Balancing Cycling and Weightlifting while trying to build muscle

Looking for some feedback on this question from a weight lifting beginner.. I'm 51, 5'6" and 139 lbs. An enthusiast cyclists who rides around 140 miles a week. I also recently got in to weight lifting, with the aim of adding muscle, particularly to the upper body. I have the typical cyclists body, pretty well developed legs, but almost nothing on the upper body. Add in the fact I've never lifted before, and the upper body is very underdeveloped.

I've been lifting for around 6 months now, have adjustable dumbbells, and power rack/barbell/weights, and have gained a couple of lbs. I was 136 when I started. Definitely see more definition in the upper body, but don't really think I've added much muscle at all, just burned some fat.

My thought is I simply burn to many calories cycling, which makes it very difficult to build muscle. If I assume 140 miles at 19 miles per hour cycling(which is what I ride at), that's approx. 7 1/2 hours a week. And if I assume 600 calories per hour burned, that's 4,500 calories a week burned while cycling.

Then, if I assume 2,400 calories for my TDEE, and I wanted to bulk, I would need to consume around 2,900 calories a day? Would I then add 4,500/7 = 642 calories from cycling, so roughly 3,500 calories to add muscle.

That seems crazy! As summer fades, I will be cutting back on the cycling, and focusing more on lifting. Maybe I can start to build muscle. Thinking I have to split the year into a cycling period, and lifting period. Eat and bulk during the lifting period(winter), and then cut and maintain during the cycling period(summer).

Thanks for your feedback.


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