gym routines?

daj

Anyone wish to share their gym routines?

Looking to improve overall fitness with some weight loss (age 36, club rider etc) looking to really step it up from my normal standards .

I go Mondays, wednesdays & Fridays

I Have a pretty basic routine that takes about an hour including push ups, bench press, leg press, weighted squats, crunches various other weights and I normally either spin for 20 odd mins or row.

Just being nosy really :oops:

u05harrisb

to be fair you would probably be better off using that time to ride your bike. i use gym often for weight and core training but you dont get much unless you know what things to bother with like bench pressing isnt going to do much for you in a cycling perspective. squats yeah those are useful but you would be better off, especially since you want to loose weight too, just going out on the bike. mix it up do some short fast blasts around your favorite short route, do a longer route take in the scenery, or you could do intervals mid distance. theres plenty of training program type things on here and other websites like cycling tips but you really cant go wrong with just being on the bike. what ever you do will aid you in some format so dont worry about it. if youve only got like 30 mins spare then rag it on your bike got a few ours chill out take your time and have some fun. if you really really hate being outside if it rains or is cold then turbo inside at home or you could cross train so rowing machines are good or running what ever as long as it keeps you going till your next time on the bike really. best of luck though
Ben

dw300

As a lifter, I'm now of the opinion that lifting won't help your riding if it gets in the way of on the bike training. It's also fairly pointless because you should specialise at whatever you're more suited to (climber, rouleur, sprinter), because you'll never be able to train as hard on the bike and the gym, as on the bike alone. So only lift if you need to for other reason aside from cycling.

Having said that .. A couple of muscle groups that might be useful for bike riders to train, are your traps (they get fatigued holding your head out front on long rides), your core, and your lower back. All small(ish) muscle groups that get fatigued during riding, which if you strengthen them, may help you ride relaxed for longer, which in turn could contribute to better endurance and stamina (marginal gains and all that).

You can hit all those areas in a single lift .. the deadlift. Learn how to do it safely, then learn how to do it well, it's an awesome lift. It's also cool because you can't shift more free weight that that in a gym. 20mins a week should do it, you should be able to squeeze that in in addition to your cycling training.

ut_och_cykla

+1 for correctly done deadlift progressing to heavy/few reps. single leg squats are fun. Press ups for core and forward leaning barbell rows. But riding your bike is good too!

daj

excellent input will ask about deadllift Friday

The idea of hitting the gym is mainly to replace not being able to ride in week due to dark when finishing work?

Do you all ride through the winter mid-week then? Lights away ? :shock:

t.m.h.n.e.t

Lights and a dose of HTFU

danowat

daj wrote:

Do you all ride through the winter mid-week then? Lights away ? :shock:

Pretty much

Pross

Yep, ride right through winter with lights and suitable clothing. I finally got around to doing it properly for the first time last winter and loved it. Failing that a turbo trainer for the really horrible days. That said, the OP does say he is looking to improve overall fitness and whilst cycling will help with that there is nothing wrong with a bit of gym work if that is the aim and if you also want to develop a bit of upper body muscle definition to look better. Just as long as you don't expect it to improve your cycling ability.

bompington

Here's a good gym routine.

It wouldn't help you a lot with your riding, of course, but then neither would any other gym routine that might get recommended here. Ride your bike.

springtide9

As people have stated, riding your bike is best.

If you don't want to ride your bike as it's cold or wet or both, then maybe look at spin classes at the local gym or even using the upright gym bikes.

I used over last winter (and the winter before) gym bikes during the week as I didn't have any chance to ride a real bike, and although not as effective as riding a real bike, it did improve my fitness.

I used to do a lot of indoor rowing on the Concept 2's and I'm sure this also helped both in the legs as well as the core. Again not as good as cycling, but better than nothing. As a point of note, I used to row with a pretty high cadence on the rower and many a time got told I was "doing it all wrong", but I figured I wasn't "indoor rowing" to be good at outdoor rowing (where a slow cadence is essential), but for cycling. You do need to be very careful with your back on the rower, as pushing with your legs transfers the power through your core... and if you have reasonable strong cycling legs, but a weaker core, it can be far from ideal.

ju5t1n

I use the Concept 2 at the gym. There was a good thread on this last year... viewtopic.php?f=40011&t=12750687

caledonian1

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

Lights and a dose of HTFU

so what's HTFU?

With a username of TMHNET you certainly like acronyms...or is it just a badly spelt name

ben16v

PLF !

t.m.h.n.e.t

caledonian1 wrote:

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

Lights and a dose of HTFU

so what's HTFU?

With a username of TMHNET you certainly like acronyms...or is it just a badly spelt name

Harden the fuck up


My name stands for (not really) Tweak My Hairy Nipples Each Tuesday

bahzob

Only thing I do on a regular basis is core work as I am pretty convinced that does have a benefit in terms of cycling. Routine is pretty basic, 5-10 minutes of pick and mix any from plank/crunches/pilates. Do this just before getting onto bike/trainer, as they can be done from cold so just form part of warm up.

Other main thing I'll do is one leg box step up with weights. Not sure if it has any cycling benefit or not, but knees are shot due to football injuries and this has helped stabilise them.

barry_kellett99

dw300 wrote:

It's also fairly pointless because you should specialise at whatever you're more suited to (climber, rouleur, sprinter), because you'll never be able to train as hard on the bike and the gym, as on the bike alone.

Do you not think it would be better to specialise on your weaknesses rather than your strengths?

PompeyPaul

We should train on our limiters ........ things that prevent us from achieving..... if they happen to be a weakness as well then all good and well.

I have seen significant improvements in my performance since i have been carrying out a very specific set of weight training routines..... its horses for courses.

dw300

barry_kellett99 wrote:

dw300 wrote:

It's also fairly pointless because you should specialise at whatever you're more suited to (climber, rouleur, sprinter), because you'll never be able to train as hard on the bike and the gym, as on the bike alone.

Do you not think it would be better to specialise on your weaknesses rather than your strengths?

You misunderstand .. if you'd quoted my first sentence, it would reveal that I'm referring to weight training, the subject the OP asked about.

What I mean is that if I'm 60kg, there is no point in spending 3-5 days a week lifting weights for several years, to get to a lean 75kg to be a sprinter or great at flat TTs. It would render me almost completely unable to do more than 1-2 low intensity rides per week. Instead I should aim to be great in the hills, spending all my training time on the bike.

I agree that you should work on your weaknesses - on the bike.