strength training discussion thread

i vant to pump you up!

wanna do big lifs, improve agility etc? talk about it here.

i vant to pump you up!

wanna do big lifs, improve agility etc? talk about it here.

I want explosive power for DH riding - accelerating, jumps and pumping/bracing through the rough stuff. I'm a fairly strong climber, but biologicaly I seem to be more of a slow-twitch person than a fast-twitch one. What Syncro miracle workout will guarantee me success? I do a little power lifting (squats, deadlifts, cleans and sometimes jerks) in the gym, but since I'm on my bike a fair bit its hard to give it all in a powerlift workout and I often pay for it when I get on the bike later or the next day. I also do a bunch of box jumps in the prep for the DH season. I see guys doing stuff on the Bosu balls, but just see myself getting a knee or ankle injury from them (I've had an ACL reconstruction and related surgery to remove bone chips from said ACL detatchment).

As a longtime Crossfit guy I can only say: DO IT. Being stronger and more powerful makes for better funner riding. Especially around here where riding is more aggressive, the terrain rougher and crashing nastier and more frequent.

I thought I was a slow twitch guy until I started training differently. Now I have 240lb clean and jerk and my shit is fast. If you want to be fast you have to train fast. Olympic lifts, jumping, hard sprints, kettlebell work, etc can all help.

I use the winter to focus more on strength and power development and then transition to more of a maintenance strategy in spring/summer. Pushing yourself to do a hard workout and still make it out for a solid ride is an important part of adapting to greater stresses and ultimately becoming more fit. The more often I do this the easier it gets. Being able to handle consecutive hard workouts is a defining feature of being fitter.

Without sounding like a zealot you should come to Crossfit, or something like it. It's great to find new ways to force adaptation in the system.

Also, for accuracy: Olympic lifting refers to the snatch and the clean and jerk while powerlifting refers specifically to the deadlift, the squat and the bench press.

Without sounding like a zealot you should come to Crossfit, or something like it. It's great to find new ways to force adaptation in the system.

I've gone to crossfit and work a lot of crossfit routines into my workout. I like emphasis on bodyweight and functional fitness. I also swim Masters and ride MTB and road (and run but that's on-again-off-again). So no room for everything … I figure if I could just get organized all the chips will fall into the right place. I sit at a desk at work typically need at least couple of hours of physical activity most days otherwise I'm a bitch of a person to be around.

I've gone to crossfit and work a lot of crossfit routines into my workout. I like emphasis on bodyweight and functional fitness. I also swim Masters and ride MTB and road (and run but that's on-again-off-again). So no room for everything … I figure if I could just get organized all the chips will fall into the right place. I sit at a desk at work typically need at least couple of hours of physical activity most days otherwise I'm a bitch of a person to be around.

Sounds like you've already got a lot of variety in your mix. My recommendation: find somewhere you can get legit olympic lift training. Nothing will boost your power output (especially in terms of explosive jumping power) quite like solid o-lifting technique. It's something you never truly master.

find somewhere you can get legit olympic lift training

I think these guys offer this sort of thing at quite affordable prices

http://www.bcweightlifting.ca/

thought about it once but it was out in Surrey or something. May have different locs. Should keep an eye out.

I did an instructed session at CF Burnaby last Saturday with Andy Merrylees which was really good. Very reasonably priced and I got some great tips and was introduced to some new drills. Not sure what the drop-in rules are for non-members.

http://www.crossfitburnaby.ca/

I did an instructed session at CF Burnaby last Saturday with Andy Merrylees which was really good. Very reasonably priced and I got some great tips and was introduced to some new drills. Not sure what the drop-in rules are for non-members.

http://www.crossfitburnaby.ca/

$225 a month for a membership there and they aren't even open Sundays
I guess it's good i don't like crossfit cause I couldn't afford that shit anyways

$225 a month for a membership there and they aren't even open Sundays
I guess it's good i don't like crossfit cause I couldn't afford that shit anyways

Just go to a tire dump,get yourself one of these

and push it around the yard for a couple of hours every day …. Crossfit!

$225 a month for a membership there and they aren't even open Sundays
I guess it's good i don't like crossfit cause I couldn't afford that shit anyways

part of the reason for the higher cost is that it's a group training model so you have an instructor with you for the training sessions. where CF excels is in the motivation dept as the vibe is highly focused towards performance. crossfit is good for a target demo, but it's not for everyone.

imo doing a few private training sessions with someone and then regular follow-up sessions will give most people what they need without the high cost.

On the topic of pump… does anyone have some good exercises to get rid of arm pump? It gets pretty bad for me on the longer descents.

I'm a fairly strong climber, but biologicaly I seem to be more of a slow-twitch person than a fast-twitch one.

Too funny… I think I'm the exact opposite of you. I'm relatively strong but struggle at climbing, both long distance and pace. Must be the slow-twitch/ fast-twitch muscle thing.

How does one counter that??

On the topic of pump… does anyone have some good exercises to get rid of arm pump? It gets pretty bad for me on the longer descents.

the quick answer is working on forearm muscular endurance. increasing forearm strength will also help as your baseline strength increases your endurance at lower strength levels will also go up.

so wrist curls with your hands in a pronated position; sit down with your forearms resting on your thighs so that your palms are facing the floor. use dumbells and i'd suggest a rep range of 15, 9, 5, 9. do this twice a week in your training program.

some of your other goals will help as well, incl the pull-ups.

the quick answer is working on forearm muscular endurance. increasing forearm strength will also help as your baseline strength increases your endurance at lower strength levels will also go up.

so wrist curls with your hands in a pronated position; sit down with your forearms resting on your thighs so that your palms are facing the floor. use dumbells and i'd suggest a rep range of 15, 9, 5, 9. do this twice a week in your training program.

some of your other goals will help as well, incl the pull-ups.

I think it's more effective to train the grip more dynamically. Farmer carries, high-volume kettlebell swings, lots of barbell work work including lots of deadlifts and cleans, pull-ups (both dynamic and static).

An example of how this might look would be a dumbell Bear complex. There are lots of variations of this sort of idea: On every minute do: 5 dumbell deadlifts, 5 dumbell cleans, 5 dumbell overhead presses without putting the weight down. For 20 minutes. If you can get your reps done in significantly less than 30s per round you went too light.

Heavy farmer carries are awesome for this too. See if you can walk 500m with a 60lb dumbell in each hand (with good posture). Or go heavier. Or go further.

Or 200 kettlebell swings in a row?

I would always rather have my grip training come in tandem with other training. It trains you to be mindful of your grip while you're under duress (just as it would be when riding).