Weight Training & Cycling

AdrianStuart

Hi all,

I got into cycling in a big way last year, did the London to Brighton & RideLondon events as well as other smaller sportives.

I went down from 80kg to 70kg and was not a fan of getting very skinny across my arms and chest, I personally prefer to be bit bulkier. Over the winter I have spent 4-5 days a week in the gym and have gained around 6kg again.

I am wondering if anyone else combines gym work with cycling and what sort of routines they use.

Ta!

imposter2.0

Depends on if you want to get better at cycling, or get better at looking awesome on the beach. If you focus on both, you are unlikely to improve at either.

AdrianStuart

I appreciate being lighter is better for cycling but I am not fussed, I am not aiming to be the next Froome, I enjoy cycling for what it is and I also enjoy doing weights at the gym.

Hence my question, does anyone else combine the 2 and if so what sort of routines do you use.

cabbageandbacon

I'd concentrate on what matters to you more to be honest. I myself am more interested in getting faster, fitter and better at riding the bike. I do a few reps of squats, calf rises along with hamstring curls etc, but not heavy weights to be honest, just enough to keep me ticking over.

supermurph09

How tall are you? I've dropped from 82KG to 76KG since quitting the weights for the bike and at 6ft its impossible for ME to improve on the bike and have a decent physique. Whilst like you I'm not happy with losing the muscle mass I'd worked 5 years to create but cycling is my passion. I'll settle for skinny arms and legs for getting quicker on the bike. On the flip side of that I am now starting to do some bodyweight exercises (pressups etc) and some light dumbbells just to maintain a bit of strength, I'm hoping that will ward of the emaciated look!

AdrianStuart

Supermurph09 wrote:

How tall are you? I've dropped from 82KG to 76KG since quitting the weights for the bike and at 6ft its impossible for ME to improve on the bike and have a decent physique. Whilst like you I'm not happy with losing the muscle mass I'd worked 5 years to create but cycling is my passion. I'll settle for skinny arms and legs for getting quicker on the bike. On the flip side of that I am now starting to do some bodyweight exercises (pressups etc) and some light dumbbells just to maintain a bit of strength, I'm hoping that will ward of the emaciated look!

Thanks for the responses, I am 5' 9". I suppose it is difficult because I wouldnt say I want to get quicker, i use cycling as my form of cardio and weights the keep lean muscle on.

I think I will continue doing weights but at a lighter weight and higher reps, keeping lean muscle on but maybe lose some more bodyfat through cycling.

mentalalex

I do weights/core 1-3 times a week.

rayjay

I lift at least 4 times a week, I don't go all out heavy most of the time but do push quite hard.
I do lots of pull ups, close /wide on the chinning bar as well.

One year I did stop the weights for six months and dropped some weight to see If I would climb better.

I headed over to France and hit a few of my fav climbs nearly 2 stone lighter and my times were no better although it did feel good.

sloppyschleckonds

rayjay wrote:

I headed over to France and hit a few of my fav climbs nearly 2 stone lighter and my times were no better although it did feel good.

Did you work on your climbing or expect the weightloss to give improvement?

adam0bmx0

I'm hovering around 73kg at 6ft, again like to lift and have been for a few years, compared to road cycling (now 2 years)

Not sure what BF% I am, guessing around 11-12%. Don't think it effects me to much holding a bit of mass up top, I could get weight very low (naturally skinny) if I stopped weights/eating 5 meals a day.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v168/ ... cea7a7.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v168/ ... 108f0a.jpg

I'd like to get on a Wattabike to see what I put out, my FTP etc.

lochindaal

I think I will continue doing weights but at a lighter weight and higher reps, keeping lean muscle on but maybe lose some more bodyfat through cycling.

Due to your weight loss it would suggest you are doing a reasonable amount of endurance work via cycling. Lift heavy weights and smaller reps and you will create dense muscle fibres that will give you a well defined muscle and you'll get an added strength benefit. The amount you are burning from your cycling will mean you will not get bulked up body builder type muscles. Endurance work "turns off" the chemical balances in the body needed for large muscle growth.

If you want the body builder type size then lay off the cycling and just go to the gym. You will also need to combine this with an appropriate nutrition program. The size is mainly created by fluid in the muscle between the fibres not the muscle itself.

macroadie

I have the same issue/problem especially coming from rugby,soccer, weight lifting background. Don't want to be skinny but also want to ride faster so i just do one day weights (decling pushups, plank, shoulder press, dips, chinups, bent over row, deadlift, leg press, calf raise). I do combine this with Tue,Thur, Sat, Sun bike rides.

