Why are cyclists so skinny? [The lifestyle took me from 215lbs to 180lbs]

I remember when I first got into cycling. I loved the idea that I could go for a morning ride and rise over 8 football fields in elevation, cross 40 miles to summit mount Tam and be back home for lunch. It was addicting. Many of my friends when I picked up the sport when coming off of a morning ride would ask me – why do all cyclists look like your body type? In reality, what they were asking is Why are cyclists so skinny?

When I began my aerobic training, I went from 215 pounds to 175-180 pounds. The 5 pounds of give depends on if I am cooking sticky rice and tofu for lunch or if I am opting for rice and beans – the former giving me a tad more bloat.

I noticed a pretty substantial change as I picked up my mileage, and attribute it to the overall lifestyle that I had adapted as an aerobic athlete.

In this post, I will discuss the overall lifestyle that I live, and have noticed many cyclists emulate to some degree – with their own personal choices and differences.

We will go over aerobic training, the amount of time that training can take, overall diet, muscle toning and the fat burning effects of cycling.

We will finally discuss questions regarding “Does Cycling Make you skinny?”, “What is a cyclists diet?” and “Can cycling make your legs thinner?” In short, the answer to these are not cycling specifically, but the overall lifestyle of a cyclist.

Invest in your Knowledge:

These reads may be interesting to you:

• Does Cycling Widen your hips?
• Can Cycling Help Reduce Belly Fat?
• Is walking or cycling better for belly fat?

Why are cyclists so skinny?

Cyclists are skinny because of the type of training that we do and the surrounding lifestyle that we live. We eat a ton of food, and immediately burn it. So much so that we need to eat while we are riding or our body will begin to whither.

The type of training is conducive to weight loss, and we spend a lot of time doing it.

• What is aerobic training? Aerobic training is a type of training where you are training your cardiovascular system. This system when being trained strengthens your heart and lungs, and has a substantial fat burning component to it. It does not build muscle in the same way that squats, cleans or deadlifts does, and causes the muscles to be more defined do to the overall body fat loss aspect of the training. We spend a lot of our time in aerobic zone 2 when cycling, which activates the toning aspect and body weight loss aspect of the exercise rather than the muscle building aspect. It also burns a ton of carbs while riding.
• Time Intensity: Many rides can last hours and in that time you will go through multiple cycles of carb depletion and a necessary re-up of carb, salts and sugars. In comparison, many other sedentary people will go through the need to replenish carbs ~ once per day, we may do this 4 times in one morning ride.
• Diet: The diet of a cyclist is carb heavy. Similar to the news that broke of Michael Phelps’ diet. Our body will chew through, digest and work out all of the food that we eat as it is used for fuel during the long rides. 
• Muscle Toning: Remaining in the second zone of working out will keep you active and your body fat will decrease. Because there is a deficit in the amount of fat, calories and carbs that you are taking in, your body will slowly burn through body fat as well throughout your cyclist journey.  

How do cyclists get so thin?

The reason why cyclists are so thin is because in comparison to others who eat their food and it may be digested or converted to energy eventually (over days, or weeks) the food that a cyclist eats can be cycled through to wear they need to eat 3 more times on a 4 hour ride.

Cyclists get very thin because every single intake of calories that they eat is burned off while cycling long distances. All of the sugars, calories and carbs that are taken into the body that are typically converted to body fat over time by other folks are immediately turned into energy when the cyclists are pedalling.

Cycling is an energy intensive sport. This is so much so, that if you do not eat enough, then your body will simply stop functioning while you are riding. You may have to get off the bike, pull over and stop to hail a ride.

This is because your body will simply burn through all of the available energy that it has to continue – similar to running out of gas in a car.

What does cycling do for a womens body?

Cycling causes a womens body to tone down and slim itself. Cycling causes the body to move into an aerobic state where it trains the heart and helps the body circulate energy most efficiently through the blood.

This process causes fat to burn, and for muscles to become slimmer and more toned throughout the body. Because you are working your core while riding your bicycle, you will also see muscles develop in your midsection.

Finally, the legs will slim down while tightening as well. It overall has made many people that have started riding happier with the way they look after they have seen results, but also more content with the way they look presently.

What is a cyclists diet?

A cyclists diet varies from one person to the other. Some really like post ride pizzas. Others can eat an enormous hamburger after their ride. There are also many vegan riders out there who rely on beans for protein and look to bread and pasta for carbs.

The only item that is a similarity is that the amount of sugars, carbs and salts are significantly higher than the average person. This includes, dates, bread, candy, oatmeal, yams, brown rice, and lentils. Without these important carbs, many riders would not make it through their 60, 70, 100 mile rides.

Why do cyclists eat so much?

When you are riding, cycling chews through carbs very quickly to convert it to ATP. ATP is what gas is to a car. It is the needed ingredient to keep the body moving quickly.

The body can only store a certain amount of carbohydrates at one point. Therefore, while you are riding, cyclists need to eat well in order to restore the amount of carbs in their body to create more energy.

If they do not create this energy, the body will look for other ways to convert something into energy. This process typically resorts to burning fat and turning that into energy if you are on a intensive ride – though once this process begins it is mentally and physically taxing on the body and should not be intentionally induced – regardless of your weight loss goals.

Does cycling make you skinny?

The cycling lifestyle is what makes you skinny.

Stepping on a football field and declaring that you are a football player does not make you gain weight and build muscle. though all of the things that you do to become a better player is what makes you gain weight and build muscle mass.

The high carb and protein diet, going to the gym, squats, the 40 meter dash training, high jump training, agility drills are all aspects of that will cause your body weight to change.

This is the same with cycling – the diet, training, time and type of training is what makes you skinny.

Can cycling make your legs thinner?

Yes, cycling can make your legs thinner; however, your time is best served by focusing on what you eat. The better choices for your body will create a thinner more happier, healthy looking body. If you choose the incorrect items to put into your body, you will be unable to train nearly as long, and your body will also respond to these choices negatively.

Conclusion

Why are cyclists so skinny? They are skinny because of the lifestyle that surrounds cycling. Remaining in lower zones does not build as much muscle, but burns through fat and turns the amazing amount of carbs that we eat into energy in the most efficient way possible. We are able to move very far, very fast by truly taking all that our body has to offer and turning it most efficiently into forward movement. This leaves our body a lot skinnier than many others.