Lose undesired upper body mass

[itoldyou2wice]

The cycling physique is stereotypically known to be skinny up top and big on the bottom. The more involved with the sport you get, you will find yourselves around people with ripped legs and emaciated chest and arms. However, every once in a while, there's a stalky figure in the mix that rides surprisingly fast. I feel like that odd man. I'm only 5'4" but I'm at about 130lbs which is fairly heavy for someone my size at the cat 1 level. I know people who weigh less than that at 5'6". I've been wondering how I might be able to lose my chest and arms that seem to be entirely genetic at this point because even in the months of july when my hours and racing peak, my biceps may be leaner, but the muscle still bulges from my jerseys.

I'm doing cyclocross now in mid-season as a u23 racer and don't want to compromise fitness/performance with an altered diet at this stage. I've never done lifting. I despise the gym and would rather ride in 20 degree weather than go in there and watch the hunnies shake it on the elipticals in the college gym (which I'm told is much the opposite of my friends). The only thing I lift is this laptop, my cross bike in front of a barrier, and my backpack to and from class each day. Do i need a full upper body cast? How about this question: Even if I were to successfully atrophy my upper body, would I lose the strength I need to perform at the same level? or, Is that amount of muscle necessary for me personally? Maybe atrophy in the biceps would be more effective than in the triceps as well. Should I cut my arms off? I'd like to have some informative opinions. My performance hasn't really been compromised by this yet. I ride well and fast at hard NRC races, National events etc... I'm only thinking: wouldn't carrying less weight make me better?

 

[Piotr]

For quick relief I suggest getting a larger jersey . Other than that, ride lots and be patient. Oh, and don't lift your cyclocross bike more than you have to .

I'm 5'6.5" and 122 lbs.

 

[strader]

Have you had your % body fat checked? If you are already very low you may not be able to loose much weight without adverse health consequences. If you could lose a few pounds of body fat then some muscle mass will go with it through dieting. One of the things that drives body builder crazy is that it is almost impossible to reduce body fat during the cutting phase without losing some muscle mass.

 

[vladav]

itoldyou2wice,

(disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about and the following is probably extremely stupid for anyone to ever attempt.)

I've wondered the same thing. You know, it might just be as easy as fighting childhood boredom - read the 'DO NOT' warnings labels and then DO. Only this time instead of flammables and inhalants, just read muscle magazines and talk to meatheads at a gym. (Ps. An educated guess tells me the meatheads aren't going to want to help you out directly in your pursuit so a little subterfuge may be in order; however they might be a little perturbed if you ask them how to keep muscle and then do just the opposite. Watch out!)

Possibly a block of heavy upper body lifting to shred the muscle and absolutely NO recovery time or nutrition. This would obviously have to be in your low intensity cycling phase or else the nutrition would be diverted away from the all-important legs !!! Definitely NO protein directly after the workout, but some anti-catabolics like HMB & Glutamine would help keep the body from cannabalizing the exquisitely developed proteins in your Quads etc.

You probably want to shoot for any upper body workout that produces an ammonia smell because that means you're burning muscle for fuel (just hopefully the right muscles?)

A nice series of chemotherapy pretty much devours the entire body: muscles, vital organs, bone, etc, and then you can selectively build back ONLY what you want. (This (his w/kg) is my last thread of faith on how Lance was able to stay 1-2% better than all the dopers who have been recently exposed. That plus the mental toughnes an ordeal of that magnitude must bring. It is a fragile thread.)
((BTW: I mean no disrespect to those who are undergoing, or supporting someone undergoing Chemo. It's just something I've pondered alot in connection with Lance and is an obviously rediculous response to the OP))

Dave

 

[dwags222]

itoldyou2wice,


You probably want to shoot for any upper body workout that produces an ammonia smell because that means you're burning muscle for fuel (just hopefully the right muscles?)

Dave

Is that whole thing about the ammonia meaning that your body is burning muscle true? Because lately after hard rides i always smell strongly like ammonia when i am done riding. Is that bad?

 

[dwags222]

itoldyou2wice,

(disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about and the following is probably extremely stupid for anyone to ever attempt.)