Shakey Bear

Not only do i use the gym a couple of times a week (where a trainer has set 'cycling specific' programmes), but have found that Kettle Bell, and Pilates has helped developed core stability - i am starting to feel a benefit during my cycling. Spin classes once a week are also helping.

timujink

To get big you need to eat big. If you watch your diet and cycle more intensely than lift you will not get big, you will get strong and be sub10% BF sometime in the future if you are committed. compound lifts such as deadlifts, squats go heavy but maintain perfect form to reap the benefits, single leg work, pistol squats, lunges etc... I have taken up olympic lifting last 2 years, clean, jerk, high pulls and its all about speed.... nervous system gets a shock, recruits muscle fibre's... I just feel better, whether it has improved my power, cant calculate directly.. only had power meter for a few months so hard to tell... ... and lots of plyo (jumps/sprints) and plenty of stretching for your hamstrings, lower back etc....

phreak

I swam for a long time before I got into cycling and gym work was a big component of that. It's something that I've carried on with whilst cycling, and whilst I have become leaner, the strength has stayed largely the same, if not better. That's all whilst undergoing a big improvement on the bike (I know comparing times on sportives is not the most accurate of measures - but I knocked 45 minutes off of my Maratona time last year from the previous in 2010).

I currently weigh 58kg so am far from huge. After the Maratona last summer I'd got down to around 56.5kg, and was about as lean as I'd want to be.

In the gym I mostly focus on upper body work and do high weight/low rep. Seems to build strength, whilst the 2-300km of riding a week keeps the bulk off.

Graham K

I recently weighed in at 105kg, Run, swim and play football along with cycling,
Got back into the gym in Jan after a year out because I got too big.

I do what I do because I enjoy it, I admit I aint gonna win races or compete for my country, but if I can be relatively fit and healthy, and be happy with it then I win hands down.

Jules Winnfield

Some nice and gentle replies on this subject. When I asked the same question a couple of months ago, all I got was "FFS, not this question again" ..... Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

briantrumpet

Jules Winnfield wrote:

Some nice and gentle replies on this subject. When I asked the same question a couple of months ago, all I got was "FFS, not this question again" ..... Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Not quite the same question though ... you asked about weight training to increase 'strength' in the legs to improve cycling performance, and the OP here is asking about upper body. The 'leg strength' question has been done to death, hence the short fuses on display.

lochindaal

Not quite the same question though ... you asked about weight training to increase 'strength' in the legs to improve cycling performance, and the OP here is asking about upper body. The 'leg strength' question has been done to death, hence the short fuses on display.

Though the same theories apply :twisted:

lancew

I do a bit of a mix. Cycling is my hobby but I also enjoy other activities, and have ended up with quite a busy schedule just because I enjoy all of my classes and sessions.

Monday: Spin followed by weights circuits
Tuesday: Boxing
Wednesday: Rest/Light summer ride
Thursday: Circuits/Boxing
Friday: Rest
Sat: Gym/Ride
Sunday: 5k row & light gym session/Ride

Of that I tend to have to skip 1 item a week because of time commitments. I have to confess I tend to do under 25 mile rides because of the same, otherwise I'd never see the fiancee.

In terms of performance, I've found that the casual riders that I started out struggling to keep up with I can now out climb on every hill by a long way, and I can stay easily in the big ring if I really want to power up something. I do have one friend who is a very talented triathlete and I can't keep up with him so maybe if I focused on just my cycling I'd be better but that's not what I want to get out of it.

I weigh 83kg at 6 foot tall, so I consider myself to be over what I'd like to be, this is 100% down to diet though: I eat ALLOT. I want to be around 78kg by August for my wedding. That's the target.

Camcycle1974

AdrianStuart wrote:

I appreciate being lighter is better for cycling but I am not fussed, I am not aiming to be the next Froome, I enjoy cycling for what it is and I also enjoy doing weights at the gym.

Hence my question, does anyone else combine the 2 and if so what sort of routines do you use.

Hi Adrian,

I train in the gym 3 days a week and cycle 3 days a week on average. The two things use different energy systems (aerobic & anaerobic) and as such can be compatible. I focus on low volume, high intensity work in the gym to build muscle and do a couple of higher intensity rides and one longer ride at the weekend for fat burning and cardiovascular fitness.

I wouldn't advise anything too cardio based in the gym (i.e Crossfit etc) for fear of overloading the CNS. Keep it short and intense in the gym (I use a reverse pyramid set-up and only do 1 exercise per muscle group).

I also use a Intermittant Fasting diet set up so try and focus my carb intake around any training I am doing.

I have put on weight from last summer when I focused more on cycling which of course does me no favours on the bike but like you I prefer to carry more muscle for aesthetic reasons