do any of you 'bodybuild'?

[ftssjk]

do any of you body build (or build up your body)?
not in a 'competitive' mr universe arnold schwarzenegger way, but in a decent effort sort of way.
I know it doesn't really give you much power, but I had an idea of first body building as the 'main goal', then using cycling as cardio, (i can't really swim, and i'm not very good at jogging). Then after a while to 'cut' i'd just be cycling heaps.

thoughts?

My ideal physique would be around 80kg with a body fat % of around 8%.
at the moment i'm 70kg. Not sure how much body fat i am, but i will buy some calipers one day lol.

[vander]

Bodybuilding is a very tough thing to do and get right. Lifting weights properly with good technique and effectively is hard enough. Getting your diet in order is a lot harder. It took me about 1year to 1.5years of stuffing around to get it right. While I was not body building for comp etc I was lifting weights a lot and had a very good idea of what was going into my mouth. To the point I had a very good idea of how many calories I would take in every day etc. Another thing with bodybuilding is you cant ever stopped. I moved house and in about 3 weeks of not having everything perfect I lost a lot (that was at the start of the year) never really got back into it. By the way I was at about 80kg and probably around 10% at my peak (I am about 179cm tall). This was with not much legs training as I have bad knees.

When I was bulking I did almost no cardio. When I was cutting I did a tiny bit of HIIT about 20-30min 3-5 times a week. Cardio is really not necessary with bodybuilding and can have a deleterious effect. So cycling and bodybuilding don't really go together too well. Saying that I am just getting back into lifting weights regularly again after a good 8-10weeks off.

Bodybuilding takes a lot of time and effort. bodybuilding.com is your bible but you need to be careful and not follow everything you read. Saying that I love lifting gives you a great feeling. Being strong is good.

[trailgumby]

My focus has been shoulder rehab, and more recently core strength.

Shoulder is almost 100% again. w00t!

Lower back is still an issue, but the core strenght stuff has done wonders for my bike handling and confidence tackling tricky stuff off road. The bike just seemed to flow around Manly Dam last time I rode there coupla weeks ago in a way I didn't think was possible, and I bested my previous PB by over a minute without really going out with a plan to ride at training pace.

It seemed like a continuous zen moment

... until some twerp rang me on my mobile.

[trailgumby]

Postscript: I'm at an age where some form of weightlifting (relatively lower weights with higher repetitions) is going to be required on an ongoing basis to maintain muscle mass.

[skull]

I can bulk up with weights really easy, so I avoid it as I want to be light and lean on the big, not big and heavy.

However I do complete a body weight strength circuit to maintain and also because I am in the Military and need to maintain some upper body strength. I complete a chin up, push up, sit up pyramid. 10 of each then 9, then 8, all the way down to 1.

It goes alright.

[biftek]

yep i bodybuild , personally i don;t think it has effected my cycling all that much , if anything it has improved things
plus i feel a lot more healthier and fitter
bulking up doesn't happen over night it takes a lot of training and a good diet as well genetics to pull it off

[Crawf]

You can't talk about bodybuilding without some input from the great man...

Sorry couldn't resist.

[Anakist]

Two totally different aims. If you want to weight train as a tool for cycling, don't go for a bodybuilding style workout.

*Warning: massive generalisation ahead*

Cycling is an endurance activity, which relies on the nervous system and muscles being more efficient at what they do. So the same strength with less mass and size.

Bodybuilding is low weight, high rep to failure and one day per week per muscle group kind of stuff, and the aim is to fill the muscles with fluid to make them look big (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy). This makes large muscles with relatively low strength and is IMHO a waste of time.

You could a little powerlifting stuff (myofibrillar hypertrophy) which trains nervous system recruitment and builds more muscle fibres (myofibrils) by doing low rep, high weight stuff, and you will get strong without the size issues, but the best thing to do would be largely bodyweight exercises (like Crossfit, Convict Conditioning, Pavel's Naked Warrior stuff, gymnastics), and cycling. The more time you spend cycling, the more efficient the pathways become, and the better at it you become. Bodyweight exercises are pretty damn good at getting you strong, without getting you big. You will still grow more muscle fibres and get bigger, but not to a bodybuilder extent.

James

[vander]

Two totally different aims. If you want to weight train as a tool for cycling, don't go for a bodybuilding style workout.

