How Do Cyclists Get Big Legs? (Let’s Investigate)

Have you noticed how the legs of a cyclist look? The massive body mass, and the cuts around the hamstrings and the quadriceps impart a distinct appearance to a biker’s legs. Have you ever felt like getting those biker legs?

Cyclists have to build up their leg strength to a great extent so they can push extremely hard through the pedals rigorously and dash through the wind with a supersonic speed. This especially holds true for those who are involved in competitive cycling.

However, while training your legs, you will have to make sure that your legs do not look extremely bulky or out of shape. Massive legs that appear like tree trunks is not just a result of bicycling. One has to understand that it is the physical activities as well as the diet plan followed by a cyclist that results in the massive legs. Other factors, such as heredity, also have an important role to play.

This article will give you an insight into what are the different factors that play an instrumental role in determining the size of a biker’s legs. Looking forward to those professional cyclist thighs? Read on to find out.

Does biking make your legs bigger?

No, biking does not make your legs big. Biking definitely puts your lower body to work and improves the muscles. However, it is important to note that biking is an aerobic exercise. Although it increases the endurance of the muscle fibers, thereby making them resistant to fatigue, biking will not cause your legs to bulge up.

Massive legs do not result simply from biking, there is a lot more to it. Unless you subject your legs to immense strength and resistance training, you are not really going to fetch many benefits. You will probably have to indulge in a lot of squats. You may also be genetically predisposed to a certain body type.

Last, but not least, you will also have to be very careful about the food that you put on your plate. The number of calories you eat and the amount of protein you consume play an important role in determining how your body will gain muscles.

Therefore, only cycling will not cause your legs to bulge up; there’s a lot more to it.

How do cyclists get big legs?

There are several factors that contribute to the big legs of cyclists and well-developed thighs. If you are willing to get those professional bike thighs, these few tips might help.

Predisposed to a certain body type

Science and popular studies state that human beings are predisposed to a certain body type which can be divided into three categories, namely ectomorphs, mesomorphs, and endomorphs.

Ectomorphs are usually lean, tall, and have a hard time putting on muscle. Mesomorphs, on the other hand, have a natural predisposition of muscle building. The third category, classified as endomorphs, have a higher percentage of body fat and are predisposed to fat gain.

Therefore, if you belong to the first category, you might find it hard to grow legs like Olympic bikers. On the other hand, if you belong to the second and third categories, with proper training and diet, one can get sturdy cyclist legs like an Olympic cyclist.

Strength training for sturdy, well-developed legs

Let us now shift our focus from having “massive legs” to having “sturdy legs.” Just because someone goes to the gym on a regular basis and has well-built leg muscles does not mean that the person can qualify as a good biker. Strength is an important factor that one needs to consider.

If you want to strike the right balance between size and strength to make sure that your legs perform fine while cycling, you might consider incorporating heavy weights and low reps to your workout routine. This is contrary to what bodybuilders do, who focus on increasing the muscle’s cell size.

If the focus is on making the muscles bulge out, one can adopt a bodybuilder’s strategy. On the other hand, if one wants to get stronger, he should go for heavy weights coupled with lower reps.

The kind of exercises also make a difference on the shape of your legs

If you are a cyclist, the kind of exercises that you perform in the gym also determine the shape of your legs. Based on the composition of your body and its strengths and weaknesses, you will have to design a training program that will work the best for you.

To speak in general terms, you can include some exercises like bilateral knee exercises, and other exercises such as Romanian deadlifts, squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts, and many more. You can also add other exercises like banded squats, jump squats, plyometrics, and so on.

When you indulge in cycling, it improves the functioning of your lower body. Cycling helps to improve the strength of the legs without stressing out your joints. It is advisable to indulge in exercises that will target your hamstrings, glutes, calves, and quads.

Working on your lower body strength while biking

This can prove to be highly beneficial as it can target the particular muscles that need to be worked on when those muscles are heated up. If you want great strength, you can design your training routine like this. You can plan a sprint for 20 seconds every five minutes. 

However, while planning this, you should be careful that your efforts are evenly spread out without putting much strain on your legs. There should be enough time to allow your muscles to recover. However, if you feel some sort of injury, you need to slash the plan off your training schedule.

Supplements that can enhance speed and muscle building

There are a number of supplements which make up for the nutritional gap and facilitate the process of muscle building. If you are willing to develop great leg muscles, you can resort to the intake of a few supplements. When combined with proper exercise, they can reap great benefits.

For instance, Beta-Alanine is a supplement that can provide an extra kick to the bikers. Beta Alanine helps to reduce fatigue at the time of explosive efforts, thereby they can be of great help.

Creatine is another component that acts as a source of energy at the time of strenuous activities.

Creatinine is available in food items such as red meat and salmon. Although these components might be available naturally in the food items, they may not be available in adequate quantities. Therefore, supplements might be helpful.

Nevertheless, bikers should make sure that there is enough carbohydrates and protein in their diet. While carbohydrates serve as a source of energy, protein helps in repair of the worn and torn out muscles.

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On an ending note

Therefore, we can conclude that cycling definitely improves the stature of your legs. However, it functions as an aerobic exercise and works on the endurance of the muscle fibres so that they become resistant to fatigue at the time of training.

Nevertheless, cycling does not cause the leg muscles to bulk up. Track cyclists‘ legs are well-developed because they spend considerable time at the gym. Their activity can be equated to that of sprinters.

If you want your muscles to buff up, you need to indulge in resistance training as well. Your body will respond well only if you lift weights in addition to training on the bicycle, and follow a strict diet plan. Willing to get those professional bike thighs? Start planning now!