Stregth training

inseine
inseine Posts: 5,786
edited October 2008 in Training, fitness and health
For those of us who can't or don't want to go to the gym, who has had positive results from on the bike strength training? Do you think pushing big gears for some of your sessions has brought good results? At this time of year maybe some high resistance turbo sessions might boast my strength especially since that at 58kgs I'm not the strongest of riders.
http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/

Comments

  • Infamous
    Infamous Posts: 1,130
    Just ride harder/faster in your normal gear, that is what improves strength.

    Cadance/gear is largely irrelevant.
  • damage36
    damage36 Posts: 282
    Big gear up hills works. Don't push a big gear all winter though, you'll screw up your back.
    Legs, lungs and lycra.

    Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
  • Patrick1.0
    Patrick1.0 Posts: 290
    inseine wrote:
    For those of us who can't or don't want to go to the gym, who has had positive results from on the bike strength training? Do you think pushing big gears for some of your sessions has brought good results? At this time of year maybe some high resistance turbo sessions might boast my strength especially since that at 58kgs I'm not the strongest of riders.

    58kg? Bloody hell. You're a couple of kilos lighter than me.

    Out of interest though, how old and how tall are you? I wouldn't advise going overboard on any strength training if you're still developing. If you're a mature adult then do what I do, get out on those hills :P . You could also do as damage says: big gears on short, steep hills from a seated position. Alternate between that and spinning up them in a smaller gear than you'd normally use and getting out of the saddle to sprint.
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,786
    Partrick........sadly I'm not developing any more, but at 45 I hope to have a few years left in me. I'm 1.70 BTW and this is the heaviest I've ever been!
    I was worried about doing too much high end stuff this early but though I could build some strength anyway. I don't get out in the week but could replicate the hills on the turbo.
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • fuzzynavel
    fuzzynavel Posts: 718
    inseine wrote:
    Partrick........sadly I'm not developing any more, but at 45 I hope to have a few years left in me. I'm 1.70 BTW and this is the heaviest I've ever been!
    I was worried about doing too much high end stuff this early but though I could build some strength anyway. I don't get out in the week but could replicate the hills on the turbo.

    1.70m and 58 kg and this is the heaviest you have ever been!!... your BMI (although not the most accurate ever) is on the low side of normal weight and heading towards underweight.
    Personally I would be happy to get to 70 Kg but that will never happen (97kg currently)
    Forget about your weight....work until you get the body shape that you want instead.
    17 Stone down to 12.5 now raring to get back on the bike!
  • damage36
    damage36 Posts: 282
    inseine wrote:
    Partrick........sadly I'm not developing any more, but at 45 I hope to have a few years left in me. I'm 1.70 BTW and this is the heaviest I've ever been!
    I was worried about doing too much high end stuff this early but though I could build some strength anyway. I don't get out in the week but could replicate the hills on the turbo.

    I'm so envious of you skinny bastards! I've just got under 13st for the first time in about 18-24 months (before which I was 18, as opposed to being fat), the next target is to get under 80kg, and from there to 75. Giving up 20kg to another racer makes it no surprise I can't fly uphill. I'll have to style myself as a roleur!
    Legs, lungs and lycra.

    Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
  • Patrick1.0
    Patrick1.0 Posts: 290
    inseine wrote:
    Partrick........sadly I'm not developing any more, but at 45 I hope to have a few years left in me. I'm 1.70 BTW and this is the heaviest I've ever been!
    I was worried about doing too much high end stuff this early but though I could build some strength anyway. I don't get out in the week but could replicate the hills on the turbo.

    Ye, definitely. I think 58 kg is a fantastic weight, by the way.

    I am 5.9 and 60kg - don't want to carry any fat as a climber :P
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,786
    Mr Fuzzy, I've never said i was worried about my body shape, just that i wanted to be stronger! Actually where I want to improve is on shortish, 1-2km climbs and fast through and off situations. Obviously I climb OK but I feel I really need to be able to make a difference on the hills and road race hills tend to be shortish. Probably these are power and not strength situations but lets not get bogged down with that.
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • damage36
    damage36 Posts: 282
    In which case, hill repeats are the way to go! Just find a hill 30mins away and jam it 5 times. Then go home and feel awesome.
    But doing that a full intensity all winter would get very boring.
    Legs, lungs and lycra.

    Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
  • fuzzynavel
    fuzzynavel Posts: 718
    damage36 wrote:
    In which case, hill repeats are the way to go! Just find a hill 30mins away and jam it 5 times. Then go home and feel awesome.
    But doing that a full intensity all winter would get very boring.

    Although short and sweet...this is what I currently do. I have a 7% 1km long hill about 5 miles away from home....I ride there...do a few laps and then home again as my timed route for training... it is paying dividends with the climbing as my times are getting faster.....the more you ride the better you will get....
    Some weights may not hurt either if you are looking for explosive power for climbing. I like to use the seated leg press machine at my local gym and do reps of 1.5 times my body weight...I have noticed a difference when standing up pushing hard but that may be just because I ride a lot more than I used to now and could be nothing to do with the weights.....admittedly I have quite large thighs now but I can climb pretty well for a fat bloke!
    17 Stone down to 12.5 now raring to get back on the bike!
  • JF
    JF Posts: 11
    Patrick1.0 wrote:
    inseine wrote:
    Partrick........sadly I'm not developing any more, but at 45 I hope to have a few years left in me. I'm 1.70 BTW and this is the heaviest I've ever been!
    I was worried about doing too much high end stuff this early but though I could build some strength anyway. I don't get out in the week but could replicate the hills on the turbo.

