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Sitting vs standing - feel burn in opposite sides of legs

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Sitting vs standing - feel burn in opposite sides of legs

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Old 11-29-19, 04:03 PM
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RupertCornelius
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Sitting vs standing - feel burn in opposite sides of legs

Curious if this is normal, a sign of a muscle imbalance or bike fit issue or something else, but I've noticed when riding uphill, if I remain in the saddle, I always feel the burn on the outside of my quads, roughly in the muscles around where IT band goes towards knee. However, when I stand out of the saddle, I always feel it on the inside quad.

Is that just the normal difference between which muscles work hardest in which position? Does everyone have the same experience?
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Old 11-29-19, 09:10 PM
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Top of thigh used to feel the burns when on the seat going up a hill. Just above the knee would occasionally tighten when off the seat going up a hill.
that was long ago. It's not happened since and i attribute it to conditioning the legs overtime.
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Old 11-29-19, 11:30 PM
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Normal.
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Old 11-30-19, 11:03 AM
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I have same experience as well.
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Old 12-01-19, 11:35 PM
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the "quads" comprises of 4 major muscles:
vastus lateralis
vastus medialus
vastus intermedius
rectus femoris

when you sit, you're hitting the vastus laterlis more
when you stand, you're hitting the rectus femoris and vastus intermedius

that's why you feel different burn sensation at the different part of the legs
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Old 12-05-19, 09:41 AM
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Wilfred Laurier
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The best reason to stand up is because your legs are tired and you want to engage different muscle groups than you use while seated. Moving back and forth from standing to seated (and from standing with weight forward to standing with weight further back, and seated at rear of saddle to seated at tip of saddle) is a conscious strategy you can use to rotate through muscles and avoid fatigue.
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Old 12-07-19, 09:29 PM
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When I'm up out of the saddle haulin' ass up a hill,
I'm FEELING THE BERN!!!

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Old 12-08-19, 05:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Wilfred Laurier
The best reason to stand up is because your legs are tired and you want to engage different muscle groups than you use while seated. Moving back and forth from standing to seated (and from standing with weight forward to standing with weight further back, and seated at rear of saddle to seated at tip of saddle) is a conscious strategy you can use to rotate through muscles and avoid fatigue.

I don't know if that's the best reason, but it's not the only reason. I find it very useful for carrying my momentum into a steep hill climb. Also, on a flatbar, mixing it up is good just to get your butt off the saddle.
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Old 12-08-19, 05:52 AM
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Originally Posted by molten
Is this a chat/thread --- in context that whoever chooses to stand (only or sporadically) on uphills is considered a sissy, vs those who choose to only sit?

Not so far. That would be stupid, and no one has said that here.
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Old 12-09-19, 12:43 PM
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This is normal and good. As others have pointed out, sitting vs standing can be leveraged to manage fatigue in different muscle groups as well as changes in terrain. This is also the same idea of drop bars, which by enabling the hips and back to be at different angles, uses different muscle groups as well. For me personally, being able to balance fatigue and energy to gearing, terrain, elements, and position is the essence of cycling, and what I'm constantly pursuing in riding,,,
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