Help - Gain weight diet during off season

LukeHurst

Hi,

This might not be your usual request but I feel I could benefit from gaining a little weight during the off season but I don't know where to start.

I'm 6ft4 and currently weigh 63KG. My weight will always be around that throughout the racing season and even the winter despite eating what I like. I'm perfectly healthy and I produce reasonable power both on/off road riding but I feel like I lack something.

I have raced road bikes for 13+ years but I recently took up XC and I find I struggle a bit on the bumpy stuff. My power to weight ratio is good and I can currently run mid-top pack during 2 hour races but I think I am at the max strength that I am capable of achieving at my current weight.

I train 5-6 times a week both on and off road and I fit it around a full time job and the start-up of a new business venture http://www.pedalcentre.co.uk

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks, Luke.

njee20

You don't really want to gain just weight though, more power. What do you mean you struggle on bumpy stuff?

Sounds like you'd benefit from doing some longer intervals, I do 20 minutes on, 10 off and repeat 3 times on the flat, at TT pace to get your pace up on the flat. You must be a good climber at that weight.

LukeHurst

njee20 wrote:

You don't really want to gain just weight though, more power. What do you mean you struggle on bumpy stuff?

Sounds like you'd benefit from doing some longer intervals, I do 20 minutes on, 10 off and repeat 3 times on the flat, at TT pace to get your pace up on the flat. You must be a good climber at that weight.

I perhaps didn't make myself very clear. I tend to get battered around a lot on the bumpy terrain and I struggle to roll a big gear so I ride a high cadence to maintain speed. I realize that I don't just need to gain weight and that I need to bulk up but no matter what I do with my diet I always stay the same size/weight.

Yes I am a fairly decent climber both on the road and off-road but I struggle into a headwind and as I say above, I struggle on rough ground.

MountainMonster

D suggest getting some protein powder to help with muscle growth, and start training at the gym. Squats, leg presses and a few other higher weight leg exercises will bring up the power in your legs. Its probably also worth it to work quite a bit on the upperbody, such as bench presses, quite a few core area exercises such as back presses and weighted crunches, and work on the arms, curls tricep presses that sort of thing.

Do you eat alot of red meat as of yet? They are also quite high in protein and will help with muscle building as well.

njee20

Are you wanting to get quicker on the bike, or look less like a beanpole?

If the latter then MM is spot on, but 'bulking up' is very unlikely to make you quicker on a bike.

If the former then a load of extra muscle is very unlikely to help, it's just extra weight to lug around. Turning a high cadence isn't a bad thing. You can do strength intervals on the road though, go out for a ride in your top gear, and don't change, even if you're doing 20rpm, you'll get big quads and used to mashing a big gear, if you really want, there's merit in being able to adapt certainly, although I don't think it's a good style to use all the time.

If you're getting thrown around on rough ground then you need to stand up, keep your arms and legs bent more and move around, look at fork/shock/tyre pressures too.

Willow Koerber is only 48.5kg, and she can ride rough ground alright!


.

LukeHurst

Thanks for the replies, some good points made.

I guess I want to look less like a beanpole but the key thing for me is wanting to gain more strength/power both on the road and off-road. I'm probably looking at this from the wrong angle but I am constantly being told that I look way to thin and that I should put some weight on.

Luke.

steponahen

I'm also 6'4, and I used to be really thin (not quite as thin as you though!), so I did a lot of weights and now weigh 14st - 89kgs.

If you want to bulk up you need to hit the weights 4 times a week, and you need to eat lots of protein. Chicken, fish, protein shakes etc. It's boring, but it works. Look at bodybuilding.com for tips on doing it properly. If you don't follow a proper plan it could just be wasted time and effort.

However, putting on that much weight won't help your cycling. Might make long rides slightly less fatiguing on the muscles, but the extra weight slows you down.

I'm carrying 26kg more than you - that's the equivalent of two full sussers stapped to my back!

dennisn

If your problem is the "off season" maybe you should consider just cancelling this "off season" and continue riding. Plenty of riders out there who don't even know there is an "off season".

LukeHurst

dennisn wrote:

If your problem is the "off season" maybe you should consider just cancelling this "off season" and continue riding. Plenty of riders out there who don't even know there is an "off season".

I'm not sure how this relates to my original question. I want to use the off-season from racing to improve for next years racing season, specifically by gaining a little weight and/or power/strength. To ride all year round at the level I do through the summer months would be silly,and would almost certainly result in me "burning" myself out.

I should add that I do continue to ride all year round but I do not race to the extent that I would during the summer months. I still ride 5-6 times a week.

LukeHurst

steponahen wrote:

I'm also 6'4, and I used to be really thin (not quite as thin as you though!), so I did a lot of weights and now weigh 14st - 89kgs.

If you want to bulk up you need to hit the weights 4 times a week, and you need to eat lots of protein. Chicken, fish, protein shakes etc. It's boring, but it works. Look at bodybuilding.com for tips on doing it properly. If you don't follow a proper plan it could just be wasted time and effort.

However, putting on that much weight won't help your cycling. Might make long rides slightly less fatiguing on the muscles, but the extra weight slows you down.

