Building muscle

[jarlrmai]

Women should do girly press ups, full presses are not good for lady parts.

 

[brand]

I think in reality what the OP wants to do is to improve her body composition (the ratio of fat to muscle she carries) as opposed to flat out building muscle and bulking. Her bingo wings may be a result of losing skin elasticity (and therefore surgery will probably secure the best outcome.) Alternatively it may simply be fat deposits which will reduce over time.

In the circumstances the key things here will be a consistent caloric deficit, adequate protein (though it doesn't have to be ludicrous levels) and some form of resistance training for her upper body (the cycling particularly if she incorporates some hills / intervals at some point will be more than enough to deal with her lower body given her stated goals. If she incorporates resistance training focusing on her lower body like squats, weighted lunges etc the likelihood is she will overwork and tap into her recovery ability.)

So:

1) Keep the quality of your diet high by eating lots of fresh vegetables (particularly green leafy vegetables) moderate amounts of fruit, starches (like potatoes / rice) and lean protein. Have treats and alchohol in moderation. If you aren't losing body fat over time then reduce portion sizes or consider calorie counting.
2) Keep up the cycling
3) Incorporate 2 - 3 short upper body workouts per week centre around: push ups, assisted pull ups, assisted chin ups, tricep dips, planks etc. Alternatively find a decent kettle bell routine. If you like using barbells and weights do that but it is by no means necessary (what is important is progressive overload of muscles which trigger hypertrophy...)
4) Be consistent
5) Be patient
6) Profit

Sound advice... But not as good as mine.
Pain equals increased endorphins equals pleasure....don't expect it immediately but it is possible!

 

[brand]

Women should do girly press ups, full presses are not good for lady parts.

? Which part did you have in mind?

 

[brand]

Hi

Brand
I can only do girly push up, knees on the floor. I have measured 1 and a half inches of fat, from where I can see a defined area of firm under arm.

Thanks

So there is no loose skin? It is just fat pushing down on the skin? Looks like you could fully succeed in reshaping your body. Go for it.

 

[fossyant]

You're only going to build so much muscle and power through measly bodyweight exercises.

I doubt there are many muscular people on this forum, mostly old and very skinny or over weight. You want advice on building muscle go to a body building forum, you want advice on cycling go to a cycling forum, you want advice on how to become more than just a cyclist and become a true great, ask me.

Speak for yourself fatty

 

[brand]

Heifer73, you could maybe take a closer look at your diet. Do you really need the full fat milk in the breakfast smoothie? You could lose the meat and cheese at lunchtime and just have the salad, and also forgo the suppertime snack banana. I think you might be eating a bit too much.

I love full fat milk on my breakfast cereal but in a Smoothie? Doubt there is much difference in the taste. When taking protein drinks, full fat milk tasted no better than skimmed.
Dinner Pile on the salad loads of low calorie salad dressing. Brianna s Santa fe dressing 48 calories. Surprising how low some salad dressing can be. My 500 calorie meal is tons of salad (hard to make a mixed salad of more than 30 calories per 100 grams) 150 grams of new potatoes (no butter..no nowt) and chicken breast (herbed up) in a George Foreman no fat needed.
Cheese? You will be hard put to find any below 400 calories per 100 grams.
So 100 grams of cheese = 410 (cheeder) versus
500 grams of salad (150 calories) + 150 grams of new potatoes (150 calories) + 100 grams of frozen chicken (110 calories) + 50 grams of dressing maximum (30 calories)
800gram meal = 440 calories versus 100 grams of cheese =410 calories. Which one will leave you full?

 

[brand]

PS the 5:2 diet? Soooo easy

 

[ayceejay]

People who ride their bikes a lot (and advise others to do likewise) gain fitness almost as a by product of their activity but it is the cycling that is the motivation, I sense the OP has a different motivation.
Putting on my Sigmund beard I would say, judging by the words used (heifer, bingo wings etc.) we are talking body image that for some reason has become a problem aged 41!
I don't get the impression that the OP is very active so any increase in activity will change the body as it adapts and if this activity is something she enjoys then she is more likely to stick with it and cycling may well be it.
Another thing is that you cannot spot reduce, in other words fat is reduced generally not particularly and those bingo wings will disappear along with the muffin top and so on.
Slipping back to Freud for a minute: as body image is all in the mind I suggest a name change to Gazelle or similar and speak to other people your age to see how they are dealing with this phase of their lives.

 

[brand]

The areas you lose fat from first are from there area you put it on last. So if it went on your belly first you will loose it from there last.

 

[Heifer73]

Hi

The meat, chicken, cheese and full fat milk was beacuse I thought I needed to be eating more protein to build muscle, as this is not the case, I can overhaul the diet. I use to have skimmed milk. I am not sure I can go without my evening banana. I can change my diet back to my WW days.

 

[brand]

Nothing wrong with chicken breast

 

[tudor_77]

Big weights and low repetitions = bigger muscles,

Smaller weights and high repetitions =,smaller muscles with good definition (if you can shift the fat at the same time!)

Arnold Swarzenagger in Conan v Brad Pitt in Troy - take yer pick!
.

Heavy weights and low reps = Muscle mass

Light weights and high reps = fairly pointless cardio exercise which would be better achieved by REAL cardio work such as riding your bike. There is no such thing as 'toning up' with weights. Lifting little pink weights over and over is a fairly inefficient way to burn fat and will not cause hypertrophy or force the body into an anabolic state.

Nutrition is also key.

So a more accurate way of looking at it would be...

Big weights, low reps, no cardio and high calorie clean diet = Arnie in Conan.

Big weights, low reps, Cardio and regular calorie diet = Brad in Troy.

 

[nappadang]

Lordy Lord, you'll be fit as a lop (flea) in no time with that regime.
Just keep at it and you'll notice difference in a very short time

 

[Joshua Plumtree]

So you're telling me Brad Pitt was lifting the same poundage as Arnie used to?

When I said light weights and high reps, I didn't have in mind those little pink things that weigh half as much as me toothbrush!

 

[Heifer73]

Hi

I am five foot three inches.