Weight training

crafter

Hi, this is my first post. Great site!

So basically ive just started up riding. The reason im posting is for the past six months ive been going to the gym 3 days a week lifting moderately heavy weights. Ive kind of lost my drive as after six months all i have to show for it is looking a bit bigger and toned up but i have no goal or anything to aim for.

So after a few weeks on the bike at the gym ive decided to buy myself a bike. What I was wondering is if anyone else lifts weights with the main intention on improving their cycling? Ive always worked out with full body routines hitting all the major muscle groups. Im basically after a new routine that can be done a couple of times a week to compliment my riding.

Thanks for any advice in advance

frenchfighter

Essentially you need powerful legs and very little muscle on your upper body (unles you are a sprinter) for the perfect physique.

The vast majority of cyclists do not lift weights at all, although some do so in the winter.

As you are new to riding, I would suggest that you should concentrate on your legs and abdominals for now, but next Spring stop altogether. Your lower back is also reasonably important and tricep work is beneficial (biceps are pretty useless for riding).

With regard to your legs, be sure to pay attention to your hamstrings. I used to do weights before I started riding and I'm convinced my leg developpment and in particular my hamstring work is very useful, especially on the climbs.

I would suggest keeping reps in the 10-20 region. Any less is not ideal.

Having a good base will serve you well, but you don't want that much upper body mass.

Good luck!

Wooliferkins

Riding will look after your legs no problem although strength work will help on the hills. Calf raises are a neglected aid IMHO. A decent set of core orientated exercises help in keeping your upper body still on the bike so you don't waste energy thrashing around or bobbing up and down. Arms and upper body what ever floats your boat as riding does nothing for them.

frenchfighter

Haven't red this, but it may contain some useful info:

http://www.cptips.com/weights.htm

Looks like there is a lot of info on google too.

Vuelta95

I compete in powerlifting and my road riding is done purely for enjoyment since I stopped racing a few years back. My pre-competition training has little to no carryover onto my riding as far as I have been able to ascertain. The exception is possibly low rep squat work, but I know that when I did race I only did a very small amount of gym work in winter. Going from 62kgs racing weight to 103kgs powerlifting weight may have some impact on my riding though............

carl_p

I do weight training 4 times a week. Don't confuse it with bodybuilding though which is a totally different obsession. I find it complements (spl?) cycling superbly as I no longer have to spend time at the gym doing cardio stuff and can concentrate on all round body/muscle care.

I do weights on all the leg muscles. Strong legs takes stress off the knees. Strong core muscles are also important.

Personally I don't like the stick insect (or is it Schlek insect) look of some pro-cyclist, I find it rather freaky.

Escargot

There seem to be two camps here that have opposing beliefs about weights (check out the threads in the 'training' area). One camp thinks it does nothing for cycling and the other thinks it does (including bikeradar.com). However I'm not sure it's clear cut.

Personally I haven't a clue what to think so just do weights as I love doing weights. As above I feel it compliments my riding especially out of the saddle as strong arms helps stabilise the bike when sprinting. In this respect I'm sure doing rows and dips are useful for the push/pull that's involved (especially after 4 hours when you can start to lose form due to tiredness).

As I'm sure you'll appreciate (from the weights you're currently doing) there's no point creating imbalance so ideally you need to keep doing opposing/complimentary excercises so that you don't end up with huge triceps/lats and no biceps etc.

Have to admit though that the one thing I've recently stopped doing has been deads. To do a proper session I would kill my legs and would not recover for days. This started to have an impact on my riding so have stopped them for now.

phreak

I go to the gym three times a week as much for my own enjoyment as any cycling benefit I get from it, although Friel's Training Bible does make mention of using the gym during the winter to build up strength.

I've found that with cycling a fair bit that keeps my weight down and prevents too much bulk from being added but I maintain the strength side of things. All of which means I weigh 58kg and can bench around 80kg reasonably comfortably. I'm sure the pros will be an awful lot thinner than me but I figure that I'm not a pro and it would seem a bit silly for an amateur to get into Wiggins like condition. He has a good reason for doing it, we generally don't.

There are many things that I'll look to improve before I start looking to go all anorexic on my upper body.

