Gyming to Improve Power - Part II

[Carrera]

"A cheetah may be a better example of a pure sprinter as they tire easily."

Apparently they produce so much energy they can overheat.

Only two of those exist in nature. The others are all man made breeds so their genetic traits are exaggerated from many examples found in nature. Birds are good examples of endurance animals also as they travel thousands of miles annually during their seasonal migration ... something I should be doing now too as there is snow on the effing ground!


Same here. I'll never "rock" the cycling world. However, it is quite a bit of fun and it's very beneficial for one's overall health.


Resistance training is an excellent form of exercise, even for those who don't wish to become bodybuilders or powerlifters. Unfortunately, I think weight training has become somewhat of a stereotype because of those sports. But even to the average person wishing to be healthy and fit it's an excellent part (along with an aerobic activity) of a complete program. And if one does supersets or circuit training they can achieve some cardio benefit as well.

A cheetah may be a better example of a pure sprinter as they tire easily. Perhaps the Greyhound would be a better example?

 

[Felt_Rider]

It is interesting that some of us are looking at this topic as it relates to recreational cyclist and some are looking at this as it relates to competitors.

IMO - the two are drastically different and the difference becomes greater as the level of competitions increases. A phrase I have used often on this site is "sports specific training" is essential to a competitor.

Interesting article concerning weight training and bone density.

http://physiotherapy.curtin.edu.au/resources/educational-resources/exphys/00/osteoporosis.cfm

 

[n crowley]

It is interesting that some of us are looking at this topic as it relates to recreational cyclist and some are looking at this as it relates to competitors.

IMO - the two are drastically different and the difference becomes greater as the level of competitions increases. A phrase I have used often on this site is "sports specific training" is essential to a competitor.

Interesting article concerning weight training and bone density.

http://physiotherapy.curtin.edu.au/resources/educational-resources/exphys/00/osteoporosis.cfm

Good article which confirms another plus for Anquetil's linear high geared pedalling technique in time trials. The continuous interactive resistance between arms and hips when generating the pedal power not only eliminates the root cause of cycling's lower back pain but also has a positive effect on BMD.

 

[JoseM]

Was reading December's edition of Men's Heath (page 54) and it had a one paragraph "discussion" on lifting weights.

Cyclists should spend more time at the squat machine. Low-repetition, high-resistance training will improve your cycling performance, according to an Australian study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Excercise. Seven men went through an 8-week training program: three times a week, four sets of five repetitions on a squat machine at 85 percent of their one-rep maximums. The men added 3 pounds of lean muscle, increased their peak cycling power, and used oxygen more efficiently. The study authors believe strength training delays the point at which slow-twithc muscle fibers fatigue. The less your body is forced to recruit fast-twitch fibers on long rides, the greater your cycling economy will be.

That's the entire article, so if you're interested, it would be more productive to find the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal than the Men's Health magazine.

 

[biker-linz]

and despite the attached study I am personally finding it hard to believe that weight training can be beneficial toward competitive cycling as opposed to recreational cycling

The attached isn't a study, it's just an opinion. I doubt that it's been through peer review; it would be torn apart.

L.

 

[biker-linz]

Was reading December's edition of Men's Heath (page 54) and it had a one paragraph "discussion" on lifting weights.

That's the entire article, so if you're interested, it would be more productive to find the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal than the Men's Health magazine.

If you can give us a little more info I'm sure I can dig up the Med Sci article for you. However....I'd bet my britches this was using untrained subjects. It's a common mistake to try and generalise such results to trained cyclists, particularly in the popular press.

L.

 

[SolarEnergy]

The real questions should be :

Is weight lifting (overload that requires some rest), during both sp phase and competition phase, should replace some of the quality work we would otherwize do on the bike?

By doing so, are we going to get faster during the most imporant races?

I just haven't seen any study do confirm that yet. If you have one to suggest, please provide a link.

In fact, most of the studies I have read so far... kind of made me waste my time. Either the protocole wasn't the one I am looking for, or the N(s) where doubtful.

 

[JoseM]

If you can give us a little more info I'm sure I can dig up the Med Sci article for you. However....I'd bet my britches this was using untrained subjects. It's a common mistake to try and generalise such results to trained cyclists, particularly in the popular press.

L.

This was the entire article...definately nothing to change your workouts by....just some info I ran across. I won't be doing any leg lifts, but then again, I use to lift weights before I started riding....so I have the muscle mass there.

 

[Felt_Rider]

A small hijack, but relative to weight training.

I tore (strained) another fiber in my quadricep this morning doing squats about an hour ago. Now I am facing about 4 weeks minimum of rehab and probably won't be able to cycle for a few weeks and will not be able to get back to the weights for about 6 weeks and then maybe I can start back light again.

