Weighted water bottle training

[jimh2]

For the past several months I have been using a water bottle that has 9 lbs of buckshot in it stuffed with cotton. I secure the water bottle with a couple of straps and have no safety issues, even going down a mountain.
My climbing legs are definitely getting stronger (use the bottle once a week) This method of weight training on the bike seems to work better than going up the mountain in big gears and grinding your knees. You are always under load and therefore spin in a smaller gear without hurting your knees.
I have also lost about 5-7 lbs so this whole discussion is not too scientific since I can't accurately measure which variable is having a greater contribution.
I would like to know if anyone else has tried the weighted water bottle, since this a commercial product.

 

[2LAP]

I use two water bottles filled with water (~1.5 kg); these are a great tool as they get lighter as the ride goes on (i.e. load decreases as fatigue increases) and prevent dehydration.

 

[c_record]

Originally posted by 2LAP
I use two water bottles filled with water (~1.5 kg); these are a great tool as they get lighter as the ride goes on (i.e. load decreases as fatigue increases) and prevent dehydration.

How is a heavier bike going to make you any stronger?

If you ride at the same intensity, you will just go slower. Your body doesn't care what your bike weighs or how steep the hill is - the only factor that would make you fitter or stronger would be your cadence and power output.

What do you drink if your bottles are fully of weights?

 

[2LAP]

Originally posted by c_record
How is a heavier bike going to make you any stronger?

If you ride at the same intensity, you will just go slower. Your body doesn't care what your bike weighs or how steep the hill is - the only factor that would make you fitter or stronger would be your cadence and power output.

What do you drink if your bottles are fully of weights?

I think you quoted the wrong person! My bottles are full of water!!!!

 

[dhk]

Sorry for the blank reply, but the notion of a weighted water bottle seems funny to me....I spent last year losing 45 lbs bodyweight so I could climb faster.

Once hitting my goal weight, bought a new bike with a triple, saving another 4 lbs. I'm faster uphills now, but still have no problem hitting my LT or higher when climbing.

As c-record said, the horsepower required for climbing is pretty much just ft-lbs/sec vertical gained, so increasing the ft/sec is just the same as increasing weight. Instead of adding 4% to your overall weight, just climb at 10.4 mph instead of 10...same power output results.

 

[limerickman]

Originally posted by dhk
Sorry for the blank reply, but the notion of a weighted water bottle seems funny to me....I spent last year losing 45 lbs bodyweight so I could climb faster.

Once hitting my goal weight, bought a new bike with a triple, saving another 4 lbs. I'm faster uphills now, but still have no problem hitting my LT or higher when climbing.

As c-record said, the horsepower required for climbing is pretty much just ft-lbs/sec vertical gained, so increasing the ft/sec is just the same as increasing weight. Instead of adding 4% to your overall weight, just climb at 10.4 mph instead of 10...same power output results.

DHK,
I'm diverting for the actual subject matter of this thread.
Could I ask you how you managed to lose 45lbs ?
This is some achievement, I might add.
Congratulations.

 

[dhk]

Sure. I cut out all refined sugar, deserts, as much fat as possible, and restricted the starches. Focused on getting about 20 gms of high-quality, lean protein at each meal with salad or plenty of green vegetables, while keeping the blood sugar steady. Lost about 2 pounds a week, from 213 down to 168.

Now that I've been at or below my goal weight for the last 6 months, and riding more, I've been adding in more carbs, ie, bread, pasta, rice, and fruit. This helps with energy, particularly for recovery. I won't go back to eating ice cream, cake, cookies, or potato chips, but that's a small sacrifice for health.

Motivation is the key of course. I wanted to reduce blood pressure and improve lipid profile without drugs, as well as gain more endurance and climbing ability on the bike. It worked.

 

[EoinC]

Originally posted by dhk
Sure. I cut out all refined sugar, deserts, as much fat as possible, and restricted the starches. Focused on getting about 20 gms of high-quality, lean protein at each meal with salad or plenty of green vegetables, while keeping the blood sugar steady. Lost about 2 pounds a week, from 213 down to 168.

Now that I've been at or below my goal weight for the last 6 months, and riding more, I've been adding in more carbs, ie, bread, pasta, rice, and fruit. This helps with energy, particularly for recovery. I won't go back to eating ice cream, cake, cookies, or potato chips, but that's a small sacrifice for health.

Motivation is the key of course. I wanted to reduce blood pressure and improve lipid profile without drugs, as well as gain more endurance and climbing ability on the bike. It worked.

Impressive effort - well done.

 

[jimh2]

Originally posted by c_record
How is a heavier bike going to make you any stronger?