*Warning: massive generalisation ahead*

Cycling is an endurance activity, which relies on the nervous system and muscles being more efficient at what they do. So the same strength with less mass and size.

Bodybuilding is low weight, high rep to failure and one day per week per muscle group kind of stuff, and the aim is to fill the muscles with fluid to make them look big (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy). This makes large muscles with relatively low strength and is IMHO a waste of time.

You could a little powerlifting stuff (myofibrillar hypertrophy) which trains nervous system recruitment and builds more muscle fibres (myofibrils) by doing low rep, high weight stuff, and you will get strong without the size issues, but the best thing to do would be largely bodyweight exercises (like Crossfit, Convict Conditioning, Pavel's Naked Warrior stuff, gymnastics), and cycling. The more time you spend cycling, the more efficient the pathways become, and the better at it you become. Bodyweight exercises are pretty damn good at getting you strong, without getting you big. You will still grow more muscle fibres and get bigger, but not to a bodybuilder extent.

James

Increasing strength will cause an increase in size and also (more importantly for cycling) heavier. Bodyweight stuff can still make you pretty big.

Dont know how to do a picture so ill just give you the link - http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=male+ ... 9,r:16,s:0

Saying that I still do it and its good to do. Unless your a professional does it really matter? Lose the bodyfat not the muscle

[ATP]

I started (at about age 20 or so) at about 55-60kg (1.75m tall), definitely not "skinny". I started going to the gym with no knowledge of what I was doing, no knowledge of nutrition or anything. I was hoping to get ripped, have a six pack and big arms. After 1 year... yep, almost no progress.

Spent some time during a lazy summer learning about nutrition and basic compound lifts/exercises. I chose my goal to gain some weight to become more "functional". Within 18 months I was up to 75kg and fairly lean (~13% BF) and my goal was met. That was a couple of years ago, and after some "minor" life obstacles resulting in me losing a bunch of weight, I'm back to around that 75kg area.

I'm actually about ready to start another bit of a bulk up, just waiting for a few more dollars into the account to buy some weights for home. I'm going to move up to the 80+kg class and see how it is!

[Anakist]

Increasing strength will cause an increase in size and also (more importantly for cycling) heavier. Bodyweight stuff can still make you pretty big

Hence the

You will still grow more muscle fibres and get bigger, but not to a bodybuilder extent

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl= ... wAg&dur=77

James

[Fresh]

I lifted for years seriously in my 20s, got big, weighed around 110kg at 194cm. Didn't look after my cardiovascular system at the same time though. After being diagnosed with high blood pressure I decided being huge wasn't a priority in my life and bought a bike. Weight (and muscle) fell off me like water, but I feel healthier than I have in ages. I still lift 2-3 times a week - mainly just squats and deadlifts for all round body strength - purely as maintenance to my fitness and to stay in shape.

[Crawf]

There is a simple approach that I use for all my lifting sessions.
Lift something from the floor(deads, cleans etc), press something overhead(military, push press, jerks etc) and do a deep knee bend (squats, lunges)... all on your feet.
In it's most simple form this approach will work just about every muscle in your body in the same session, and flog your lungs if you are lifting enough.

[ColinOldnCranky]

From early teens to now, approaching sixty, I have pretty continuously worked to maintain a higher than average amount of strength, for my sport and for other activities from early high school to now. Gym work at school, some at uni, then clubs even before Laurie Potters. And since 40 when I had my kids I have been workign out at home with my own machines, freeweights and other stuff. From my teens I had the advantage of a better-than-normal understanding of gyms and weight training (gymnastics was my main sport).

So, my advice, for what it is worth - aimed at working out at moderate levels as a lifetime thing

If you are a few years or more past puberty and you are seventy kg, then it is likely that is about the right weight for you. If you are now seeking to add ten kg then you should also question yourself on the likely long term benefit as it could be less positive and more negative. You can get lots of power without much increase in weight.

If you are gonna build up above your current and stable weight be wary. There is some danger in maintaining it for life. For example, I have never done massive powerbuilding and body building levels, just what is needed to enable me tio launch the boat without fear, do some bricklaying and other stuff, support me in basketball, etc. Yet in the last decade I have torn both longhead bicep tendoms from bone. Ditto for my rh supraspinatus tendon (three times), my infraspinatus t(wice) and my subscapularus coming close (twice). I am currently recovering from my third stint of significant shoulder work. There are a number of reasons and many things I could have done better but will you do better? Thinking you will and actually doing so are not the same.

