Do people's legs REALLY get this big without HGH and steroids??

[santacruz]

 

[BikeCentric]

LOL that's not natural.

 

[blackcat]

who is it?

come on, this is the alternate to the Wigans Paris Roubaix photo, the visual illusion.

looks like Prince Edward in the background

 

[santacruz]

Just saw those legs in a new CN article..

http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/team-torq/an-unexpected-arrival-in-the-united-kingdom

I just wish I could look at someone and instantly tell if they are a doper!! I am starting to suspect fellow amateurs that I ride with!! Some guys I ride with have legs that are so big and sculpted they just look unreal, am I just not riding correctly?? lol... some guys I used to drop like a sack of potatoes, now they drop me like it ain't no sweat. Ugh all this doping is really getting to me! both the real and imagined!

 

[timbat]

And that is a girl too ?

 

[bridgeman]

Just saw those legs in a new CN article..

http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/team-torq/an-unexpected-arrival-in-the-united-kingdom

I just wish I could look at someone and instantly tell if they are a doper!! I am starting to suspect fellow amateurs that I ride with!! Some guys I ride with have legs that are so big and sculpted they just look unreal, am I just not riding correctly?? lol... some guys I used to drop like a sack of potatoes, now they drop me like it ain't no sweat. Ugh all this doping is really getting to me! both the real and imagined!

This has always been an interesting question as there are people on our training rides that have recently gone through similar transformations. The same questions come up after the rides everytime.

Reminds me of a guy years ago that told me I should try HGH. At times he was a monster on the bike and had a very odd personality. Any of you guys train on the Noonride or Spectrum ride in SF Bay Area? Sounds like we are talking about the same people.

 

[forty four]

its a pic of a little girl rider at an odd angle that is all. seriously i assume the thread was started as a joke if you have chicken legs go to the gym or train harder and improve your diet. this reminds me of when i use to work out with weights i happen to gain real easy and get good definition quickly i also eat well i have been accused of steroid use many times its funny. mainly it is by those who cannot gain muscle or definition so they assume all who can are doping this makes the weaker individuals feel better about there physical/mental inadequacies.

 

[Martin318is]

A friend I trained with when I was at university was a sprinter riding track rather than the road. He was so sculpted that the physiology lecturer in the Nursing faculty used to get him into class during the semester as a living maniquin to show students the way that muscles and bone levers interact.

I absolutely know with no doubt whatsoever that he was 100% clean. He didn't even drink coffee or take multi-vitamins, let alone take any medications. He just at very carefully and prepared all his own food from raw fresh ingredients. He had perfect lifting form in the gym and took every repetition seriously.

Does his doing is all clean mean that everyone with big legs is clean? NOPE!
(but at least it IS possible)

 

[santacruz]

mainly it is by those who cannot gain muscle or definition so they assume all who can are doping this makes the weaker individuals feel better about there physical/mental inadequacies.

nah I don't honestly believe anyone is a doper unless I see them jamming a needle in their thigh, lol. and it doesn't make me feel better, I pretty much just feel like a slow poke cat 4 loser 24/7, ha ha.

it makes me wonder though, because I know a lot of incredibly fast people who can go longer and faster than anyone around, and their legs just look like mine pretty much, lean and slightly defined... but then there are those with crazy monster looking legs, does it mean they are better sprinters or something? is the big muscle usually fast twitch?

 

[Red Lobster]

but then there are those with crazy monster looking legs

Means exactly zero. Freaked me out my first races as a junior, till I recognized that me and my skinny legs were doing fine while many of those freaky leg dudes were out the back (even in crits).

 

[barn yard]

OP needs to go and have a look at some WC level track racing if he wants to see what big legs look like, i wonder if gregory bauge can even buy jeans off the shelf?

(for the record i am not suggesting gregory is on any type of illegal program)

 

[bc_hills]

OP needs to go and have a look at some WC level track racing if he wants to see what big legs look like, i wonder if gregory bauge can even buy jeans off the shelf?

(for the record i am not suggesting gregory is on any type of illegal program)

for example:

http://www.otbphoto.com/files/3403113327_4e694e7961_o.jpg

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I just wish I could look at someone and instantly tell if they are a doper!!

What level are you racing? Cat 4? Maybe I'm more naive than I thought, but I refuse to believe there are many Cat4's out there doping.

Just as Martin said, the inverse can be true. Rasmussen was jacked on who knows what, and he was a twig. TH was on HGH, steroids, EPO, etc. and remained tiny, and didn't exactly have thunder thighs.

 

[santacruz]

yah it's probably just genetic, and how much you focus on sprinting..