    Ye, definitely. I think 58 kg is a fantastic weight, by the way.

    I am 5.9 and 60kg - don't want to carry any fat as a climber :P

    Jeez .... i'm 5.9 and 71kg and i tought i was prettty light compared to other cyclist around here.. usually pretty good in hills too i guess people in Canada are juste fatter lol
  • cj504
    cj504 Posts: 110
    +1 for big gears hurting my back :(

    Though personally I feel far better about myself when pushing a big gear even if it does hurt!
    Thresholds, 60-80%, HRM's...I'll just go for a ride
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,786
    There are some good tips for improving power, but I was specifically interested in training for this time of year when I don't want to really push it anaerobically but would like to gain a bit of strength (but not by weight training). Ta.
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • NJK
    NJK Posts: 194
    inseine wrote:
    There are some good tips for improving power, but I was specifically interested in training for this time of year when I don't want to really push it anaerobically but would like to gain a bit of strength (but not by weight training). Ta.


    Strength in cycling doesn't really come in to it whether its endurance pace, threshold, VO2 max pace or an-aerobic efforts. The only time it might is from a standing start in a big gear which in road cycling won't happen that much.
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,786
    Personnaly, i agree with you, but it seems that weight training is part of most training plans. Now I know that some say it is good for your general wellbeing but it is also promoted as an integral training aid (and I'm talking leg stregth, not just upper body).
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • Patrick1.0
    Patrick1.0 Posts: 290
    JF wrote:
    Patrick1.0 wrote:
    inseine wrote:
    Partrick........sadly I'm not developing any more, but at 45 I hope to have a few years left in me. I'm 1.70 BTW and this is the heaviest I've ever been!
    I was worried about doing too much high end stuff this early but though I could build some strength anyway. I don't get out in the week but could replicate the hills on the turbo.

    Ye, definitely. I think 58 kg is a fantastic weight, by the way.

    I am 5.9 and 60kg - don't want to carry any fat as a climber :P

    Jeez .... i'm 5.9 and 71kg and i tought i was prettty light compared to other cyclist around here.. usually pretty good in hills too i guess people in Canada are juste fatter lol

    71 kg is fine. You will have the extra weight, but provided you are slim, which you no doubt are, you will generate more power. That's the pay-off.

    inseine, the only thing I know of which will help with that leg strength is resistance work. Hills fit into that but you might know of other forms of resistance training, too.

    Another thing I have heard to be better for somebody in your position is lots of light weights. You could always give those a try. But really, the thing which will help you up your speed on the flat, hills and everywhere else is interval training, coaching your muscles to move and clear lactate more efficiently and so on but you say you don't want to do that at this time of year.
  • st68
    st68 Posts: 219
    i weight train my arms legs back an chest an work on my core strength in 1/2 hr sessions 6 days a week and it keeps away most aches & pains while riding all i need now is an exercise to stop my bloody feet gettin cold during the winter months :wink:
    cheesy quaver
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,786
    Some poeple say you should put your feet in a bowl of cold water before your ride. Personnally I have Northwave fahreinheit winter boots, walking socks and overshoes!
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • fuzzynavel
    fuzzynavel Posts: 718
    inseine wrote:
    Some poeple say you should put your feet in a bowl of cold water before your ride. Personnally I have Northwave fahreinheit winter boots, walking socks and overshoes!

    Maybe I am just lucky but I have ridden through winter before in trainers, shorts and a jacket on my top half. I always make sure that my top half is thoroughly wrapped up.The theory is that if I am working hard enough and manage to stay dry then I will not get cold as I have pretty decent circulation and my feet/hands are always warm. If I get wet I am screwed if I am miles from home! :?
    17 Stone down to 12.5 now raring to get back on the bike!
  • skavanagh.bikeradar
    skavanagh.bikeradar Posts: 1,097
    My feet do get cold but I wear two pairs of socks, another pair of socks over my shoes and then neoprene overshoes to try and mitigate it. Like you I keep my top half wrapped up - if I can keep the cold off my chest generally I'm fine (touch wood).

    Back to the OP, I found the best strength training on the bike was to pretend I'm riding fixed and not make hills too easy! It made a massive difference last year just by riding up hills in a set gear and a bigger one than usual.
  • damage36
    damage36 Posts: 282
    cj504 wrote:
    +1 for big gears hurting my back :(

    Though personally I feel far better about myself when pushing a big gear even if it does hurt!

    NO! Wrong! Bad CJ. Learn to pedal at a higher cadence, once you've got used to it, its SO much nicer than churning a huge gear. It tends to make you faster too, as a result of better efficiency and technique.
    Legs, lungs and lycra.

    Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
  • Patrick1.0
    Patrick1.0 Posts: 290
    damage36 wrote:
    cj504 wrote:
    +1 for big gears hurting my back :(

    Though personally I feel far better about myself when pushing a big gear even if it does hurt!

    NO! Wrong! Bad CJ. Learn to pedal at a higher cadence, once you've got used to it, its SO much nicer than churning a huge gear. It tends to make you faster too, as a result of better efficiency and technique.

    Yep. Slightly smaller gear, higher cadence. Eventually you will just use bigger gears for the same cadence if you train smart. That's where you will see massive improvements.

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