{"id":443701,"date":"2026-01-28T20:57:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T20:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/443701\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T20:57:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T20:57:15","slug":"does-cycling-build-leg-muscles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/443701\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Cycling Build Leg Muscles?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated4 min read<\/p>\n

\u201cWill cycling make your legs bigger?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill cycling make your thighs bigger?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill cycling make me skinny?\u201d<\/p>\n

Google \u201cwill cycling make\u2026.\u201d and those are (somewhat ironically) some of the first autofill searches that pop up. Which is surprising, but unsurprising, when you consider that several years ago Harper\u2019s Bazaar published a feature story titled \u201cIs Spinning Making You Fat?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spoiler alert: No! Cycling will not make you fat. It will make you fit and strong. Will it give you pro cyclist legs with monster quads<\/a>? Only if that\u2019s what you\u2019re after (but you\u2019ll need to do a lot more than just ride). Or it might just give you some unique muscle tone, like that distinctive teardrop over your kneecap (otherwise known as your vastus medialis oblique or VMO<\/a>) and impressive calves. If you ride (or do any exercise) regularly, your body adapts to help you be better at it. That\u2019s how training works. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn general, cycling can help improve cardiovascular fitness and decrease fat mass<\/a>,\u201d says Jinger Gottschall, a former professor of kinesiology and the director of applied research at Wahoo Fitness. How it will otherwise shape your muscles and your mass depends on myriad factors, including how much you ride<\/a>, the kind of riding you do, what training you do off the bike, what you eat, as well as your hormonal makeup. Here\u2019s what you can expect.<\/p>\n

Related StoryPro-level riding equals next-level quads. \"cyclist<\/p>\n

Alex Broadway\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

If you ride 15 to 20 (or more) hours a week, you better believe you\u2019ll have the cyclist legs to show for it. \u201cProfessional cyclists have a larger thigh muscle cross section than non-cyclists,\u201d says Gottschall. Especially pronounced are the quadriceps muscles that push the pedals down, as well as the large hamstring muscles that help sweep the pedals up. That\u2019s why brands such as Levi\u2019s and Rapha<\/a> make special jeans to fit cycling enthusiasts who have trim waists, but strong quads. But remember: strong is different than \u201cbig,\u201d and every person\u2019s unique makeup will react differently to the stimulus of cycling. Riding long, slower, steady state rides will also put you in a fat-burning zone<\/a> so your muscle mass may grow while fat decreases resulting in a different\u2014but not necessarily bigger\u2014body composition. <\/p>\n

Casual riders don\u2019t need special pants.\"cyclist<\/p>\n

Solskin\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Recreational riders or indoor cyclists who spin<\/a> two or three times a week for exercise don\u2019t have bigger thighs than non-riders, says Gottschall. \u201cIf you ride to meet your physical activity requirements of 150 minutes a week, there\u2019s no significant difference,\u201d he says. But doing so is great for your overall health, so you shouldn\u2019t let anything stop you. <\/p>\n

You need to add weights to get seriously swole.\"cyclist<\/p>\n

Drazen_\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The track cyclists you see with godzilla-sized quads push more than pedals to get that way. They also push heavy metal plates, says Gottschall. \u201cThe magnitude of muscle hypertrophy with cycling is one-third of the muscle hypertrophy<\/a> you get from resistance training.\u201d You\u2019d have to completely overhaul your diet<\/a> and training routine to mimic those results. <\/p>\n

4 Great Home Gym Basics\"Weight<\/a>\"10-Pound<\/a>Amazon Basics 10-Pound Dumbbells\"Exercise<\/a>Trideer Exercise Ball<\/p>\n

Now 22% Off<\/p>\n

\"Resistance<\/a>Fit Simplify Resistance BandsMore testosterone means more muscle mass. \"cyclist<\/p>\n

Edwin Tan\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Men tend to be more muscular than women because they have higher levels of the hormone testosterone. The anabolic hormone regulates and stimulates protein synthesis<\/a>, says Gottschall. The better your body is at taking protein and synthesizing it into your muscle cells, the bigger those muscle cells can become.<\/p>\n

You may become a bit imbalanced.\"Image<\/p>\n

Muscle activity is almost four times greater in the quadriceps than in the hamstrings<\/a> during cycling, says Gottschall. \u201cKnee flexion exercises can help maintain balance.\u201d To prevent muscle imbalances, try a TRX hamstring curl:<\/p>\n

Sit facing the anchor point and place both heels into the foot cradles. Lie down faceup with legs extended straight, feet below anchor point, and arms at your sides. Keeping your core tight, lift hips off the floor, then pull heels in toward glutes in a smooth and controlled motion. Keep hips lifted as you straighten legs back to the starting position. Repeat until fatigued.<\/p>\n

Riding builds heart and lung strength, so you can get leaner.\"cyclist<\/p>\n

Solskin\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

High-intensity cycling<\/a> increases your heart and lung capacity, says Gottschall. Better cardiovascular fitness makes you a better fat burner. It also means you can ride faster for longer, and burn more calories<\/a>. \u201cI recommend two high-intensity sessions a week that include 20 minutes of interval training above 85 percent of your maximum heart rate<\/a>,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Hills and sprints make you stronger\u2026and maybe bigger. \"cyclist<\/p>\n

Justin Paget\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Hypertrophy only happens under heavy loads. That\u2019s why sprinters<\/a>, who routinely hammer monster gears, develop tree-trunk quads over time. Riding lots of hills can make you stronger and eventually build muscle, but the overall load tends to be lighter since we spin rather than mash our way up hills.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Selene Yeager is a top-selling professional health and fitness writer who lives what she writes as a NASM certified personal trainer, USA Cycling certified coach, Pn1 certified nutrition coach, pro licensed off road racer, and All-American Ironman triathlete.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4 min read \u201cWill cycling make your legs bigger?\u201d \u201cWill cycling make your thighs bigger?\u201d \u201cWill cycling make…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,230392,85,230393],"class_list":["post-443701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-cycling-legs","tag-sports","tag-will-cycling-make-your-legs-bigger"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}