I don't think Cat 4 dopers are a big stretch, especially in NorCal where lots of these guys have plenty of money to spend on their passion/hobby. I mean, it's definitely really competitive and if you could take a little HGH and EPO and dominate some races like a crazy person, it only takes the right personality... "Hey I've spent $15,000 on equipment, and I train my *** off, but I can never seem to get a win, I'm always close though.. I just need an extra little boost.." riiiight?? You have money to burn, you just want to take a little bit to give you that edge, you read the article by Outside Magazine practically detailing how you should dope or who you could go to if you wanted to dope with a doctor... I don't think it's far fetched... Maybe it's just the broke bike racer with the same old equipment looking at the dudes who spend gobs of money and letting his imagination run wild... but some of these guys are INSANELY competitive... but your right, they might not hang out in Cat 4 very long once they get that dope in their veins, prolly move straight to 2's lickety split.

 

[Martin318is]

Not wishing to contradict myself as paraphased by Alpe, but I would relate one anecdote from the old days:

Nearly a decade ago I won an overall district championship on the track (trust me its not a big deal) but the thing that scared me at the time was that after the sprint finals where a friend and I fought it out for the win (2-0 to me that that WAS a big deal ) one of the guys who failed to make it through the semis was chatting afterwards and said:

"Man you guys were flying! I couldn't get near you and I was on the gear!"

This was apparently a bit of a mix of amphetemines, OD of asthma medication, serious caffeine levels and a few other things, but it raised two points for me:

1) If someone is willing to dope then they will do it no matter what the level of the event is

2) Just because you dope, doesn't mean your not still a scrawny tool with minor skills who can't outsprint a dead horse on a velodrome

 

[brianf7]

Means exactly zero. Freaked me out my first races as a junior, till I recognized that me and my skinny legs were doing fine while many of those freaky leg dudes were out the back (even in crits)

And them big muscles need extra oxygen the lungs can only supply so much.
keep them trim.

They also waigh a lot more than fat so you still got to drag them over the hils

 

[RhodriM]

Short answer: yes.

 

[sadfitty]

Who cares about size, this should get you skeptical. HGH alert:

http://www.bicycle.net/photopost/prologuetour-of-california-2009/p51-george-hincapie-leg-vein.html

 

[kurtinsc]

That reminds me of Angel Martino... a US Olympic Swimmer.

She was older then I was, and I was swimming in the consolation finals for the mens 100 free, just after the finals for the womens 100 free. I was right behind Martino.

Her thighs were literally as thick as my waist.

I remember staring at her legs and thinking "How the heck is THAT possible?". Of course I found out later that she tested positive for an anabolic steroid... so I guess that explains it.

That picture reminds me of her.

 

[alberto.legstrong]

nah I don't honestly believe anyone is a doper unless I see them jamming a needle in their thigh, lol. and it doesn't make me feel better, I pretty much just feel like a slow poke cat 4 loser 24/7, ha ha.

it makes me wonder though, because I know a lot of incredibly fast people who can go longer and faster than anyone around, and their legs just look like mine pretty much, lean and slightly defined... but then there are those with crazy monster looking legs, does it mean they are better sprinters or something? is the big muscle usually fast twitch?

I got thighs like oak trees. It's just more weight to spin around the crank.

Dudes with pencil legs can whip me on their recovery rides.

 

[Archibald]

I think I know who that is - if so, then it's not doping.
I've ridden with her both socially and competitively (in local dirt crits and eduros) back in Melbourne. She's simply one of those girls who's "bottom heavy"...
Really nice chick too.

 

[bc_hills]

Who cares about size, this should get you skeptical. HGH alert:

http://www.bicycle.net/photopost/prologuetour-of-california-2009/p51-george-hincapie-leg-vein.html

HGH alert? Are you joking? I've got some bizarre vascularity and it's got nothing to do with HGH. Some peoples veins are just fugly!

The moral of this thread should be, you can't tell by looking at a rider if he/she dopes.

 

[RhodriM]

The moral of this thread should be, you can't tell by looking at a rider if he/she dopes.

Quite. There's some pretty insightful stuff in the clinic, let's not dilute it too much.

 

[lean mean &green]

http://www.bicycle.net/photopost/prologuetour-of-california-2009/p51-george-hincapie-leg-vein.html

hypertrophy (muscle growth) has alot to do with muscle fiber type which is largely determined by your genetics. if you're born with mostly aerobic/slow twitch fiber, size won't increase much. fast twitch and intermediate fibers are more likely to grow larger from targeted training. a high number of fast twitch fibers and lots of sprinting equals more hypertrophy than someone born with mostly slow twitch fibers who trains long and slow. natural hormonal differences can also impact the an individual's anabolic drive. The OP picture doesn't scare me too terribly bad.

hincapie picture more an indication of increased blood "pooling" which would result from many years of hard racing/training but could be exacerbated by unnaturally high blood volume.

not a smoking gun but a strange sight which makes me skeptical.

 

[Christian]

I think Andre Greipel just looks humungous. Whether it's possible to get that big without steroids I have no idea. I just think it looks really weird.
After his stage win at the Giro he said "I'm not a machine" - he sure looks like one though