Skipping

You'd think that someone who cycles as much as I do would have legs of steel by now - especially when you throw in the squats as well.
Wrong!
The last 2 days I've been punching bags and jumping rope in a boxing gym and my calves are hurting like hell. Evidently, you don't use your calves so much when you pedal. This is what I discovered.
So, my calves are now very sore.
Another thing I noticed was I winded up breathing very hard while skipping. It took me time to hop from foot to foot and get myself in gear but it's hard work for sure.
Anyone tried jumping rope?

 

I don't seem to recall any threads about jumping rope to improve cycling performance. Did you try searching the forum? Maybe Ric or Andy can weigh-in with their experience.

You're right that cycling doesn't have near the impact on the calves that bouncing on your toes or firing off of them to throw punches, does. Actually, now that I think about it, someone did say one of the big boxers (Lennox Lewis, maybe) rides a bike during training.

You must be a busy guy between working nights, cycling, and now boxing.

 

Busy? You're not kidding. I never seem to stop working, studying, training or whatever.
Little wonder I knocked back 3 stiff vodkas this evening. A guy's got to have some relaxation.

 

Try sleeping.

 

Like right now.

 

And don't forget the internet forums........

 

So? As long as you can ride fast, well that's all that matters.

 

You probably have really strong legs but skipping or jumping rope is all about fast twitch muscle fibres, you'll find it hard when you've been training cycling which is mainly slow twitch. That is why your puffing and breathing heavy and why your muscles are sore it's a different type of activity.

 

While you guys sleep at 5.30 a.m. in the morning I'm riding hills by dawn.
While you guys drink your nightly hot chocolate and get ready for bed, I'm still climbing hills.
And when I'm not doing that, I'm working nights.

 

Recently I discovered the same.
Started training for boxing, as I read it was nearly 50% aerobic/50% anaerobic
I was as surprised as you... It was hard to be comfortable jumpling rope (classic 3 minutes on /
1 minute off intervals), but as everything, It's trainable . Now i can jump rope for two minutes
(this is really fast jumping, not stomping with your feet). Started at 1minute, planning for 3 minutes
I'd love to hear your opinion about boxing training for fitness, Carrera. Mine:
Lots of speed added to my body, decreased reaction times for everything, improved AEROBIC
capacity (I don't understand this well, as it's all about 3 minute anaerobic intervals), lots of muscle
tone, decreased fat and a sense of well-being and increased energy for the rest of the day.
I think intermitent exercise depletes your glycogen much less and in a different way than continuous biking/cardio
(Don't know why, though)

The training is a combination of: rope, shadow boxing, heavy bag work and core strength (abs
and fist push-ups).

Have you ever tried burpees? You'll see how unfit we cyclists are (in an anaerobic sense) if you try
just only 12-15 reps

I recommend anything from Ross Enamait site http://www.rossboxing.com/ for complete head to toe, all-3-energy-systems workouts

 

I started skipping for Karate and I improved out of sight. So much quicker on my feet. Skipping is basically a plyometric exercise, so it's good for explosive quick movements. Also very good for co-ordination.


You need some decent music playing while you do it. Does wonders for the motivation. Pick tracks that are as long as your interval time. 3min intervals are typical, but it usually takes some practise before you can do that. I usually got up to 10min intervals leading up to a tournament, and that is f!cking hard work!!

Throw in some things for variation like one leg skips, alternate between legs, double skips for one or both legs, crossing the rope etc., and skipping backwards (which really tests your co-ordination).

I don't know that it would help cycling much, but it's a good workout.

Oh, and get some sleep Carrera

 

Jump rope training starting info :

http://www.rossboxing.com/thegym/thegym26.htm

Cheers!

 

I guess the lesson is this: No exercise is the same. Maybe you have to throw in as much variety as you can since each activity clearly stresses different muscles and loads your cardio system at a new angle.
My problem, though, is when I skip I get jolts at the back of my knee. I don't know why that is. It's like the rear section of the knee is vulnerable.
At any rate, if you want to be a cycling specialist it's best to spend more time on the bike than anything else. But if you want overall fitness and some strength thrown in, boxing is a good way to go.

 

"You need some decent music playing while you do it."

My favourite has to be the Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop Scooby Dooby Melody, "I'm a Scatman" by John Larkin (who apparently died not too long ago). You never hear Scatman John on the radio any more but they were playing that in Spanish bars around 1996.
I wondered whether I could also wire my bike up with music somehow.

 

Unless it's a group ride, I always have headphones playing music while I ride

 

The idea behind the tricks of jumping rope is rythm. I have been jumping for years and I find that every trick has its own beat or rythm. Listen to the wiz of the rope and the pounding of your feet and after a while it will be come natural. Whether you double jump or criss cross it will have a distinct rythm/beat. As for the calf building part yes it will build em. A couple of words of advice if you are more than 180-190lbs be careful because it may beat the hell out of your ankles and feet. The lighter you are the less susceptible you are to initial pain. Also, never jump flat footed stay on your toes and You should always Stretch properly. when I started out I didnt jump every day. I would try to limit my jumping times. For instance I can jump for 45mins. but in the begginning you may feel like you can, but again, it will beat your ankles and feet down so build up your sessions slowly. Happy jumping!