I'm a cyclist who started lifting. I have naturally wide hips and kind of muscular legs but when people look at my upper body, they think I have an eating disorder.
So I decided to gain upper body muscle mass and "sklp leg day", however after doing my research, I realized that working out my legs will produce more testosterone which will lead to more overall gains.
Now, I look ridiculously feminine and I really don't want to have my hips and legs wider due to more muscles.
>inb4 you're a faggot just do squats and leg extensions because otherwise you'll have chicken legs.
I don't think I'd ever have chicken legs, even if I really wanted to. My body stores fat in my ass and my thighs, plus my legs are already quite muscular.
I think I should just do leg exercises with lower weight and higher reps. Maybe that way, there would be less hypertrophy but I'd still get them sweet growth hormones. However, I'm not sure it works this way, what do you guys think?
>>35155255
Just do fucking SS or strong lifts. If your legs are already so developed a little squatting isn't going to make them blow up even more and your upper body will catch up.
Nothing you can possibly do will make your legs bigger than cycling will.
>>35155278
Should I do SS right away? I asked a trainer at my gym to show me how to do deadlifts with proper form and he told me that deadlifts is an advanced exercise and I need to condition my body before starting it otherwise I could get injured. Then he tried to sell me a program but I don't want to waste money on that. Do you agree with him, if yes, how long should I condition my body to be able to do deadlifts properly?
Hey op. I just wanted to say youre not alone - all my fat goes to my thighs/glutes. Maybe i should take up cycling...
>>35155298
SS doesn't start you on deadlifts immediately either. Just read the program. When people post a routine and call it SS they're actually just copying the final stage of the program.
>>35155301
It is pretty fun but from my aesthetic perspective, I kind of regret it. I've developed BDD about it but maybe weightlifting will fix my physique. I don't think I'll ever have a V-taper but maybe I could have Christian Bale's body (since he has a similar bone structure as me).
>>35155315
I'll be sure to read it, thanks. I would still like to know if endurance training produces testosterone though.
>>35155255
>>35155278
Dude, SS alone leaves you in T-Rex mode. If you already have bigger lower body than upper body avoid it. Also many claim that testosterone gains by squats are bullshit, they dont boost it anymore than any other heavy lift. As for you, I would do squats with heavy weight (like in 5 rep range) to get strenght gains and leave out other exercises like leg press since they are for hypertrophy purpouses.
>>35155363
Thank you based anon. should i do 5 sets with 5 reps? Once or twice a week?
>>35155255
another heavy cyclist checking in here, started lifting recently to counteract this awful developing cyclist body
my main thing is finding it difficult to eat enough to make up for the calories lost
are we gonna make it?
>>35155382
It depends on your routine and how often you cycle. For example if you are going to deadlift when doing back your quads will get some work so squats once a week would be sufficient. Also you dont want to train legs day before cycling session.
>>35155409
have you tried using energetic gels like the pros do? if yes/cant afford, oats blended with milk
>>35155409
We're gonna make it brah. I know it's very uncomfortable to eat more than you're used to but after a while your stomach will stretch and it's going to be all ogre. At least from my personal experience.
>>35155423
I'm not going to cycle for a few months now because of snow so perhaps I should do squats twice a week.
>>35155454
Yeah then squats twice a week is a good idea. Maybe alternate with back and front squats?
>>35155463
What if I do 3 reps? Would that be a good idea?
"This has very little impact on size gains but increases strength will be definitely be great. Little to no protein turnover occurs when using this particular rep range as load is too high and mechanical work is too low."
>>35155435
>>35155454
yeah, I'm slamming down gels on big ride days but in reality coming back from a 7/8 hour 80-100mile ride day with approx ~3k calories burned off it's near impossible to recover that
i guess the key is just to exercise less at this point if I want to concentrate on mass and strength, but it's a tough pill to swallow and worry it'd affect cycling performance
we'll make it but it's a rough road ahead
>>35155482
It seems reasonable too. 3-5 rep range is most commonly reffered as "strenght range". There will still be small muscle gains (caloric surplus and shit) but propably taken down to minimum.
