Why am I losing muscle mass in my upper body while bicycling?

I've been bicycling for six months now. 20 miles a day, 40 to 50 miles on Saturdays. I've lost 68 pounds of fat. However I've noticed that my upper body muscle mass is disappearing as well. I never lost any muscle in my upper body while I wasn't exercising. Why am I losing it now? However my legs are very lean powerhouse of muscle now.

I am not interested in lifting weights. I tried that for a while and discovered that I not only dislike lifting weights, I loathe it. Is there anything else I can do to prevent further muscle loss, and why am I losing it now that I am exercising?

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4 Comments

  1. It sounds like you're overtraining. Your body is conserving energy and shifting all the muscle nutrients to your legs because they need it the most right now. I hate to say it but you're going to have to balance it out somehow. Lift some weights, you don't need much and cut back on the bicycling. Make sure you're getting plenty of protein and complex carbs right after your workouts. That's prime muscle re-building time. And, if you've noticed loss of muscle mass you're not losing just fat. Some of that is muscle as well. You might gain a little back on the scale but it won't be fat.

  2. Binkers17 says:

    biking works the lower body, mostly your legs, not the upper body

  3. sirmrmagic says:

    You need to exercise you upper body as well, bicycling only builds the lower body.

  4. Because cardio activities burn muscle.

    Of course your leg muscles are developing though because biking involves mostly those muscles.

    Eat protein to maintain your muscle. Try and use your arms more if you can, you don't always have to lift weight — Lean on a wall, swing from a pole, etc.

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