|   Fitness Questions... | AlanS
Jan 7, 2004 5:29 AM | | I am: 52, 145lbs, not that strong (being honest here), ride mtb 3x week (winter), mtb/road 4x week (rest of year). I NEED to get stronger. My mates are outlasting/ climbing me. I have access to a gym and am willing to train. The weather has turned frigid, thus riding is slowing down. What would be a "simple" gym plan...basic full body strength training that would benefit my cycling? I do not want to get into a whole Friel training course- I have a complicated lifestyle, so time is valuable. Plus, I don't race- just want to whoop the asses of my cycling partners... |
| Squats -NM | GlazedHam
Jan 7, 2004 7:10 AM | | |
| re: Fitness Questions... | solo
Jan 8, 2004 10:17 AM | | Alan,
the MAIN thing that will get you faster than your buds is
'saddle time.'
Because when all is said and done;
'In XC the fastest guy is the guy who has the most saddle time'.
Get on the bike and ride at night more.
Ride as fast and dont stop for breaks.
go for minimum 1 hour and up to 3 hours.
shoot for mileage now and interval speed riding in March.
Solo night and day riding is AOK.
I dont care how cold it gets.
Get the right gear and get changed in a warm car and get out there!!
I was out solo last nite in 16 degrees. Was absolutely great.
trail was rock hard and a combo of flypaper and sandpaper.
This is really the best window to ride of entire year IMO.
Gym helps too for overall agressiveness, concentration, balance, cornering and steering.
Join a gym like Golds and hit every weight machine they got.
do 1-2 hours 2-3 days a week for now.
We'll get you there.
Post up and let us know how it goes.
Do exactly as I wrote above.
remember: SADDLE TIME IS KING.
If you have more than the other riders there is no way they will be faster than you.
good luck! |
| 1 more thing | solo
Jan 8, 2004 10:31 AM | | By the way Indoor biking is a great way to get saddle time because it translates to the XC bike very well.
So there is an option for you.
Bottom line:
Accumulate as much saddle time as you can this Winter so that come Spring if you kept a chart and compared it to your buddies you would end up ranked highest in saddle time.
It will mean you are the fastest.
Choose the bike over the gym Alan. |
| If I could pick only three exercises........ | mids76
Jan 8, 2004 11:31 AM | | They would be squats, pull-ups, and dips. This doesn't include core however. Your core should have its own three at least, IMHO. These three lifts will work every muscle group. But SADDLE TIME IS STILL KING!!!!! |
| re: Fitness Questions... | Enzoid
Jan 8, 2004 1:47 PM | | I assume that you would continue to ride your bike at least as much as you do now. Since you asked about a gym plan as opposed to an on the bike plan, I would recommend the following exercises: Squats or Leg press, Pull ups or Seated Rows, Push-ups or Dips. If you just choose one of the alternatives for each one day and then do the other on a second day, that would be good. 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps (or as many reps as manageable in the case of pushups, pullup and dips). |
| cycling power v. muscle strength | millennium
Jan 13, 2004 11:13 AM | | "I NEED to get stronger. My mates are outlasting/climbing me."
Assuming that you are not a total couch potato, more muscle "strength" probably is NOT what you need. (When I say muscle "strength", I mean strength as measured by "1 repetition maximum".) Instead, I suspect that you need to increase your body's ability to deliver and utilize oxygen. Here's my explanation:
I am also a skinny guy (as are most of the pro cyclists), and I go to the gym every winter to improve all-around body muscle tone/strength, to help avoid muscle imbalances, to held avoid injury, to build strength that might help with certain off-road skills, and to give me a break from cycling. But, in general terms, I do NOT go to the gym to get faster on the bike.
Producing more power on the bike on a climb (i.e. going faster on the climb) generally is NOT a matter of muscle strength. For example, using the tools on analyticcycling.com, you can figure out that, for an 80kg combined rider/bike weight, the average downstroke force applied by one leg when pedaling at 90 cadence and producing 300 watts (that's roughly the wattage that an expert category rider would produce on a longish climb) is only 53 lbs.!!! A table graphic is pasted below showing the forces at various cadences and wattages. I'm sure you can push that much weight for quite a long time.
[Note: If you cannot push that much weight for quite a long time, then your resistance to muscle fatigue (not pure strength) could be part of the problem. Doing some 1.5 to 2 hour rides below threshold intensity (in zone 3 of a 5 zone intensity system) will improve fatigue resistance really well. The threshold workouts described below also improve fatigue resistance.]
Producing more power on a climb is primarily a matter of increasing oxygen delivery and utilization--more and bigger mitochondia in the cells, more capillaries, etc. So, How do you improve your oxygen delivery and utilization for hill climbing? By doing training rides that mimic the intensity of climbing a hill (too obvious?). Typically, when climbing a long hill, your intensity level is near your "threshold". On shorter hills, the intensity level is usually a bit higher than threshold.
So, I would do 2 (or maybe 3) training workouts per week that focus on "threshold" intensity for 20-60 mins per workout (e.g. 2 intervals of 10 mins. each at threshold intensity, with the intervals getting longer as you can tolerate it). You can gauge your intensity with HR zones ("threshold" intensity is usually found in and around zone 4 of a 5 zone system). Using a powermeter to gauge intensity would be even better. After 8-12 weeks, you should be able to go faster up those hills. |
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