Escargot

phreak wrote:

I weigh 58kg and can bench around 80kg reasonably comfortably.

Fair play, that's impressive :shock:

Wooliferkins

A very nice reason to take up weight training. I'm sure that bar weighs more than me, never mind the divine Miss P!

Squillinossett

Well I have made the jump from Bodybuilding to cycling about 4 months ago, so I feel im in a good place to coment on this.

I think gym work helps, though again, what and how I lift has changed alot, also im only at the gym twice a week now, more for muscle retention.

I have dropped from 17.5 stone (about 14.5% BF) to 15.1 stone (still around 13.5% BF) as of Monday just gone, this has improved my cycling alot, I feel I can lay more power down now im lighter (I didnt expect this) and hills are MUCH easier.

I wont drop much more though as I dont think I could cope been a "skinny" again...

Flasheart

Wooliferkins wrote:

A very nice reason to take up weight training. I'm sure that bar weighs more than me, never mind the divine Miss P!

Never seen a nice one like that at my local gym

crafter

thanks for the replies everyone. The cptips link was most useful too

gkerr4

i don't think it does much for your cycling bar the 'core' stability stuff.

but like some others, I don't like the scrawny upper body that comes with the cyclist territory so I weight train to carry a bit more weight up top - it might well slow me down on the climbs - but I don't really care as i don't race.

sampras38

Squillinossett wrote:

Well I have made the jump from Bodybuilding to cycling about 4 months ago, so I feel im in a good place to coment on this.

I think gym work helps, though again, what and how I lift has changed alot, also im only at the gym twice a week now, more for muscle retention.

I have dropped from 17.5 stone (about 14.5% BF) to 15.1 stone (still around 13.5% BF) as of Monday just gone, this has improved my cycling alot, I feel I can lay more power down now im lighter (I didnt expect this) and hills are MUCH easier.

I wont drop much more though as I dont think I could cope been a "skinny" again...

Haha...I did exactly the same thing. Was about to compete too but bottled it and eventually got out of the sport. Then moved to my other main sport of tennis and finally been cycling seriously for the last 2 years. Went from 15.9 to my current weight of 12st 3, and much much happier for it. Never ever have I been this aerobically fit.

Headhuunter

I do weights at the gym about 3x per week. Mainly abdominal and upper body, I don't do much on the legs. My motivations are purely aesthetic really, I'm tall, about 6'3" and don't want to end up looking unbalanced with a scrawny top half with legs like tree trunks. I am slowly gaining weight though, with the added muscle, and am hoping this doesn't impact too much on my cycling!

phreak

I find it next to impossible to gain weight, even with weight training, due to the number of miles ridden each week. I think you get to that nice situation of becoming stronger without becoming heavier.

Headhuunter

phreak wrote:

I find it next to impossible to gain weight, even with weight training, due to the number of miles ridden each week. I think you get to that nice situation of becoming stronger without becoming heavier.

I drink protein shakes after the gym and sometimes after cycling to help my muscles repair and grow stronger. If you're not gaining muscle weight from working out, it sounds like your body is burning the added muscle off when you cycle perhaps? It must be possible to get stronger without muscles gaining size, but only to a point, surely?

phreak

I'm not really gaining in strength all that much, which doesn't really bother me as it's not a priority, I just want to stop the cycling from causing my upper body to wither away

Squillinossett

Headhuunter wrote:

phreak wrote:

I find it next to impossible to gain weight, even with weight training, due to the number of miles ridden each week. I think you get to that nice situation of becoming stronger without becoming heavier.

I drink protein shakes after the gym and sometimes after cycling to help my muscles repair and grow stronger. If you're not gaining muscle weight from working out, it sounds like your body is burning the added muscle off when you cycle perhaps? It must be possible to get stronger without muscles gaining size, but only to a point, surely?

Correct.

dennisn

Flasheart wrote:

Wooliferkins wrote:

A very nice reason to take up weight training. I'm sure that bar weighs more than me, never mind the divine Miss P!

Never seen a nice one like that at my local gym

I would like to have a couple of those in my local gym. However, since my local gym is in the basement.....................