jsirabella said:
Doc, great advice and same to you KO but I just got to decide "what I want to be when I grow up?" unfortunately though I am 43 years old... Maybe the first thing would be to stop going to both this forum and the t-nation one and stop picking up Planet Muscle and Bicycling Magazine also....
-js
Or, we can start a forum devoted to bodybuilders who love cardio. Because you know that the weight guys dis pure cardio in the same way that the cyclists on this forum denegrate lifting.
I just see it that you, Felt, and I and I don't see "being healthy" in the same narrow focus that either group of purists view it. On a beautiful sunny clear weekend like the past one, it would be absolutely criminal not to be out on a bike and riding with my riding buddies. The hours in the gym are just no subsitute. On the same token, I am not sure that Philly is Brooklyn, but in a working class neighborhood, you tended to look up to the big strong guys who could handle themselves, and a 135 pound adult in Lycra shorts, wasn't that model. For me, being "healthy" includes being strong
and being able to enjoy outdoors.
There are lots of people who have a broader definition of health, but you are right that you are not going to find that message in a forum focusing on the purists. The problem is that you have no interest in hearing the message where the cross training/ "health fitness" message is preached, the spin class folks, the natilus circuit, and the weekend "c" ride to the country bagel store and back at 15 mph.
So, if you want to see people who are serious about cycling gains, you check in with the hardcore cyclists. And, you do the same with lifting. As long as you accept that there are some limitations, i.e. no Mr. Universe is ever going to win the TDF, and no pro cyclist is ever going to win a power lifting championship, you can meet
reasonable cycling and lifting goals simultaneously. The juice bar poser who does a spin class and does a good set of 20 on the gym leg press is just never going to be your guru.
And that's it. At some point you have to accept your limitations as a human and realize that you are reaching your own personal goals. The CP ride is not a lofty goal and there are certainly a fair number of guys at our weight that can hang with the group. Winning CX races or a crit and benching 300 might not be a reasonable goal. Being very strong in a few key lifts is also not out there, but I don't expect you to be on the cover of MILO next month.
Can you get on a program where you can bench 250, squat 300+, and hang with the boys in CP, sure. Why is that goal any lesser than winning a local crit or CX and being a 150 pound pencil necked geek? Or being able to bench 300, but unable to spend three or four hours riding in the beautiful outdoors.
Jeez, if you are producing anime, you need to be big to overcome the geek factor. If you go full bore into cycling, shave your legs, and can't even bench 185, me and Felt will shun you and start sending you spam from herbal viagra companies.