Reader question: I have been cycling ambitiously for a few years now and I also race. But I'm bothered by the fact that I've developed quite thick thighs as a result. Recently, I even developed stretch marks after an intensive training phase. What can I do about it?
Dr Robert Eifler answersThe increase in muscle circumference is caused by cross-sectional growth of the individual muscle fibres. These react to resistance load with adaptation by increasing in contraction force and thickness. This causes the protein structures within the fibres to multiply, resulting in hypertrophy. Women naturally have less muscle mass, but this also reacts to strength loads - including cycling training and, in particular, competition. The increase in circumference is also genetically determined, meaning that not everyone reacts in the same way to identical loads. This means that a change in training can only change your problem to a certain extent.
In addition, women typically have more subcutaneous fatty tissue, especially in the buttocks and thigh area. Even if you are slim as a sportswoman, the surrounding skin is therefore exposed to an additional volume load, which in extreme cases can lead to stretch marks. These initially blue-reddish striae are irreparable tears in the subcutaneous tissue. As the subcutaneous fat on the legs is difficult to mobilise, there is little you can do to remedy this. Only riding in low gears at high speeds and with a correspondingly lower force load could partially curb muscle growth, as you are then mainly training the energy supply and the movement sequence. Riding uphill and in high gears (strength endurance training), on the other hand, stimulate an increase in leg circumference - you should therefore use these forms of exercise sparingly as far as possible.