If you ride at the same intensity, you will just go slower. Your body doesn't care what your bike weighs or how steep the hill is - the only factor that would make you fitter or stronger would be your cadence and power output.

What do you drink if your bottles are fully of weights?

I can understand your confusion. Having the weighted water bottle, not bottles is like doing a very specific "weight training" on the bike. The ride intensity is not LT but AE. We all do squats or some kind of weight training in the gym, most anyway, but these exercises are not exactly specific to cycling having the weighted water bottle is a strength exercise related specifically to cycling.
The duration of the exercise is about 1-1 1/2 hours. It certainly is better to first loose weight, i.e. body weight but once that has been maximized you need to develop strength.
And of course there are other ways to develop leg strength, hill intervals, big gear training, but the weighted water bottle is a concept some of the pros use in their early season training, and it seems to develop power and better climbing abilitity.
The purpose of my post was not to advocate this as the "best method" but has anyone else used the bottle and what have been the results.

 

[limerickman]

Originally posted by dhk
Sure. I cut out all refined sugar, deserts, as much fat as possible, and restricted the starches. Focused on getting about 20 gms of high-quality, lean protein at each meal with salad or plenty of green vegetables, while keeping the blood sugar steady. Lost about 2 pounds a week, from 213 down to 168.

Now that I've been at or below my goal weight for the last 6 months, and riding more, I've been adding in more carbs, ie, bread, pasta, rice, and fruit. This helps with energy, particularly for recovery. I won't go back to eating ice cream, cake, cookies, or potato chips, but that's a small sacrifice for health.

Motivation is the key of course. I wanted to reduce blood pressure and improve lipid profile without drugs, as well as gain more endurance and climbing ability on the bike. It worked.

DHK,

thanks for sharing this information with me (us).
You've done very well to shed this weight and to get yourself fit.

You're obviously very disciplined character too boot !
well done

 

[lawyering]

I was going to post a question regarding training with a heavy bike but saw this thread and thought it might fit in nicely.

My winter/indoor trainer/former only bike is a very heavy (I dare not even weigh it) steel frame touring bike (27") from the mid '80's.

My thought was that once the streets around here (Northeast US) got cleaned up a bit, I would take my new (to me) light aluminum bike out on my training rides and leave the old tank attached to the trainer in the basement for those dark and rainy days.

The thought occurred to me, however, that perhaps crankin' on the heavy old clunker was good training and I shouldn't switch to the new bike until later in the spring.

Adding weight not with the water bottles but with a heavy bike.

I have never heard of pro's doing anything like this so it must not be such a great idea -- or is it? (After all, they can get a heavy bike for training if they want to).

 

[ccorrick]

I've used the weighted vests. I suppose it would be about the same concept. However, I only used it to ride with others. I wanted to stay with them with the extra 15lbs. It helped keep my speed down, but output up. Of course I didn't tell the guy I was riding with about it (it was winter and I could cover it with clothes). Was fun to take it off and WOW what a difference. He was amazed at my "miracle" speed all the sudden. He worked his butt off and caught up in a couple of weeks, but sure was funny.

I could see only 2 benifits. As noted above :1. to stay with those slower than you or to train harder than your training buddy (withouth them knowing of course ) 2. for mental boost. Like swinging a weighted bat before you go to the plate. It's a mental boost and you will feel like you are going so much faster.
Actually is the bat analogy a good one? Seems like the same sort of thing.

Otherwise I'd just say what they said above. Just go faster. Why slow yourself down?

 

[EoinC]

The thought occurred to me, however, that perhaps crankin' on the heavy old clunker was good training and I shouldn't switch to the new bike until later in the spring.

When I used to race, it was standard practice for many of us to use our heavy clunkers for training (and early season races).
When you determine that a race is deserving of wheeling out the wonder-bike, you feel like a gazelle and gain a psychological advantage over all those you've been racing with so far.
There's also few things more frustrating than having your expensive ultra-lightweight wheels blown off by a 1965 touring bike with mudguards and a dynamo lighting system.

 

[jimh2]

Originally posted by lawyering
I was going to post a question regarding training with a heavy bike but saw this thread and thought it might fit in nicely.

My winter/indoor trainer/former only bike is a very heavy (I dare not even weigh it) steel frame touring bike (27") from the mid '80's.

My thought was that once the streets around here (Northeast US) got cleaned up a bit, I would take my new (to me) light aluminum bike out on my training rides and leave the old tank attached to the trainer in the basement for those dark and rainy days.

The thought occurred to me, however, that perhaps crankin' on the heavy old clunker was good training and I shouldn't switch to the new bike until later in the spring.

