Gym routine for cyclists

LCD

All the information is wrong, they are focusing on the minor details.

No one has mentioned what you should wear, how you should act, light set-up for selfies etc.

Wear shorts over tights or really skinny tracksuit bottoms, no socks & backwards baseball cap. If you have tattoos, a sleeveless t-shirt, otherwise tight long sleeve t-shirt
Big oversized bluetooth headphones are essential.
The correct ratio of time spent playing on phone to exercising is about 3:1
Address everyone as "dude" & if you actually know them "bro"
Bring a large (2 to 3 litre) oversized bottle of water (clean eating dude no need for energy drinks)
4 * large 5kg plates are scientifically proven to be more effective than 1*20kg plate. They must be large 5kg plates, the small ones don't work (it's science dude)
All movements performed in front of a mirror
If anyone mentions cycling,only say "I use the spin bikes for cardio...dude"
Post workout protein shake, can't emphasis this enough

As for the actually exercises, just use a few bands, stand on 1 foot a lot of the time, the more eccentric looking the movement the better

siochain

Macy0161 wrote: »

I came across this on a thread in fitness, which made me laugh in the context of this thread...

Transform knows his stuff

Macy0161

siochain wrote: »

Transform knows his stuff

Oh I know, and I try to do some of his flexibility and mobility stuff off youtube. It was more this bit "and then its off to cycling where they can hide their stiff body for a few more years" - I've gone virtually 100% bike as I was fed up with niggles and injuries from other sports, rather than address the most likely root cause!

terrydel

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

+1

Monday - Cycle
Tuesday - Cycle
Wednesday - Cycle
Thursday - Cycle
Friday - Cycle
Saturday - Cycle
Sunday - Cycle

Easy to remember and no gym fees.

My gym routine is simple, I routinely never go.

Harrybelafonte

magicbastarder wrote: »

it was a joke.

Sorry dude, I know, but I’m serious about this stuff, cyclists need to rethink their approach to the activity. I would have been cool if we were talking about the ****show that is CrossFit ™ but cross training is something everyone should consider during the winter at least.

saccades

Started doing a spin class with 15 mins off bike core/weight session 2x a week which I've noticed has massively reduced the amount of back ache I get.

siochain

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Sorry dude, I know, but I’m serious about this stuff, cyclists need to rethink their approach to the activity. I would have been cool if we were talking about the ****show that is CrossFit ™ but cross training is something everyone should consider during the winter at least.

Crossfit with the right coach can be very beneficial for cyclists in the off season

Harrybelafonte

siochain wrote: »

Crossfit with the right coach can be very beneficial for cyclists in the off season

Maybe. Finding the right coach is the issue. Straight up strength and conditioning would be substantially more beneficial though.

siochain

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Maybe. Finding the right coach is the issue. Straight up strength and conditioning would be substantially more beneficial though.

What’s the difference in session structure ?

Harrybelafonte

siochain wrote: »

What’s the difference in session structure ?

Fundamentally? It’s excercise, not training. Training is goal specific. Crossfit ™ is a number of high intensity excercises thrown together. That undersells it for some gyms and is not always true of better Crossfit ™ coaches, but I’d point to the fact that the upper levels of Crossfit ™ competition and that most of them don’t actually train Crossfit ™, but S&C. Matt Frazer may not be the fairest example but most follow a similar training regimen, which is more low intensity weights based? Would that not be fair to say?

harringtonp

On Tuesday did:

Warmup
Deadlift 5@60,60,70,80,70
Dumbell Chest Press 3x8@14
Back 3x8@56
Pullup 3x8
Dumbell Shoulder Press 3x8@12
Dumbell Split Squat 3x8@10

Tomorrrow will do more or less the same except substitute the Dumbell Split Squat with a Dumbell Goblet Squat.

I always interleave a leg and upper body exercise so would be running the deadlift and chest press (and then pullup) at the same time. Its a general program to provide all round balance but the deadlift is the one that would be of most direct cycling benefit.

If anybody see an obvious and important exercise that's missing from a time crunched lunch time program I'd be interested to hear ?

Only doing this a few weeks but will gradually add a little more weight as the winter progresses. The deadlift is the one need to be particularly careful with as have suffered 3 day back twinges before when get it wrong.

I also try and manage 2 SS turbo sessions and a Sunday club spin in the week.

harringtonp

JJJJNR wrote: »

I do a 30 minute turbo sess followed by the weights.

Would you not do the weights first in accordance with the "most intense first" training principle ?

harringtonp

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I'd consider myself to be pretty healthy and I've never set foot in a gym (nor do I have any desire to).


(I had to Google 'calisthenics' and 'cross training'.)

Age is a big factor here, most younger cyclists have good bone density and wouldn't be described as sedentary as they would have recently been doing other sports too. But when niggles, pains and injuries start creeping in, it is always worth considering some strength work.

