Physiology of a Cyclist

[De Sisti]

The runner, I'd indeed noticed, was quite well built and clearly feeling the heat.

Perhaps the runner had been out for ages, after having ran many miles and hadn't hydrated
themselves enough (hence feeling the heat). You shouldn't rush to judge people you know nothing about.

I know cyclists in our club who have been riding for years and don't exhibit the physical traits you mention. Some of them are just very strong riders.

[Tangled Metal]

Bulging veins in your arms and low body fat are symptomatic of a long rock climbing career. Or just regular climbing over a few years. I had them once. I was about 60kg and 6'5" tall but could hang upside down for ages and walk fast and far. Chin ups were a joke, I could do them for fun and only needed two fingers per hand to grip with. 30 single arm pull ups usually finished my training session, well apart from the stretches for flexibility. Human pipe cleaner with big forearms and my legs were big too. Your calf muscles get a workout from climbing and I've always had big thighs (muscle not fat).

Since cycling my muscles in my legs have really just gone back to my climbing days.

My point being you can't really judge a leisure cyclist by his or her physique with reliable results. There's many sports that can result in similar physical changes and developments. Plus ppl do multiple sports so bodies become optimised for those which can create non standard physiques.

I think the signifiers the op and others pointed out are probably not what really identifies a fellow cyclist. Chances are it's the gear freak part in them that gets noticed. Walking down the street and a bike goes past, keen cyclists all tend to look at what they're riding. If you look for that you'll get a better indicator of keen cyclists.

It's like when your partner catches you looking at a member of the opposite sex on a bike and they're not bothered because they know you're looking at the bike!

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Moving on a bike creates a reactionary breeze, just try that running or walking, imagine cycling down hill on a fixed gear, that's what walking / running feels like, agreed that when stationary the heat is felt.
As for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_physiology, worth a read , I am, good bits on dehydration, and heat effects also reversing with fluid!

I think that it will depend on age, but old and thin should still show something used there, but a cyclist normally shows quad development above the knee and larger thighs than a lean non cyclist, quad development in a cyclist is unique if you compare to gym guys and tennis players at high level! , calfs do not dynamically produce power despite activation (they transfer power without changing shape...shortening or lengthening..not) hence slender calves unless you are a full back.

Undeveloped top body with good leg muscles is always a good sign you are.
Cycling uses the largest muscle('s) in the body and along with swimming are rated best form of exercise, I don't get the fast short bouts of exercise stands up in the long run for fitness, strength yes if you keep it up when young but ability to carry on short bouts of energy in old age will disappoint unless you keep fit with regular exercise, only mandatory forced carrots will have effect in reversing the modern physiology of man back to hunter gatherers.........

[Mick F]

I think the signifiers the op and others pointed out are probably not what really identifies a fellow cyclist. Chances are it's the gear freak part in them that gets noticed. Walking down the street and a bike goes past, keen cyclists all tend to look at what they're riding. If you look for that you'll get a better indicator of keen cyclists.

During the summer, we tend to wear shorts socially, not just cycling, also short sleeved shirts etc. Legs and arms are on show, and I maintain that cyclists look different to "normal" folk.

No doubt there are exceptions due to other activities, but keen cyclists are more common.

[horizon]

It has been said (sorry, cannot find the link) that people with well developed leg muscles (that is to say, cyclists ) are nicer people than those with well developed upper bodies.

NB Not my theory but I'm happy to go along with it!

[Tangled Metal]

The opposite of cyclist's physique is probably steroid fueled body builders!

You will have seen the type. First but of good weather and they're out in vests (muscle shirts) showing off their guns and bulk, but look down and they're out of proportion. I mean skinny legs.

Years ago I used to work out for stamina not bulk. At b the gym each night I was there three big guys (door security types) came in and used the weights and resistance machines for half an hour (in their jeans and street clothes too). I went on the leg press machine after them. I assumed they were on silly weights so reduced the weight. They were on lower weights than I used when I was 15 at school multi gym! If their upper body was in proportion to their legs they'd be the sort of kid who'd get sand kicked in their face on the beach.

There's a lot of steg heads round where I work. Walking around in vests or nothing on top. With their swagger and baggy shorts hiding their scrawny legs.

Whereas cyclists (and others) look pretty normal upper body (veins on arms like climbers aside) but with quads the size of Atlas'. BTW ballet dancers also tend to have big quads but skinnier upper bodies (women but some of the men too). Just thought I'd add that.

