strength training discussion thread

Well, I wouldn't be me if I didn't say something like, "only the guys with the most dramatic transformations are going to put up videos."

That said, take a look at a male gymnasts body. I think most people would choose that physique over most.

Having already filmed the first pathetic 30 seconds of my transformation video I say, anything is excusable if it keeps you motivated.

Isometrics are cool. No rings around here that I've found yet but maybe I can make some.

My advice? Vary your workouts and do a variety of exercises. My exercise routine also changes with the seasons. Anyone doing a lot of one kind of exercise (especially with intensity) is just begging for a repetitive strain injury or muscle imbalance issues. You can get repetitive use/overuse injuries in the stupidest parts of your body if you don't get some variety into your life and your routine.

My advice? Vary your workouts and do a variety of exercises. My exercise routine also changes with the seasons. Anyone doing a lot of one kind of exercise (especially with intensity) is just begging for a repetitive strain injury or muscle imbalance issues. You can get repetitive use/overuse injuries in the stupidest parts of your body if you don't get some variety into your life and your routine.

This is my current routine:

3 days a week I'm doing bar work

2 days a week I'm running 10k, runs are always followed by an abdominal workout

1 day a week there's a 50k plus bicycle ride

1 day a week I do absolutely nothing.

Although there is a routine I wouldn't say any two workouts are ever the same. The running routes and speed change, the types of exercises change, the bike routes change, the number of reps fluctuate depending on how I'm feeling. Having a wife who's a certified massage therapist helps too.

This winter I focussed on strength rather than the usual cardio or conditioning. Doing mostly a starting strength type routine I took my squat from essentially nothing having never done it to 1.5xBW or 300 lbs. While it felt good to see the numbers tick up now that I have transitioned back to outdoor activities riding, running, climbing its amazing to see how little of an effect it had on… well anything. Comparing the first few months of any season to the first few months of my post weights season my bike workouts are slower with a higher heart rate then the last few years…

Is there any non anecdotal evidence that strength training benefits other activities in otherwise fit athletic individuals?

At this point I think I am coming to the conclusion that weight lifting makes you better at …. weight lifting. And probably has its place, but that place is a couple months in the fall off season to potentially help with imbalances and injury prevention

I did the same. And I found the same as you…first few months I felt like a bag of shit on the bike. Now, after a few months back into it… I am crushing steep climbs I would rarely make before.

I did the same. And I found the same as you…first few months I felt like a bag of shit on the bike. Now, after a few months back into it… I am crushing steep climbs I would rarely make before.

the days my climbing are the best are the days after i have been doing Kettle bell swings , and Goblet squats . I find I only have to add these movements and I can push my climbs harder and further . my recovery time for out of the saddle short sprint climbs is reduced as well .

my main goals are increasing my pedaling endurance . and for me that's just getting out and logging hard earned trail mileage and climbing . 6km to 12km rides don,t really help in a race environment when ones total mileage can be close to 40km of transfer stages and race stages , currently that's a weeks worth of riding .

that 45km loop you did the other day how much road riding was there ?

The climb to the top of sumas from page road is 13 km. Then I did knob/holiday/noah/lower TK/centennial and back down the gravel road. Plus about 10 km of flat road and gravel road riding.

I did a 35 km ride today that involved much less road riding ;)

i climbed to Knob yesterday , rested long enough to eat some shot bloks and get some fluids in and out of me and pushed to the bottom , was punchy in spots but for my 1st time putting down a 16km ride with 6min of non moving time i was happy , still have to triple mileage to get in shape for the pemby enduro next season .

While I know strength training has helped me on short, punchy climbs…if you want to get better at climbing the only way to do it is climb and climb lots.

yeah i agree climbing builds climbing endurance

i used to do a couple hundred km of commuting mileage a week at times and it did help some what on the trail , but logging actual trail mileage made me a stronger .

cross training helps as well and saves one from burning out riding too much

in the fall i do core classes and light weights on machine with high reps to get ready for skiing and then a bunch of ski touring which is walking up hill with weight on my feet, the season I did 1 hr speed sessions I was really fast, IME skiing makes you a faster biker and biking makes you a faster skier

tele-skiing makes you a faster biker and biking makes you a stronger tele-skier

fyp…….

until you run out of dope and exclaim out loud "man these are shitty skis!"

edit: Sometimes I load up a pack with weight for the extra training, nalgenes bottles of water are excellent cuz you can drink it or dump it whenever you wana lighten up

fyp…….