I'm carrying 26kg more than you - that's the equivalent of two full sussers stapped to my back!

Thanks for the reply. When you put it like you have I'm not sure I want to gain the extra weight, well not that much anyway.

I must admit that I really struggle getting the correct foods in during a normal week i.e. at work between 7:30 - 5 training at night. Something that I must work on.

dennisn

LukeHurst wrote:

dennisn wrote:

If your problem is the "off season" maybe you should consider just cancelling this "off season" and continue riding. Plenty of riders out there who don't even know there is an "off season".

I'm not sure how this relates to my original question. I want to use the off-season from racing to improve for next years racing season, specifically by gaining a little weight and/or power/strength. To ride all year round at the level I do through the summer months would be silly,and would almost certainly result in me "burning" myself out.

I should add that I do continue to ride all year round but I do not race to the extent that I would during the summer months. I still ride 5-6 times a week.

It was said somewhat tongue in cheek. :oops: :oops:

LukeHurst

dennisn wrote:

LukeHurst wrote:

dennisn wrote:

If your problem is the "off season" maybe you should consider just cancelling this "off season" and continue riding. Plenty of riders out there who don't even know there is an "off season".

I'm not sure how this relates to my original question. I want to use the off-season from racing to improve for next years racing season, specifically by gaining a little weight and/or power/strength. To ride all year round at the level I do through the summer months would be silly,and would almost certainly result in me "burning" myself out.

I should add that I do continue to ride all year round but I do not race to the extent that I would during the summer months. I still ride 5-6 times a week.

It was said somewhat tongue in cheek. :oops: :oops:

Oh sorry I didn't pick up on that.

DCR00

Something else to consider is that 5 days of training per week will not be conducive to you putting on weight either

IMO it doesn’t really sound like size is your issue, more power and strength.

It sounds like you are a "hard gainer" if you can basically eat what you like without putting weight on, meaning that gaining weight, even with a proper diet, will be hard work, and expensive

A common misconception is that size = power. This is not always the case. The muscle fibres used for power are not the same as the ones that give you the size, and the training methods used for power and size differ greatly. Hence why you can have guys who have a very good physique, but who aren’t particularly strong. Not to say that if you train right you won’t be big and strong, but in your case, it possible to be the latter without the former.

In the OP you don't mention whether you do any specific power training off the bike. If you aren’t, i would suggest a mixture of power and strength training sessions in the gym, focusing on core and legs. Maybe substitute 1 day per week for some gym work ?

Power and strength training tend to focus on low rep/high weight, with power sessions focusing on 90% + of max strength in the 1-3 rep range, while strength sessions focus on 80%-90% of max strength, in the 3-5 rep range, both doing 5 sets per body part. Have a look on a couple of body building/power lifting websites (muscletalk.co.uk is a good one).

Personally i cycle them with dropsets, doing 2 weeks of dropsets (for size), 2 weeks on strength and 1 week on power, then start again.

LukeHurst

DCR00 wrote:

Something else to consider is that 5 days of training per week will not be conducive to you putting on weight either

IMO it doesn’t really sound like size is your issue, more power and strength.

It sounds like you are a "hard gainer" if you can basically eat what you like without putting weight on, meaning that gaining weight, even with a proper diet, will be hard work, and expensive

A common misconception is that size = power. This is not always the case. The muscle fibres used for power are not the same as the ones that give you the size, and the training methods used for power and size differ greatly. Hence why you can have guys who have a very good physique, but who aren’t particularly strong. Not to say that if you train right you won’t be big and strong, but in your case, it possible to be the latter without the former.

In the OP you don't mention whether you do any specific power training off the bike. If you aren’t, i would suggest a mixture of power and strength training sessions in the gym, focusing on core and legs. Maybe substitute 1 day per week for some gym work ?

Power and strength training tend to focus on low rep/high weight, with power sessions focusing on 90% + of max strength in the 1-3 rep range, while strength sessions focus on 80%-90% of max strength, in the 3-5 rep range, both doing 5 sets per body part. Have a look on a couple of body building/power lifting websites (muscletalk.co.uk is a good one).

Personally i cycle them with dropsets, doing 2 weeks of dropsets (for size), 2 weeks on strength and 1 week on power, then start again.

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to write a very detailed reply to my topic. You have given me lots to think about and nudge in the right direction.

Regarding your point about off bike specific power training I must admit that I do not do anything. All of my training is done on a bike either on the road, mtb or turbo trainer. I do a lot of interval work but perhaps not enough focusing on power.

I have read quite a few books and I have been given advice from various people over the years but I always seem to struggle to bring it all together and train in an effective manner where power is concerned.

I guess I am guilty of thinking that an increase in my size would equal an increase in strength/power.

Luke.

DCR00

No problem at all

Try MuscleTalk.co.uk. There are a wide selection of sports people who post on there. Its not all body builders, so you are bound to find someone who can help.

I dont know much at all about cycling specific training, so i dont want to give you inaccurate info, but im willing to bet that pro's spend at least one day a week in the gym

Cheers

DCR