Does Cycling Actually Make Your Thighs Bulky?

The fastest way to a slimmer body isn’t via indoor cycling, according to celeb trainer Tracy Anderson, who recently told Redbook magazine that exercisers who only cycle wind up with bulkier thighs.

“Spin may burn calories in the short term, but if that's all you're doing, it'll bulk up your thighs,” said Anderson, who is Gwyneth Paltrow’s trainer and business partner. “I have women who come into my office after spinning exclusively for six months, wondering why they can’t fit into their jeans.”

So, wait, when it comes to your thighs, does cycling result in inches lost—or gained?

First of all, let’s get a couple of things straight. “Bulky” doesn’t actually mean anything, not definitively at least. Muscle tone vs. bulk is really in the eye of the exerciser. And a fear of “bulky thighs” is a ridiculous reason not to do a workout you love that’s been shown time and time again to be great for your heart, strength, and cardiovascular fitness.

However, when the muscles in your legs get stronger, they tend to increase in size. “If you were to ride at heavy resistance for a long duration of time, there is a possibility that you may gain more muscle,’” says Keoni Hudoba, creator of the Cyc Method, and spinning instructor at NYC’s Cyc Fitness. And if you’re not losing fat as you gain muscle, your jean size is going to go up.

Still, it’s hard to imagine a cycling class that doesn’t lead to fat lost around the legs. Case in point: When Harvard School of Public Health researchers studied more than 18,000 women over a period of 16 years, they found that those who biked as few as five minutes a day gained less weight than those who didn’t ride. In fact, cycling at a comfortable pace, a 135-pound woman can expect to burn through nearly 500 calories in a single hour. And the more muscle you gain, the faster your metabolism.

But in general, strength training (even when it’s from spinning wheels) doesn’t make women swoll the way it does men. Our low levels of testosterone make it pretty darn difficult to build bulging muscles, according to the American Council on Exericse.

Bottom line: If you’re a spinning fanatic—good for you, and keep on pedaling. And if you’re thinking about trying it out, but feel freaked about tree-trunk legs—seriously, stop stressing.

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Article source: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/does-cycling-make-your-thighs-bigger