Dug out an old article on Sam Bennett which would align with your viewpoint

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/a-28-year-wait-is-over-as-sam-bennett-wins-stage-of-paris-nice-1.3001316

where he claims gym work didn't really improve his sprinting

"The result is the biggest of his career, being the first win at the top-ranked WorldTour level. It comes after Bennett changed his training over the winter, eschewing heavy leg work in the gym for on-bike training. He told The Irish Times prior to the start of the season that he would return to his old approach, believing that the indoor strength work he did before the 2016 season simply didn’t transfer to the bike."

Harrybelafonte

harringtonp wrote: »

On Tuesday did:

Warmup
Deadlift 5@60,60,70,80,70
Dumbell Chest Press 3x8@14
Back 3x8@56
Pullup 3x8
Dumbell Shoulder Press 3x8@12
Dumbell Split Squat 3x8@10

Tomorrrow will do more or less the same except substitute the Dumbell Split Squat with a Dumbell Goblet Squat.

I always interleave a leg and upper body exercise so would be running the deadlift and chest press (and then pullup) at the same time. Its a general program to provide all round balance but the deadlift is the one that would be of most direct cycling benefit.

If anybody see an obvious and important exercise that's missing from a time crunched lunch time program I'd be interested to hear ?

Only doing this a few weeks but will gradually add a little more weight as the winter progresses. The deadlift is the one need to be particularly careful with as have suffered 3 day back twinges before when get it wrong.

I also try and manage 2 SS turbo sessions and a Sunday club spin in the week.

Do you have access to a hex/trap bar?

ford2600

harringtonp wrote: »

On Tuesday did:

Warmup
Deadlift 5@60,60,70,80,70

Only doing this a few weeks but will gradually add a little more weight as the winter progresses. The deadlift is the one need to be particularly careful with as have suffered 3 day back twinges before when get it wrong.

I'm going to guess you weigh 75kg +/- 5kgs; if you are getting "twinges" at the weight above which are ballpark your bw STOP.


DL's, squats are technical movements that need instruction and monitoring. I was lucky it that my gym was a powerlifting gym, so there was a lot of knowledge available from the club who trained there a long with two very good instructors. If you are getting twinges get someone who knows their stuff (good trainers are hard enough to find) to assess your movement and sort that first.


How you stand, place hands, grip bars, head position, hip position etc etc matter. A warm up which gets the main muscles firing and activated matters.
I'm not a man for spending a lot on bikes and gear but I never hesitated in paying well for good instructions on lifting.

Before anyone goes lifting things have a look here at these videos and be honest with yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dominic+munnelly+mobility
On CrossFit where I've seen it, it always strikes me a recipe for injuries. Get a sweat up, do huge volume of various exercises with form all over the place. Of course it can be done well but its been a mess most places I've seen it.

terrydel

siochain wrote: »

Crossfit with the right coach can be very beneficial for cyclists in the off season

But you have to put up with crossfit types. Worse than triathletes in my humble.

siochain

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Fundamentally? It’s excercise, not training. Training is goal specific. Crossfit ™ is a number of high intensity excercises thrown together. That undersells it for some gyms and is not always true of better Crossfit ™ coaches, but I’d point to the fact that the upper levels of Crossfit ™ competition and that most of them don’t actually train Crossfit ™, but S&C. Matt Frazer may not be the fairest example but most follow a similar training regimen, which is more low intensity weights based? Would that not be fair to say?

By your definition of training, training is what the majority of the class is taken up with. Your thought how to do the main lifts properly, squat, DL, OHP, pull etc. then progress over time to OL. The main lifts are usually done in cycles building up to a max lift over 6 - 8 weeks. If the METCON is what you mean by exercise (a number of high intensity exercises thrown together) usually take up 10 - 20 mins of the session.

From experience the only difference between crossfit & S&C is crossfit includes more gymnastics.

Harrybelafonte

siochain wrote: »

By your definition of training, training is what the majority of the class is taken up with. Your thought how to do the main lifts properly, squat, DL, OHP, pull etc. then progress over time to OL. The main lifts are usually done in cycles building up to a max lift over 6 - 8 weeks. If the METCON is what you mean by exercise (a number of high intensity exercises thrown together) usually take up 10 - 20 mins of the session.

From experience the only difference crossfit & S&C is crossfit includes some gymnastics.

You're not describing my experience of Crossfit or the multiple members of my gym who left it for proper S&C. Crossfit is based on being random and not specializing, it says it on their site:

“CrossFit is constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity.”

“The program prepares trainees for any physical contingency—not only for the unknown but for the unknowable, too. Our specialty is not specializing.”

On top of that, if it's so much better than S&C why do so many leave it once they plateau? Why so many injuries? Why do the top competitors not continue with it?

harringtonp

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Do you have access to a hex/trap bar?

Last time doing these exercise 2 years ago, I switched to a gym with a trap bar. Could lift an extra 20-30 kg straight off as the back was no longer a limiting factor and I found myself lifting sets of 5 at 120-130kg. This brought on hernia problems (pretty sure it was the load) so I stopped weights and the problem disappeared straight away.

So this time round I'd prefer work with just a straight bar and keep the weight down !

harringtonp

ford2600 wrote: »

I'm going to guess you weigh 75kg +/- 5kgs; if you are getting "twinges" at the weight above which are ballpark your bw STOP.