Your fix on XXX_er post actually makes it incorrect. "tele-skiing makes you a faster biker and biking makes you a stronger tele-skier". If you think this is true, then you probably don't understand what strength is. More biking does not make for a stronger anything really. More biking increases muscular endurance, but does not increase strength in any meaningful way. Strength is the application of force against an external object. The first pedal strokes produce no more force than the 100th as there is no increase in the force applied. The 100th rep may feel harder, but you are not having to apply any more force to complete the stroke.

A strength increase must be demonstrated by an increase in force production and not in volume (#'s of reps). Someone who deadlifts 500 pounds for a set of 5 is significantly stronger than a person who lifts 200 pounds for 20x.

Its a simplification, but hopefully illustrates the point. :)

This winter I focussed on strength rather than the usual cardio or conditioning. Doing mostly a starting strength type routine I took my squat from essentially nothing having never done it to 1.5xBW or 300 lbs. While it felt good to see the numbers tick up now that I have transitioned back to outdoor activities riding, running, climbing its amazing to see how little of an effect it had on… well anything. Comparing the first few months of any season to the first few months of my post weights season my bike workouts are slower with a higher heart rate then the last few years…

Is there any non anecdotal evidence that strength training benefits other activities in otherwise fit athletic individuals?

At this point I think I am coming to the conclusion that weight lifting makes you better at …. weight lifting. And probably has its place, but that place is a couple months in the fall off season to potentially help with imbalances and injury prevention

i meant to comment on this but appears i forgot to.

first congrats on getting up to a 300lb squat, that's a goal most people will never reach. i understand your doubts about the benefits of the lifting thoguh and i touched on some of what you're questioning in my post to Tom here: http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?p=2847754#post2847754

so as you suggested strength training benefits mainly strength, but the type of benefit you get will greatly depend on the type of training you are doing. for example someone training for max strength and working with 3 or fewer reps is going to have wildly different benefits or adaptations than someone training at 20 reps and higher. higher levels of strength simply mean the ability to move a higher load or weight. the beenfit for mtn bikers is added leg strength could cross over to being able to climb a very steep hill easier than someone with lower levels of leg strenght. higher strength could also help with speed and explosiveness. the reason i say could though is the benefit will depend on other factors in your training routine, including your aerobic conditioning.

the first question i would ask is how much time were you spending with cardio/bike training this weight training season compared to the previous seasons where you didn't lift weights at all? if your time on the bike or doing other cardio dropped off dramatically to nothing or close to nothing, that's where the answer to your answer lies. resistance training (even at high reps of 30) uses a very different energy system than cardio training. with enough time away from the bike, your cardio conditioning dropped off to the point where you could actually notice it on your return to riding.

for people who's main goal/activity is riding i definitely suggest some strength training to boost thier peformance on the bike, but the strenght training should not come at a great cost to your cardio training. whatever one's main activity goal is, that's where the focus of their training should lie. it's fine and even beneficial to do other activities in the off-season, but be prepared to deal with deficiencies in your main activity if you take a lot of time away from it.

here are a couple of articles to consider. the first one is excellent and includes references to research studies that tout the benefit of strenght training for cyclists. the second article breaks down some training variables to consider and also includes a selection of good exercises. one thing to keep in mind though is that these sorts of guidelines are primarily geared to road riders and the physical requirements of mountain bikes is quite different. the program i recommended to Tom is geared towards mtb'ing and only needs two days per week and is very efficient (good bang for your training buck). in the off season if you wanted to focus a bit more on the gym you could train up to 4 days per week in the gym and still have the time and energy to maintain your cardio base so you're not in shock when you get back to more serious riding.

http://breakingmuscle.com/cycling/why-serious-cyclists-should-consider-strength-training

https://www.usacycling.org/encyclingpedia/encycstory.php?id=7089