrophy.

Michael Colgan recommends running down a steep hill. Others, donkey calf-raises.

But probably not cycling for hypertrophy.

 

[cPritch67]

Hey it's all about the calves man. Ride on socal!

That's funny, I live in So Cal also and I thought it was what you wore when cycling, not how good your calves looked. I'll have to check the So Cal riders guide to style again.

 

[BlueJersey]

When someone can big ring a hill at the speed in which you normally go on a flat, you know this person is "serious." Your muscular composition means nothing unless you are so lean that you blood vessels and veins literally popping out through your skin.

I know this sounds superficial but summer coming up and I want to look my best. I've always been off and on riding my bicycle due to work...so I never really was able to build up to a good fitness level. I am wondering if I stick with it can I develop awesome looking calves? I wear shorts a lot since I live in socal and I want some muscular looking legs. What would be the best way to achieve this?

 

[Sillyoldtwit]

Sure you can tell. If they have black chainring marks on their right calf, they're a cyclist.

SHOCK! HORROR!

I have black chainring marks on my right calf, am I doing something wrong?!?!

 

[Sillyoldtwit]

SHOCK! HORROR!

I have black chainring marks on my right calf, am I doing something wrong?!?!

That of course was meant to be left calf.

 

[frenchyge]

That of course was meant to be left calf.

Aha! I must have read that post 10 times trying to figure it out.