Adding weight not with the water bottles but with a heavy bike.


I have never heard of pro's doing anything like this so it must not be such a great idea -- or is it? (After all, they can get a heavy bike for training if they want to).

We have some pros training here in Tucson and one of them uses a weighted device in his water bottle cage. I think the point everyone has missed is that this is weight bearing exercise that is specific to cycling. The heavier bike fulfills the same function. the additional weight is "like lifting weights with your bike". All the specific cycling muscles are used in the exercise, far different than in the gym.

 

[dhk]

Maybe the pro is adding weight just to slow him down, so he can train with a slower/weaker group without leaving them behind. Actually, strong guys here do the same thing to stay with the group on club ride: they'll show up on a single-speed, or towing a Bobber trailer for extra weight.

Unless you want the style points, why not just increase the "weight" you have to push by shifting up to the next gear? At low climbing speeds, the force you have to put to the pedal goes up most in direct proportion to the gear you're climbing in, so shifting from say the 25 to the 23 will increase the force needed on the pedals by 8.7%. If you want to "lift" even heavier weight, shift up to the 21, etc. The LA Performance Plan book describes a hill interval workout like this, where Lance shifts into the biggest gear he can manage to turn over for the climb.

 

[Brizza]

I was out training on a 'dead' road tonight and was thinking a very similar training idea. The road made it very difficult to maintain a good speed and I had to work harder to spin at 110 and ride at around race speed.

I also agree with the heavy/slow training bike theory.

Brian

 

[jimh2]

Originally posted by dhk
Maybe the pro is adding weight just to slow him down, so he can train with a slower/weaker group without leaving them behind. Actually, strong guys here do the same thing to stay with the group on club ride: they'll show up on a single-speed, or towing a Bobber trailer for extra weight.

Unless you want the style points, why not just increase the "weight" you have to push by shifting up to the next gear? At low climbing speeds, the force you have to put to the pedal goes up most in direct proportion to the gear you're climbing in, so shifting from say the 25 to the 23 will increase the force needed on the pedals by 8.7%. If you want to "lift" even heavier weight, shift up to the 21, etc. The LA Performance Plan book describes a hill interval workout like this, where Lance shifts into the biggest gear he can manage to turn over for the climb.

Bigger gears are an alternative except they have the potential to cause knee damage if used too much. Also, you are only under load with bigger gears when you are in that gear. With the weighted water bottle you are always under load therefore you can use easy gears without worry about damaging the knees.
By the way the pro that I was referring to here rides with the weighted water bottle by himself most of the time.

 

[ccorrick]

Originally posted by jimh2
Bigger gears are an alternative except they have the potential to cause knee damage if used too much. Also, you are only under load with bigger gears when you are in that gear. With the weighted water bottle you are always under load therefore you can use easy gears without worry about damaging the knees.
By the way the pro that I was referring to here rides with the weighted water bottle by himself most of the time.

Umm..if you use weight you will have to push the "easy" gears harder. Just because the you're in an "easy" gear doesn't mean you will be pedaling easily if you are weighted down.

Yeah, it's redundant, but I'm not sure it was clear.

 

[lawyering]

So, what I'm gathering here is that as soon as the roads clear up, ride the new bike. If I want to add more "weight," just use the bigger (i.e. heavier) gear. If I ever get to the point where my 53-11 is not enough to push the loads I want for training purposes, add weight. If I ride with slower riders and want to stay with the group, ride the tank or add weight (or resistance).

My eagerness to ride the new bike also comes from the desire to get a better feel for the bike. I am one with my 27" wheels and steel frame -- but not with my new bike -- yet.

Does this accurately reflect the consensus here?

 

[ccorrick]

Originally posted by lawyering
So, what I'm gathering here is that as soon as the roads clear up, ride the new bike. If I want to add more "weight," just use the bigger (i.e. heavier) gear. If I ever get to the point where my 53-11 is not enough to push the loads I want for training purposes, add weight. If I ride with slower riders and want to stay with the group, ride the tank or add weight (or resistance).

My eagerness to ride the new bike also comes from the desire to get a better feel for the bike. I am one with my 27" wheels and steel frame -- but not with my new bike -- yet.

Does this accurately reflect the consensus here?

Yes definately!!!

Ride that bike. You need to be one with it. Know exactly what it will do when. You want to know every little quirk, squeek, rattle, ping, and clunk. I'd say get some miles under your belt and KNOW your bike before you start adding anything. But pretty much you nailed it above. At lease this is to my thinking, and my thinking isn't always right

Have fun!