I was just building back up to heavier weights from a strain from 2 years ago.
I started with a few lights sets of 135 lbs, then 225, then 275, then 295 felt real easy, but on the first rep with 315 it "popped" on the left outer quad. I have felt a slight pain in that area for the past 2 months, but my chiro and myself was thinking it may have been bursitis in my t-band. I guess it was really a micro tear waiting to tear completely although the medical community calls these "strains" rather than tears.

This is the 6th time I have faced strains in both quads and hamstrings over the past 6 years. Fortunately I have good experience in the rehab process.

If I were a cycling purist I wouldn't be facing this rehab, but knowing me if it were not a strain it would probably be road rash. Injuries are part taking risks to seeking reward.

 

[Jens Westergren]

With little interest in osteoporosis, I had to do some searching to get the answers but the facts are clear. There are three types of exercise, weight bearing with some degree of impact which is the best type, weight bearing only such as gyming is the in between type and the third type is without the weight bearing benefit, has no degree of impact and does nothing for the bones and these sports are swimming and cycling.

"Higher BMD in the mountain cyclists suggests that mountain cycling may provide an osteogenic stimulus that is not inherent to road cycling."

Bone. 2002 Jan;30(1):281-6.
Bone mineral density of competitive male mountain and road cyclists.
Warner SE, Shaw JM, Dalsky GP.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...d&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11792598&query_hl=2

Apparantly one should leave the paved road every now and then...

 

[Doctor Morbius]

A small hijack, but relative to weight training.

I tore (strained) another fiber in my quadricep this morning doing squats about an hour ago. Now I am facing about 4 weeks minimum of rehab and probably won't be able to cycle for a few weeks and will not be able to get back to the weights for about 6 weeks and then maybe I can start back light again.

I was just building back up to heavier weights from a strain from 2 years ago.
I started with a few lights sets of 135 lbs, then 225, then 275, then 295 felt real easy, but on the first rep with 315 it "popped" on the left outer quad. I have felt a slight pain in that area for the past 2 months, but my chiro and myself was thinking it may have been bursitis in my t-band. I guess it was really a micro tear waiting to tear completely although the medical community calls these "strains" rather than tears.

This is the 6th time I have faced strains in both quads and hamstrings over the past 6 years. Fortunately I have good experience in the rehab process.

If I were a cycling purist I wouldn't be facing this rehab, but knowing me if it were not a strain it would probably be road rash. Injuries are part taking risks to seeking reward.

Oh man. Sorry to hear that. I hate when something happens that totally screws up my plans for the next several months. Unfortunately, there is no way around it once it's happened. Quick fixes don't seem to work well with injuries.

I recall when I was younger and really into the weights I ended up straining both elbows pretty badly arm wrestling. What a stupid stupid thing to have done. I ended up doing the only thing I could do, which was focus on working the legs for a long time. Every upper body lift I did seemed to hurt my elbows. Needless to say I don't arm wrestle anymore.

Perhaps you have a bodypart that you would like to focus your training efforts and recouperative energies on for a while? For me, quads take quite a bite out of my recouperative budget. Sounds like you could pick a bodypart and do a specialization program for a while during your rehab. That's about the only suggestion I have for turning a negative situation into something positive.

 

[Felt_Rider]

Oh man. Sorry to hear that. I hate when something happens that totally screws up my plans for the next several months.

Perhaps you have a bodypart that you would like to focus your training efforts and recouperative energies on for a while? For me, quads take quite a bite out of my recouperative budget. Sounds like you could pick a bodypart and do a specialization program for a while during your rehab. That's about the only suggestion I have for turning a negative situation into something positive.

Thanks

I will be able to train upper body with machines because I can isolate each bodypart without using my legs for stabilization. I will have to layoff most free weights until I can put some weight on my legs.

I think I did more damage this time than in past because I tried to push back up to rack the weight rather than letting it drop. I might have strained my right medialis and I am starting to feel some pain in my left glute.

The pain is pretty intense right now and I have stay here at work because I have a client meeting and some other deadlines. I wish I could go home and lay down.

 

[Carrera]

I look at it this way: In order to reach your cycling potential you need to attain a certain peak of fitness, endurance and strength. The worst thing that can happen to a cyclist is to suffer illness or crashes. One case in point, Tyler Hamilton: He has suffered continually due to back pain he suffered after having crashed now his back is weaker and affects his climbing. Even Merkcx had to go outside of normal cycling activity to deal with his own injured back.
I know of no better exercise for the hips and lower back than squats. A strong lower back helps you on the tough gradients while a weak lumbar region will hinder you.
Of course, there are alternatives. Neither does it seem likely that merely by increasing your squat, you'll automatically be able to push bigger gears. So, I think that cycling is the main thing any cyclist should be concentrating on but, myself, I'll use whatever supplementary regime alongside that seems to yield results.
Lance Armstrong himself stated he believed his weight program on U.S. Postal helped him replace lost muscle during the hard season. To me, that makes sense and I tend to agree with particular evaluation. But it's not something that takes absolute priority as diet and other factors also matter.

The real questions should be :

Is weight lifting (overload that requires some rest), during both sp phase and competition phase, should replace some of the quality work we would otherwize do on the bike?