I've wondered the same thing. You know, it might just be as easy as fighting childhood boredom - read the 'DO NOT' warnings labels and then DO. Only this time instead of flammables and inhalants, just read muscle magazines and talk to meatheads at a gym. (Ps. An educated guess tells me the meatheads aren't going to want to help you out directly in your pursuit so a little subterfuge may be in order; however they might be a little perturbed if you ask them how to keep muscle and then do just the opposite. Watch out!)

Possibly a block of heavy upper body lifting to shred the muscle and absolutely NO recovery time or nutrition. This would obviously have to be in your low intensity cycling phase or else the nutrition would be diverted away from the all-important legs !!! Definitely NO protein directly after the workout, but some anti-catabolics like HMB & Glutamine would help keep the body from cannabalizing the exquisitely developed proteins in your Quads etc.

You probably want to shoot for any upper body workout that produces an ammonia smell because that means you're burning muscle for fuel (just hopefully the right muscles?)

A nice series of chemotherapy pretty much devours the entire body: muscles, vital organs, bone, etc, and then you can selectively build back ONLY what you want. (This (his w/kg) is my last thread of faith on how Lance was able to stay 1-2% better than all the dopers who have been recently exposed. That plus the mental toughnes an ordeal of that magnitude must bring. It is a fragile thread.)
((BTW: I mean no disrespect to those who are undergoing, or supporting someone undergoing Chemo. It's just something I've pondered alot in connection with Lance and is an obviously rediculous response to the OP))

Dave

is that whole thing about the smell of ammonia being an indicator of burning muscle true? because i often smell ammonia on myself after hard rides. is that bad?

 

[strader]

is that whole thing about the smell of ammonia being an indicator of burning muscle true? because i often smell ammonia on myself after hard rides. is that bad?

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t349692.html
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t350340.html

 

[feel]

is that whole thing about the smell of ammonia being an indicator of burning muscle true? because i often smell ammonia on myself after hard rides. is that bad?

sweat is basically the same as urine just more dilute, ie it contains urea which is a nitrogenous waste. This will breakdown over time to form ammonia so not surprising that after a long sweaty ride that people whiff a bit. Ammonia is extremely toxic you will not be sweating it out - it will form afterwards.

edit : i wouldn't cut your arms off itoldyou2wice reaching the bars would become a problem

 

[Bailsibub]

The cycling physique is stereotypically known to be skinny up top and big on the bottom. The more involved with the sport you get, you will find yourselves around people with ripped legs and emaciated chest and arms. However, every once in a while, there's a stalky figure in the mix that rides surprisingly fast. I feel like that odd man. I'm only 5'4" but I'm at about 130lbs which is fairly heavy for someone my size at the cat 1 level. I know people who weigh less than that at 5'6". I've been wondering how I might be able to lose my chest and arms that seem to be entirely genetic at this point because even in the months of july when my hours and racing peak, my biceps may be leaner, but the muscle still bulges from my jerseys.

I'm doing cyclocross now in mid-season as a u23 racer and don't want to compromise fitness/performance with an altered diet at this stage. I've never done lifting. I despise the gym and would rather ride in 20 degree weather than go in there and watch the hunnies shake it on the elipticals in the college gym (which I'm told is much the opposite of my friends). The only thing I lift is this laptop, my cross bike in front of a barrier, and my backpack to and from class each day. Do i need a full upper body cast? How about this question: Even if I were to successfully atrophy my upper body, would I lose the strength I need to perform at the same level? or, Is that amount of muscle necessary for me personally? Maybe atrophy in the biceps would be more effective than in the triceps as well. Should I cut my arms off? I'd like to have some informative opinions. My performance hasn't really been compromised by this yet. I ride well and fast at hard NRC races, National events etc... I'm only thinking: wouldn't carrying less weight make me better?

Hey toldyoutwice,

You didn't say how long you have been riding for, but I can see that you are a U23, meaning you are a young rider.

There's definitely some interesting advice coming at you on here.

Well, I wouldn't go to the extremes or anything with this. Yeah, you have more upper-body mass than what's typical. But as you ride, and I'm talking long term here, the body will change.

