Old School Strength Training

[kizza]

As the title suggests, a thread for strength training. In particular, powerlifting, Olympic lifting and other old school strength training.

So... Do you train like this? What kind of training are you doing? What lifts & rep/sets of said lift.
Where do you train? What are you lifting (in relation to your weight)?

I think strength training should play a large part of any exercise program, and is generally hugely underestimated in terms of what cardio benefits different types of strength training can give.


Discuss...

 

[driftking]

Old school training
Strength is a crucial part of training for any riding, Id say the reason people dont train with olympic lifts etc is as technology and knowledge has progressed we have realized that as riders we need different types of strength for out sport, we need all types of strength aspects but most training will focus on specific movements to try to mimic as close as possible the type of movement and forces on the bike.
There is no point going into the gym and training like a body builder if you are trying to be slim for xc.
You could goto the gym and training like other professional and it may benefit you on the bike, but with today's fast pace world and today's level of riders training, we have developed ways to focus to train more effectively and efficiently which moves us away from the other types of strength training.

I wouldn't call those method so old school I mean If you wanted to be a a olympic power lifter then you would train that way. Its not so much old school its just back then they were taking training information from a sport that did not directly translate to our sport, now we have got our own knowledge and information on how to train and how to do it the most efficient way possible.

I couldnt see any harm using these "old school" type exercises if you are using a well structures periodisation as there are times when you need to focus on the type of development these exercises give but overall its not effective to train like that all the time.

In terms of general healthy again its crucial to train but again its not really practical to train like that all the time. If you use a periodisation style exercise for everyday health too then you can include these for different type of improvement and development,

 

[Anarchist]

Strength training is beneficial, no doubt. But training needs to be specific and going to the gym and lifting bulk weights is not always the best way to get benefit. There are a lot of body weight training exercises that are very useful. The ancient Olympians used these. As a rule, if you can't control your body weight in an exercise, then you should not use weights. James Wilson has a lot of information on this that is easy to understand and very MTB specific.

 

[Steve-0]

I think olympic and powerlifting strength training needs alot more then just one thread..

Here's a list of what some of the guys on here lift, it's outdated but it's on-topic

http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/sho...g-techniques&p=2471462&viewfull=1#post2471462

I think the world of powerlifting has great carry over into other things, It will never be as beneficial as training for purpose but for overall strength, it's great.

 

[0psi]

Steve-O, I think the Rotorburn Fitness leaderboard deserves it's own thread now that we have a health and fitness section. I think for it to work well it will need an admin of some sort to keep the opening post (with the leaderboard) up to date. Seeing as you did such a stellar job with the one in 'Get the girls' I nomitate you

Edit: I think a running section should be added to the leaderboard with the following. 100m, 400m, 5000m, 10000m, Half marathon and Marathon. Don't think we need to bother with other distances as they are a bit specific to athletics.

 

[Steve-0]

When I have a some spare time next I'll do that. I'll remove some stuff and put in more running goals and maybe some cycling specific stuff.

 

[Matt C]

I recommend looking up Stronglifts 5 x 5. Squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press and bent over rows. That's it. I'm not that strong but i've made some great gains from it (haven't done it for a while due to injury, not form weights). I'm 175cm and 78kg. I have a squat cage and bench at home. For 5x5 i'm at, well was, 130kg's for squats, 150 for dead's, 60 for overhead press, 50 for bent over rows and a poor 85 for bench. I ride a ss and it has definitely helped. Don't get a sore lower back at all anymore and generally feel better on the bike. Hope this helps.

 

[kizza]

Obviously true in the respect that training one way, eg; powerlifting will not have the same benefit that a more rounded 'cycle' specific program will.
I was more interested in any other lifts from a powerlifting training style people are adopting as part of a link to a cycle based program.
For example;
I've found I've been getting arm pump and hand fatigue a bit more lately. So I've been implimenting fat grips on my deadlifts, cleans and chins as a way to target my grip & forearm strength.

I've also just picked up a few of the Captains of Crush! Haha here I was thinking the 2's would be easy... Ended up with a set of the .5's with 1's and 1.5's on order.

 

[driftking]

For a grip a good exercise is to throw a towel over the pull up bar or similar and hold onto the sides of the towel and pull up. It's a little more free weight style too as you don't have a solid fixed hold so it might actually help add that free weight aspect to the pull up and use more support muscles.
But point is helps grip.

 

[dontfeelcold]

A good exercise for arm pump. This will make your arms and shoulders burn

http://www.ehow.com/video_2351859_do-forearm-curl-exercise-rope.html

 

[Grrilla]

Hello all,

I train for competitive powerlifting and my good mate is currently ranked number one in Australia (we compete in IPF, the drug free one).

One of the best resources I've come across is www.elitefts.net - there are a stack of articles, plus an exercise index to show you the right way to do things.

If you have any specific questions related to powerlifting or bodybuilding please post them up and I'll answer as best I can!

While I'm not at the top of my weight class I have (semi) decent lifts so I'm not going to feed you bullsh!t haha, I'm happy to help anyone get stronger if I can

 

[KTB]

I've been doing this starting strength 5x5 program a buddy recommended for me and it has been great so far.

http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/

I am a relatively smaller guy than most so some lifts have always been a struggle for me (especially overhead presses).
But I think the gradual progression and the short workouts is kind of a confidence thing.

Favourite lifts for me are deadlifts and squats they just give this really satisfying burn after a good day.

I have a personal target of at least 2x body weight for deads and squats which are getting close but bench and ohp are still pretty weak.

 

[driftking]

I've been doing this starting strength 5x5 program a buddy recommended for me and it has been great so far.

http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/

I am a relatively smaller guy than most so some lifts have always been a struggle for me (especially overhead presses).
But I think the gradual progression and the short workouts is kind of a confidence thing.

Favourite lifts for me are deadlifts and squats they just give this really satisfying burn after a good day.

I have a personal target of at least 2x body weight for deads and squats which are getting close but bench and ohp are still pretty weak.

I have a love hate relationship with squats, I get epic head spins from them from the blood rush during rest periods. I have no problem completing the sets or reps with good form. Its shocking the dizziness sometimes. Properly breathing helps a lot but still doesn't eliminate it.

 

[Grrilla]

I have a love hate relationship with squats, I get epic head spins from them from the blood rush during rest periods. I have no problem completing the sets or reps with good form. Its shocking the dizziness sometimes. Properly breathing helps a lot but still doesn't eliminate it.

That's part of the fun! But my way of getting through it is to take one big breath before I unrack, set my feet and then flex my lats hard to stay tight. One last big breath and hold it, don't start breathing out until I start coming up.

Do the same for each rep.

When you get super-heavy you might blow a blood vessel in your eyes... if you're really lucky, the pressure will bust a capillary in your nose and decorate the floor with red stuff haha..