By doing so, are we going to get faster during the most imporant races?

I just haven't seen any study do confirm that yet. If you have one to suggest, please provide a link.

In fact, most of the studies I have read so far... kind of made me waste my time. Either the protocole wasn't the one I am looking for, or the N(s) where doubtful.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Thanks

I will be able to train upper body with machines because I can isolate each bodypart without using my legs for stabilization. I will have to layoff most free weights until I can put some weight on my legs.

I think I did more damage this time than in past because I tried to push back up to rack the weight rather than letting it drop. I might have strained my right medialis and I am starting to feel some pain in my left glute.

The pain is pretty intense right now and I have stay here at work because I have a client meeting and some other deadlines. I wish I could go home and lay down.

Ouch! Sounds like you really hurt yourself if you aren't going to be able to do anything but machines. I didn't realize it was that bad.

My 20 rep bench press routine is only going to take me so far but if I go heavy I risk making it worse. Lifting heavy is certainly fun and is productive from a strengthening standpoint but I have to be very careful not to risk making anything worse or hurting something else. I'm already working around a bad left shoulder and a screwed up lower back. That kind of takes the wind out of my sails.

 

[Billsworld]

The real questions should be :

Is weight lifting (overload that requires some rest), during both sp phase and competition phase, should replace some of the quality work we would otherwize do on the bike?

By doing so, are we going to get faster during the most imporant races?

I just haven't seen any study do confirm that yet. If you have one to suggest, please provide a link.

In fact, most of the studies I have read so far... kind of made me waste my time. Either the protocole wasn't the one I am looking for, or the N(s) where doubtful.

I am just an older weightlifter (44) trying to be a cyclist. I have been known for a dumb quote/post or two as well. I find that a total upper body workout once a week using basic movements is enough to maintain a decent amount of strength/mass. Contrary to most routines , an every other week leg routine(again basic) will do the same for those of us that have to do weights. I follow the leg routine with at least two days of swimming,(I heard M. Nothstien swam too) then a light ride day, and then back at it. Thats 3-4 days of no bike every two weeks. I have no idea if that helps anyone, but it gives me enough rest to ride hard and still lift. Best of luck BW

 

[SolarEnergy]

Lance Armstrong himself stated he believed his weight program on U.S. Postal helped him replace lost muscle during the hard season. To me, that makes sense and I tend to agree with particular evaluation. But it's not something that takes absolute priority as diet and other factors also matter.

Very intersting comment.

In the case of LA, he probably could have replaced that muscle mass during the General Preparation phase, after the hard season. And no one argues that resistance training during that phase is a good thing.

Where there seems to be disagreement, is this "war" of studies. On one side, those who "clearly" demonstrated that weight resist. training had a favorable impact on endurance, on cycling. And on the other side, those who saw no increase in endurance, after similar studies.

Both side have "a good" case, and no case at all at the end.

 

[frenchyge]

Where there seems to be disagreement, is this "war" of studies. On one side, those who "clearly" demonstrated that weight resist. training had a favorable impact on endurance, on cycling. And on the other side, those who saw no increase in endurance, after similar studies.

While there's little in here that hasn't been said before on the topic, I thought the format and presentation of this article was particularly compelling:
http://home.earthlink.net/~acoggan/misc/id4.html

 

[ric_stern/RST]

Where there seems to be disagreement, is this "war" of studies. On one side, those who "clearly" demonstrated that weight resist. training had a favorable impact on endurance, on cycling. And on the other side, those who saw no increase in endurance, after similar studies.

This isn't quite correct. There is only evidence that weight training helps endurance in low fitness subjects. It is wrong to think that in trained or elite cyclists there is evidence to show that weights (etc) will increase performance, as no evidence exists. In trained and well trained cyclists there is no increase in performance, and the potential for performance to decrease.

ric

 

[Don Shipp]

I look at it this way: In order to reach your cycling potential you need to attain a certain peak of fitness, endurance and strength. The worst thing that can happen to a cyclist is to suffer illness or crashes.

Something that I think that you in particular forget is that peak fitness, is by definition, unsustainable. Professional cyclists structure their training so that they are at their peak when competing. If you don't compete, you either have to aim for a sustainable level of fitness or have a timetable based on other factors.

 

[SolarEnergy]

This isn't quite correct. There is only evidence that weight training helps endurance in low fitness subjects. It is wrong to think that in trained or elite cyclists there is evidence to show that weights (etc) will increase performance, as no evidence exists. In trained and well trained cyclists there is no increase in performance, and the potential for performance to decrease.

ric

Thanks. I took a look at your articles on the subject. And frankly, I found it very interesting.

But my position on that issue is one of listening carefully at cyclists testimonies. Ground studies

And very often, cyclists report doing weight resistance work during GP phase and part of the SP phase. I find it's not that much of a big deal. Very few do wr during the summer season.

How many of you guys do leg weight training during summer?