>>35155501
All comes down to priorities in your life.
>>35155524
Do I need to condition my body for squats like I have to for deadlifts or can I do it straight away? I'm a bit worried that I can get injured because 3-5 reps are with pretty heavy weights. Or should I start light to learn proper form?
>>35155548
Definetly dont go into working with shitload of weight straight away. Start with watching some YT videos about technique, mental approach and such. Then warm up with some dynamic movements like bodyweight squats and jumps. Start squating with bar alone, preferably ask somebody to watch your form. If it's all right (straight back, no hip thrust, no butt wink, parallel or below) work your way up with weights till you find a weight you can do for 5 sets and still feel you have some power in the tank (you dont need to completely devastate yourself at the beginning).
>>35155581
Ment 5 reps, not 5 sets.
>>35155581
I'm very very thankful for your advice. I have one more question though. If I work out my lats and shoulders 3 times a week (twice for hypertrophy and once for strength) would I get bigger gains or would I just over-train the muscles?
>>35155255
You need to post pics of your so called t-rex mode and your squat 1RM if you want anybody of here to legit help you on the problem, cause the chances are that you're just legit being a bitch.
>>35155640
I just started going to the gym and I've never even done squats.
>chances are that you're just legit being a bitch
Even if I was, what difference would it make? Bigger upper body is all I want.
>>35155624
Overtraining (for non-professional) is a meme, mostly people associate their symptoms with overtraing while they are under-regenarating (not sleeping enough, bad nutrition). Theoretically yes, you will maximize your gains with training each body part 2-3 times a week, just dont go overboard with volume. 16 sets for back spread throughout the week is enough. Also remember that almost all chest exercises work your delts too so if you are not doing a full body routine, 3 times a week for shoulders could be too much.
>>35155255
Lifting (big) weights will increase your test level but not by much and it (I mean the increase in test) won't have a dramatic effect on your muscle gains, but it will probably make you feel better; what you can do is fix possible imbalances in your diet/lifestyle that may affect your test production.
Endurance training (like cycling) has some health benefits associated to it, so you should keep doing it
>>35155989
Thanks for the advice. What kind of imbalances may affect test production?
FYI that even genetics do play role in where your body stores fat, fat storing to tighs and ass is a sign of estrogen dominance.
You can't possible cycle yourself big legs. Your legs are big cause of there's fat and some muscle from cycling.
You need to build your upper body and lift heavy weights, Do cycling if you enjoy it, but ain't gonna give you proper aesthetic gains in any sense. Pretty useless desu, unless you do HIIT. That's great cardio. Running would be better though.
>>35155255
Carb intake?
Cardiofags are massive Carb consumers. Without resistance training, the body doesn't need to retain glucose, so you end losing muscle mass
I recommend the Anabolic diet book just to understand the opposite side of the spectrum
I am not saying that you should follow the diet, but understand how the body test and muscle retention improves on low Carb training sessions, just the opposite of cardio training
Been there, cardio addict which led to zero muscle, and uncontrollable hungry... I was eating 70% carbs to fuel my running, and people started thinking that I was anorexic, while I was eating 3000kcal a day
>>35155255
>I have naturally wide hips
>I look ridiculously feminine
You sound cute, post pics.
>>35156157
>>35156356
I was thinking about taking up mountain biking instead of cycling. It's more like HIIT than endurance running. Would that be better for aesthetics?
>>35156475
Not gonna happen
>>35155255
I wouldn't trust /fit/ with this question. Google studies about it.
>>35155255
No, endurance training by itself will turn you into a girl. Seriously, there are studies on this.
>>35156493
i started doing HIIT instead of long distance, muscle mass improved
but HIIT works against muscle building if you don't take serious rest periods and high cal intake
For any cardio fan, not doing cardio sounds like not an option, but you need a calorie surplus AND resistance training to build muscle:
Cardio makes you weak
HIIT is leg and heart strength training, so it steals from upper body gains basically