If you are getting twinges get someone who knows their stuff (good trainers are hard enough to find) to assess your movement and sort that first.


How you stand, place hands, grip bars, head position, hip position etc etc matter. A warm up which gets the main muscles firing and activated matters.

Yes weight is around 77-80 depending on the time of year. I would have had back twinges before maybe 2 or 3 times in 2 years but they would disappear fairly quickly. Agree with you that warmup and technique are everything and once the deadlifts are done I'm always more relaxed about the rest of the session.

Harrybelafonte

harringtonp wrote: »

Last time doing these exercise 2 years ago, I switched to a gym with a trap bar. Could lift an extra 20-30 kg straight off as the back was no longer a limiting factor and I found myself lifting sets of 5 at 120-130kg. This brought on hernia problems (pretty sure it was the load) so I stopped weights and the problem disappeared straight away.

So this time round I'd prefer work with just a straight bar and keep the weight down !

UUUh, not nice. Sorry to hear that.

harringtonp

ford2600 wrote: »

+1

Don't take my word for it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkXwfTsqQgQ&t=5s

Don't forget James O Keeffe Cardiologist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6U728AZnV0&t=215s

Great links those, well worth watching, learned 2 new words: sacropenia and troponin

There's a lot of piss take and general banter on the thread but it's postings like this that really make it worthwhile

siochain

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

You're not describing my experience of Crossfit or the multiple members of my gym who left it for proper S&C. Crossfit is based on being random and not specializing, it says it on their site:

“CrossFit is constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity.”

“The program prepares trainees for any physical contingency—not only for the unknown but for the unknowable, too. Our specialty is not specializing.”

On top of that, if it's so much better than S&C why do so many leave it once they plateau? Why so many injuries? Why do the top competitors not continue with it?

you missed a part of the description from the website

CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide. With the right coach the session is scaled to the individual.


The only part that is supposed to be random the is WOD or METCON.

I never claimed it was so much better than S&C. It is a type of S&C and the difference when comparing any two classes S&C V's CF, S&C V's S&C, CF V's CF the difference will be down to the coach knowledge and application of the knowledge.

In the class you attended was it all random with no structure? Did you improve on anything? Where are the stats on plateau & injuries?

Harrybelafonte

siochain wrote: »

I never claimed it was so much better than S&C. It is a type of S&C and the difference when comparing any two classes S&C V's CF, S&C V's S&C, CF V's CF the difference will be down to the coach knowledge and application of the knowledge.

I’m gonna stick with this quote as we’re beginning to detract from the thread. We’re in basic agreement. The coach is the important part.

Lusk_Doyle

velo.2010 wrote: »

Monday
Back
Deadlifts, 4 sets – 6-12 reps
Barbell rows, 3 sets – 10-12 reps

......

Seated raises, 4 sets – 12 reps
Crunches, 3 sets – failure
Sunday
Rest

Is that you, Valverde?

brownian

harringtonp wrote: »

Great links those, well worth watching, learned 2 new words: sacropenia and troponin

There's a lot of piss take and general banter on the thread but it's postings like this that really make it worthwhile

That'd be sarcopenia, boss. Not that you're old enough to worry about it yet

JJJJNR

harringtonp wrote: »

Would you not do the weights first in accordance with the "most intense first" training principle ?

its an intense turbo session for 30 min, followed by 5x2 reps of the weights, 5 per leg.

Doc07

brownian wrote: »

That'd be sarcopenia, boss. Not that you're old enough to worry about it yet

I’ve written 2 academic papers on sarcopenia didn’t think I’d read about it on boards!
High standards round here!

manwithaplan

When I used to race, I did 2 gym sessions a week from mid/late October to February. Warm up on a turbo/gym bike followed by circuits of squats (used a leg press as was a bit worried about my back), leg curls, leg extensions, toe raises, bench presses, back extensions, inclined sit ups, seated rows. Few minutes on the bike in between circuits (including some low cadence), keeping everything reasonably quick to get some aerobic benefit too (and to get it over with quickly!).

Generally started with three circuits and moved up to five over the winter. Would also add variety between the circuits - fast and light, slow and heavy, explosive etc). Obviously added a little more weight as I got stronger.

I wouldn't continue this through the spring and summer as I wanted to train (and race) on the bike. I always felt it helped keep the weight off through the winter as well as building strength.

thebouldwhacker

AlexMer wrote: »

Hi all,
I am just wondering would anyone have any reccomendations or suggestions in relation to a gym rountine for the winter months, to supplement the turbo and weekend endurance spins. Would be looking at something twice a week, maybe 3 times if it was of substantial benefit. At a modest/decent level cycling wise (just for some context!) so I am looking to increase on performance next year.
Any links or posts would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

Not the best podcast, and to be honest (according to reviews) maybe not the best written or edited book, but it certainly outlines what works for cyclists.

A Strength Program for Cyclists - Max Overload - Jacques DeVore by Consummate Athlete Podcast
https://player.fm/1lskbC #nowplaying