I'm about to celebrate my 36th birthday, but when I was 20, I had a large upperbody (part genetic/part 225 lb. military presses). I haven't touched a weight for more than 10 years...only cycling and running/cyclocross. And now my upper body is slimmer (still have muscles compared to other cyclists). Instead of being top-heavy, I'm pretty symmetrical now.

I have also noticed that mid-summer, my upper body thins out compared to the winter. It seems like when I have a positive balance of calories, the upper body puffs up a bit.

So maybe this is something to consider. Instead of an upper-body cast, which on the positive side might get you some sympathy-attention from the chicks at the gym, maybe just try creating a negative balance of calories.

 

[itoldyou2wice]

I've just finished my fourth year. I started in 2003 at 16, will be 21 in
jan. I'm looking forward to my body changing over time. I might attempt to watch calories more closely/safely this season during base. I'm glad I'm getting so much feedback. I just joined this forum. Seems decent.

 

[hsg]

theres also the question of what % protein in the diet if one is cutting muscle.

 

[Felt_Rider]

There is a fine line between restricting calories to lean out to lowest possible extent and hurting performance.

Only you as an individual will be able to determine that level over a period of time.

It sounds like your body type is closer to mesomorph, which gains muscle easily with barely any stimulation. I am talking from my former experience as a former high level competitive bodybuilder.

My interpretation when you say that in your initial post that your performance has not been compromised it is a good sign and my opinion is keep doing what you are doing in training and competing in cycling. Try not to stimulate upper body muscle tissue with training and let time do its thing. Imagine if you will someone confined to a wheel chair. It takes time, but unfortunately in their case the lack of stimulation the lower body will eventually atrophy. For a mesomorph it takes very little stimulation to maintain muscle mass, much less gain. I have trained with IFBB pro bodybuilders that train like ****, eat like ****, sleep very little, party hard and do everything else wrong, can just look a set of weights and gain muscle.(a little exagerrated) Whereas, I was a "hardgainer" and had to follow the rule book of training to a tee just to gain an ounce. Genetically you sound like you fall into a bodybuilders dream genetics, but with time and with focus on your cycling your body may adapt more toward your current desires, but my suggestion is not to do anything extreme that will compromise your current performance level.

 

[kopride]

Because lately after hard rides i always smell strongly like ammonia when i am done riding. Is that bad?

Particulalry, if I an wearing bib shorts and can't shoot straight over the waistline.

 

[velomanct]

Diet

Ride lots



Here I am trying to not be 'stick boy', and I don't even do endurance training anymore. I lift and can't put on any muscle.

I would think losing muscle is a hell of a lot easier than putting it on.

 

[hsg]

from my experience, it is much harder to lose muscle than to gain it. i'd say ten-fold. we're designed to lose fat and retain muscle, unless you're doing ultra-long distance while you're in starvation.

 

[velomanct]

from my experience, it is much harder to lose muscle than to gain it. i'd say ten-fold. we're designed to lose fat and retain muscle, unless you're doing ultra-long distance while you're in starvation.

As a skinny rider with few extra lbs on my gut, I wish that were the case for me. I'm even 23! lol

Perhaps I should cut out some of the cereal and other high carbs from my diet.

 

[hsg]

raw, organic, vegan. even better yet.


dude whatr your goals exactly?

 

[hsg]

" The faster you go, the fewer passing cars"

eventually they start passing from front to back

cars suck. wish i had more of those stickers.

 

[simplyred]

Thor Hushvod [6ft, 180lb]. Tour finisher. Pro level cyclist.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/28738237_c24cee6c89.jpg?v=0

Robert Forster [5'9, 180lbs]

Steven de Jongh [5'9 170lbs]

World Time Trial Champion [6ft, 180lbs]

Might seem like cherry-picking - but we've all been dropped by burger eating McFatty because he/she rides more than us.

 

[velomanct]

raw, organic, vegan. even better yet.


dude whatr your goals exactly?

I'm about that same build at Thor, and sprinting is what I do. 6'1" 184lbs right now.

I don't road race anymore, I just like to sprint and compete against myself mostly. I'd like to add a bit more upper body muscle and lose about 8lbs of fat.