hismaimai2000

I cycled down to 135lbs lost lot fat then stopped and did weight training gained fat and muscle now I'm actually faster Being 30lbs heavier. I was averaging 25km an hour over 20 miles now I'm doing 27km an hour. Lol I was expecting to be slower since gained 30 lbs but my back squat has improved from doing sets with 135 to 225

Stormsedge

Yes. It makes sense understanding the work you put in and the type of weight (likely muscle) you gained. Your body is probably managing any fat more efficiently and to your advantage during physical exertion...and we have to carry a little fat. I've read (and noticed myself) that is what happens. Sorry for the layman' s term...I'm sure someone more scientific than I will come along and explain it better.

mcours2006

Well, of course you're faster. You've got more muscle/power in your legs. You might be slower on climbs though.

indyfabz

Interesting first post.

mcours2006

Didn't notice it was his first post. Actually, I thought you couldn't start a thread until you've 10 posts.

Colnago Mixte

Maybe he had an honest face. Besides, we have a long tradition here of potential flame-war-causing first posts. Just be thankful he didn't bring up dogs, helmets, VC, or chain maintenance.

burnthesheep

Do what makes you happy.

But, average speed is a horrible indicator of cycling prowess. There's an entire topic in here on this already.

For you, 135 might be too small. People have different cycling talents. Rouler, climber, sprinter, pursuit, etc.... 135 is a climber build. But if you don't have the power to match the weight, it won't work. Then again, if a person weighs 185 lbs but can't crack into the 4-digit watts for sprints.....they're not a sprinter.

If you're just recreational and maybe some quicker group rides, not sure your height, but 165 is probably right in the middle to smaller/middle weight range from what I see. So not large whatsoever. Also, if you're not trying to specialize too much, nothing wrong with a little balance by keeping up with some weights. I wouldn't do TOO much though if you want to be fresh for some punishing bike workouts. Aching quads are no good heading into interval workouts.

I'd say , if you rode with our group, you'd start getting dropped once you get around the 185 lbs mark unless you're an actual coached sprinter that races. The guys around that weight tend to start falling back on longer 2% rises or anything over 4% or so for more than a minute.

But at 165, you're in a really nice happy - medium. So, enjoy your progress! You might be a sprinter or pursuiter!

livedarklions

Muscle to weight ratio matters a lot, especially on hills, as you've just discovered.

I actually have found there's a weight that if I get below, I get noticeably weaker to the point I notice having to put more effort into pulling doors open, etc. I could probably be a little faster rider if I lost 10 pounds, but I'd have to do that by giving up a lot of upper body strength. At my age, I think I'd look and feel like crap.

Assuming you're not trying to be a competitive rider, I think it's best to find the weight/muscle mass you feel best at, and your style of riding will take care of itself.

Flip Flop Rider

check out the sprinters versus the climbers in professional cycling. Greipal or Kittle (sprinters) vs. Quintana (climber). The sprinters are muscled up

jgwilliams

This is true depending what sort of training you've been doing. All other things being equal losing weight will improve your power to weight ratio, which will help on hills. I imagine that developing your upper body would be unhelpful in this respect.

Colnago Mixte

The ideal cycling figure, as displayed by Fausto Coppi.






After seeing that, I'm considering taking a month off from riding.

Koyote

Back when I was training more seriously, I would drop to around 163 lbs at the end of base training. (I'm 6'2".) At that point, I would start to feel weaker.

A bit more muscle helps the body to process fat into energy more efficiently, as someone else noted. This is probably helping the OP, as well as the exercise in general.

CliffordK

Watch this YouTube clip.


It is a bit long, but a fun clip, and shows the difference between "Road" and "Track" cyclists.

The track cyclists can lay out a LOT of POWER. But, the Roadies take it on the hills.

wolfchild

Gaining some muscle is never a bad thing. I used to weigh 154 pounds few years ago, then I started eating more calories and training with kettlebells and doing a lot of bodyweight exercises like pull ups, dips and push ups and now I weigh 185 pounds...I feel and look so much better at 185, I never want to go back to 154.

Teamprovicycle

Not takin hills into the count thats pretty slow for avrg speed thats like 16 mph how much elevation are we talkin? Just wondering .

Im the opposite i stopped gym work and went all bike work and im way faster now .

Colnago Mixte

Same here. When I used to do heavy squats, my quads would really swell up when I got on the bike, making riding more difficult. And some days I would be too sore from lifting to ride. FWIW, I was doing about an hour a day of weights, six days a week alternating legs, chest and arms, doing the protein powders and all that.

I think at some point, you have to pick which sport you wanna go with, and I find the bike 10 times more fun than the best day I ever had in the gym. So I went with that. I still do some standing dumbell curls though, for my posture more than anything.

wolfchild

Cycling speed is not my No.1 priority, I am not a racer... I am just a recreational rider and commuter and I am more interested in building a strong, athletic, functional and fit body capable of doing many different types of things. You don't have to look like a starved anorexic to be a good cyclist.

BillyD

They can start threads, but they need 10 posts to post a photo or post a link. This as anti-spam measures, of course.

Happy Feet

Weight without height isn't very illuminating. Is that 135 at 6'2" or 5'2"?

livedarklions

True, and even knowing height that tells us nothing about percentage of muscle.

Wheever

Wcollins00

smashndash

Nobody has said this yet, but on the flats, weight is power. The heavier you are, the faster you are, not counting accelerations. I once wore a 40lb backpack, while weighing ~132lbs and felt significantly more powerful on the bike. It really helps you put down torque and pedal fast without bobbing as much.

Now if the weight you put on was muscle, you get even more benefit on the flats. Climbs, of course, are a different story.

KraneXL

Gain weight, get faster? I think not. On the other hand, if the above were true, the OP is leaving out pertinent enough information to fill a database. There's more to it than that...a lot more.

Ritalalala

Your body fat rate is changing, you are stronger, so cycling better.