Basically we're all a similar base model of a species, what extras we get is down to what we do with our bodies. There's only so many extras possible so pick your requirements. Any activity you like to do will select the extras for you if you do it enough.

I am the exception with that. I do not deserve the love handles and middle age spread. I should be a six pack wielding adonis with my activity levels, honest! They are there if you look past the party keg out front!

[Mick F]

Love Handles
Party Keg

That's me!
I'm actually lighter than I was 10 or 15 years ago.
Rode LEJOG and BACK in 2006.

My weight had many people guessing. I was weighed before the start at 13st 2lb. At 50p a guess you took a stab at my finishing weight. I can reveal now that I lost a little. I was weighed in at 12 stone 11 and a half pounds. Not much of a loss I know, but I bulked out on my legs, and muscle is heavier than fat. I lost a bit around my face, neck, shoulders and tummy. The sweepstake raised £24.

I'm 12st 5lbs now, and have been down to 11st 11lbs a year or so ago.

[Peter W]

Bodily appearance is often deceptive. A strong person with a highish percentage of body fat will look far more formidable than an equally strong person with a lower level of body fat. A big virtue of cycling is that it builds the stamina to maintain long periods of highish power output, as against short bursts of more extreme strengh and power output. (Though cyclists can also use shorter bursts of power, of course, but not to weight lifters standards.)

I find my two main sports of cycling, both road and M.T.B., and windsurfing in high winds,give an ideal (for my build) balance of all round fitness. Add in kayaking, when the wind doesn't oblige, which is great for core strength and arm muscle build, and the net result is a combination of strength, stamina, and rubbery flexibility. (Windsurfing East coast today - strong sea breeze and blast about with twisting and bending etc.)

I also find that the body can adjust to an extent to a degree of dehydration (frequent when highly active in a wetsuit in Summer) which carries over to cycling. It worked that way on Monday in that I was partially dehydrated at the finish, yet with no drastic effect on pedalling speed. (107 miles with 5,280 feet of climbing in hot weather, at an average speed of 12.6 m.p.h. all in. (Nothing in club cycling circles, but how many of them are my age?)

At anyrate, I feel content with how things now are, and have no desire to train, or try to man the **** up, as seems to be the incessant cry of many!

[Mick F]

.....107 miles with 5,280 feet of climbing in hot weather, at an average speed of 12.6 m.p.h. all in.

In June 2008, aged pushing 56, I rode Cheddar to home 106miles 5973ft of ascent with a heavy trailer behind me. Average moving speed 12.1mph.
That's only 56ft per mile. Usual for me is 100ft per mile so it was "flat".

You did 107miles with 5280ft of ascent = 49ft per mile.

[jimlews]

It's like when your partner catches you looking at a member of the opposite sex on a bike and they're not bothered because they know you're looking at the bike!

Your bike gets jealous though! They are all female; 'the contrary evidence of a cross-bar, notwithstanding'.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Surprising really, I am a tad taller than Mick but I am 12.25 stone, must be his beer legs
like to get down to 11.5.

[Peter W]

Sounds as though you were a disciple of Percy Cerutty, Mr. Ankles. Especially as regards his long stride mantra. Some of us also apply that to fast walking speed, which gets somewhat frustrating about town when getting all tangled up with ambling ,dithering, can't make our mind up where we're going, shopping zombies.

Mind you, that's as nothing compared to when we vigorously stride up the super market aisles, trying not to scatter dozens (I don't like metric - I'm British!) of waddling old ladies into the fruit and veg displays. (Ten waddles from side to side for just two feet forward progress seems to be the norm there.)

I believe most regular cyclists are simply incompatible with slowness. We seem to be slaves to furious activity, sometimes without a purpose, and I wonder whether that is an acquired characteristic (from association with our 'magic carpet' two wheelers), or just that we have to become cyclists because we were born to be impatient?

[robing]

Most cyclists you can see it in their quads, particularly the vmo, the smaller quad on the inside. A lot of cyclists do have big paunches though in contrast to runners who are usually much leaner.

[GarethF]

I think most sports will develop a stereotypical body shape in a majority of regular participants. As a student many years ago I got roped in to a dissertation project where a flatmate was researching psychometric type assumptions that people make about others based on their body shape/physique. The results were interesting, not least because in the end most of the subjects who were photographed were from the university sailing club and allowing for differences in size and stature were all basically the same shape. The judgments people make about you based on the ratio of your shoulder width to forearm/waist etc etc was eye opening.

As cyclists I think there's a large sartorial component to the judgments people make about us however!
G

[MikeF]

Not sure what I look like, except an old geezer on a bike!