Building Arms Like The Pros

[ballpindriveway]

What do the pros (see here: http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/photos/2004/tour04/stage16/VIRENQUE.jpg) do in order to develop highly defined arms without adding bulk?

 

[Big GMaC]

What do the pros (see here: http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/photos/2004/tour04/stage16/VIRENQUE.jpg) do in order to develop highly defined arms without adding bulk?

have under 5% body fat.

And that particular pro would have some help from a range of lovely substances talked about in another part of the forum.

But mainly the having no fat part.

 

[forty four]

what do you mean most pros look like **** regarding upper body anything. i have the opposite problem of trying to reduce upper body mass and my body fat hovers around 7% or less. if your not a paid pro then looking like one is not a good idea health wise. endurance athletes at the highest elite level are not always the healthiest individuals by any stretch.

 

[mountaindew]

that's a result of gh use.

 

[lostintime]

Besides the low body fat..... riding out of the saddle as Virenque did so much, naturally tones the arms to look like that.

The bottom line, pros don't give a rats **** what their arms look like, or their legs. They're paid to ride fast. The refinement of the body is simply a by-product of riding mile after mile after mile.

Want to look like a pro ? Become one.... or at least train like one, 5-7 hours a day.

 

[mountaindew]

it's gh.....

 

[jmax22]

what do you mean most pros look like **** regarding upper body anything. i have the opposite problem of trying to reduce upper body mass and my body fat hovers around 7% or less. if your not a paid pro then looking like one is not a good idea health wise. endurance athletes at the highest elite level are not always the healthiest individuals by any stretch.

My sentiments exactly, why the hell would anyone want to look like a pro bike racer, unless they were actually a pro. Most of them look like anorexic holocaust victims from Ethiopia. Not really a good look.

 

[ballpindriveway]

My question was actually about developing high definition for strength, not looks. What I want to know is:

Do pros lift weights for upper body strength?

If yes, how to do they avoid bulking up?

If not, how do they get the definition? Just eating less and riding lots?

 

[mountaindew]

no they don't lift for upper body strength. Maybe the pure sprinters.
the gh. That helps too.

 

[daviel]

Just do pushups, and other calisthenics.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

Some pros weight train in the offseason, but they don't lift heavy weights. Low weight and many reps will add definition and minimally increase strength. Personally, I do core work 2-3 times a week and pushups throughout the day: 50-60 in the mornings, same at night. I've found that my upper body is toned but not huge.

It won't make you a better cyclist, but it will prevent your body from looking horribly disproportioned. The core work, however, can make you a faster sprinter.

 

[ergmonkey]

Not to disagree with what's been posted already about the effects of training and drugs, but I think a more fundamental factor is being ignored: body type. You can't just pick a random athlete and then say "I want my body to look like his." Especially since Virenque was very sinewy even for a pro. Plenty of pros will never look like Virenque, let alone somebody hanging around these forums. Moreover, getting to that point likely would not result in most of us doing our best riding (to say nothing of the health concerns already detailed).

 

[galaxy1]

most pros look, funnily enough, like they ride bikes for several hours a day. skinny with big legs.
if you really want to look like that, go and ride 5 hours every day for the next 6 months and see what happens.

 

[daviel]

yes...and don't eat enough. Here is a better "core" exercise regimen. This is only video #2. Check out the other 4, too. handy for riding in Afganistan I suppose.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4vacQnspQI&feature=channel

 

[forty four]

from my experience in the gym and on the road its really a matter of genetics when i for example get lean i get definition all over with no effort aside from diet and training. i dont lift at all as i gain weight right away. on the other hand i know riders who simply cannot get lots of lean definition no matter what they do same goes for weightlifters i know some cannot gain well at all. for some it comes easy for others its difficult. even in the pro tour ranks you will see that some riders are naturally more prone to lean visible muscle than others even though there similar in body fat%. its not gh or anything else simply diet training and above all else GENETICS.

 

[forty four]

a good example is sprinters and climbers one cannot do what the other does because of the genes controlling muscle mass and whether its type 1 fast twitch or type 2 slow twitch this is not the only factor of course but its easy to see visually.

 

[pedaling squares]

If you can lift a full bidon to your mouth you have as much muscle as Virenque has in that photo. The difference is that he is lean, lean, lean and the muscles are more visible.