Don't get me wrong, there are substantial benefits in being a little more powerful and comfortable when doing fairly heavy activities. I am certainly still more functional than most of my peers and a lot of that is due to comfortable extra power. But the risk is there so, as I said, be wary.

But as an inspiration, a demionstrationthat it does not need to be so, look no further thanTom Hafey. Following are current at age 80, and afaik he has not needed to attend surgery any more than anyone else of his age. It can be done.

• Do not expect a lot of help from gym membership in terms of protecting you from damage by watching out for you or even with adequate advice and knowledge. The business model does not allow for it.
• A great source of info and understanding is at http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html
• The best source of freeweights are hock shops as they charge by the kg and will be half the price of new.Besides, fresh new weights just look like someone has hit mid-life crisis, used weigths give the appearance that you are in it for the long run. In due course you need a lot of freeweight even without bodybuidling in order to have several different items set up in advance. I have 300kg of weight plates (excluding grips, bars, collars, etc) including machine-weights and I have never worked at bodybuilding or power lifting and have never been bulked-up or buff.
• Those gee-whiz breakthru wonder-machines on TV shopping channels are mostly crap.
• Rowing machines are one of the great things to have in your shed - especially the hydraulic ones for reasons of space. (I wish I had never given mine away )
• Make your own superior really l-o-n-g exercise bands out of shock-chord (from BCF, Bunnings charge about three times the price) - My own designe are simple, great for taking with you on trips, light, easy to attach to structures. PM me and I will send some detail and pics.
• In my experience, those comical/extreme looking ultra-body-builder junkies are a great source of help and knowledge at a level of detail you will not find elsewhere and without judging you adeversely. They do not try and induct you into their way of life and competition if yo do not want it - just knowledgeable and helpfull and safe.

+1 to vanders thinking - knowing that you have a reserve of strength gives you confidence to a lot of things that otherwise you would not do. Or if you did, would cause you injury one day. But you can add strenngth witout a great deal of bulk. Far less than 10kg on a 70kg frame. I look at footballers of similar underlying size as a healthy and very lean me and note how much heavier they are. Not very. Don't set a weight target at all. Just work at it until you have got to what you are happy with.

[notwal]

Not so much body building as de-wimping

There are good reasons for anyone but particularly older guys to do some weights resistance training.
1) It maintains an appropriate level of strength
2) It keeps your bones hard
3) It keep your testosterone levels up

The last one is often overlooked. Keeping your hormone levels up directly affects your sense of well being. It's good for your energy and concentration not to mention your libido. It's also good for recovery.

I'm an older bloke and for many years I used to maintain a modest weights program. I hit every muscle group once a week but I wasn't into supplements (except for a bit of protein) or a precision diet.
When I got back on the bike 13 months ago I stopped the weights only because I rode every day and didn't feel like lifting after riding.
I lost a lot of weight in about six months and then stabilised. Then I started to notice the strength loss. For me that manifests as shoulder niggles as well as a loss of facility in everyday heaving stuff about. Now I am back at the gym once or twice a week and I'm feeling better for it. I don't expect to put on more than 3 or 4 kilos with the work that I'm doing, even so I'm ambivalent about putting on ANY weight that makes me slower up hills. I'll see how I go.

The other thing I have to do is get back into yoga. I recommend it. Flexibility is the third leg of fitness.

[dynamictiger]

I find Swimming to be far more complimentary to cycling and better for building my body. This could be because I have been a swimmer for many years before I had a break for oh a few (read 30) years, returning later.

I am not built like most of you fellows think more like the Hulk (by the way, before you start telling me I can loose more weight etc, I would point out I can lift most 4 cylinder motors straight out of a car). Got up to 130 ish kilograms, went on a diet, started an exercise program and in 12 weeks weighed in at 115kg. Went on holidays gained a kilo or so, and am now nearly back to what I was a few weeks ago. I find Swimming is developing my triceps, shoulders, chest and back. Kicking is strengthening my core muscles and then to really give everything a kick along I go to a few classes at the local gym.

HTH