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Oops-Proof Your Workout
Mistake #3: You Stick to the Bike for All Your Sweat Sessions
If you feel as though your thighs are getting bigger than you'd like, you may be overdoing the cycling. "On an exercise bike, you're working a very specific group of muscles, and if you're hitting it hard four or five times a week, you will see development there," says Gary Sforzo, PhD, a professor of exercise and sport sciences at Ithaca College in New York.
The Solution: Unless cycling is your competitive event, cut it to once or twice a week and fill the gap with a variety of on-your-feet activities, from using the elliptical trainer to taking a dance class. "Every exercise affects your legs in different ways," Sforzo says. When you do cycle, lower the resistance level and increase the speed, Bushman suggests. "It's the overload on the muscles that causes the increase in muscle mass," she adds.
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I agree with mich4fit... do not lower resistance and add speed. I too am a certified spinning instructor and ride everyday. My thighs are not big, but sculpted and toned. It is a falacy that you get huge theighs from spinning. Women do not develop muscle atrophy the way men do. If your thighs are getting big, it is because of eating too much.
8/18/2011 03:44:20 AM Report AbuseAgreed. Also, if your legs are getting bigger from cycling, then you need to find a cycling instructor that knows what he or she is doing. You should never ride the same type of rides multiple times in a week. You should never overwork your quads in a spin class. If your spinning instructor is not teaching different types of rides, find another class to go to.
8/17/2011 11:12:36 AM Report AbuseDO NOT TELL PEOPLE TO LOWER THE RESISTANCE AND INCREASE THE SPEED! As a group exercise director I have the hardest time getting people to not ride without enough tension and riding too fast. They are out of control of the wheel and centrifical force is increasing on their knees! To really build don't you need to keep the reps really low? How many Spin classes do you know about that keep the reps (how many times you circle the wheel) in a 45 or 60 minute class.
3/13/2011 10:49:15 AM Report Abuse