Weight/ Strength training for Road Riding
- Thread starter Ev81
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SlowManiac
Likes Bikes and Dirt
sprinters and track cyclists do a fair bit of weight training - lots of explosive stuff. There was a cool docco on ABC a while back that showed Anna Meares training - body height box jumps and stuff!
Then there is this guy...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUE0rqRqZmM
I don't think your typical endurance road cyclist does much gym work to be honest. Maybe a bit to maintain help prevent injury rather than build strength.
For building strength you can do hills and low cadence stuff
Then there is this guy...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUE0rqRqZmM
I don't think your typical endurance road cyclist does much gym work to be honest. Maybe a bit to maintain help prevent injury rather than build strength.
For building strength you can do hills and low cadence stuff
Mywifesirrational
I however am very normal. Trust me.
Squats by far is the best exercise and deadlifts is pretty good.
Single leg leg press, single leg hamstring curls and calf raises - cycling is a unilateral exercise there are some benefits to training one leg at a time.
Don't waste time training for endurance in gym as you have said, just aim for max strength 6-8 reps, 3-4 sets per exercise.
Single leg leg press, single leg hamstring curls and calf raises - cycling is a unilateral exercise there are some benefits to training one leg at a time.
Don't waste time training for endurance in gym as you have said, just aim for max strength 6-8 reps, 3-4 sets per exercise.
mtb101
Likes Bikes and Dirt
best way to improve is to focus on hills & better watts/kg - time spent in a gym compared to riding??? well reckon riding is superior because of specificity of exercise.
find a good climb and do intervals on that - you can progressively change to lower gears on each one if you dare. x 10.
find a good climb and do intervals on that - you can progressively change to lower gears on each one if you dare. x 10.
clockworked
Like an orange
jeez you're useful to have around! :rockon:
I find being 103kg really makes the hills more difficult... Now if i could just unzip the jacket of fat and maintain the legs I'd be sweet!
Trickymac
Likes Dirt
Mywifesirrational
I however am very normal. Trust me.
I'm 108kg, your beating me up the hills!
Yeah, unfortunately losing weight is the only thing for sustained climbing, which means diet.
I do find after a a macro cycle (2-3 months) of heavy lifting the anaerobic side of riding improves significantly, sprints, short sharp climbs, apparently time to exhaustion also improves, but I"m not sure when I notice this one if its a placebo or just from eating better during training.
Trickymac
Likes Dirt
ive always found the odd spin class seems to help my real world riding alot
think i just go fucking bananas in a spin class, like 45mins of pure lactic acid horror, harder than id ever go in real world riding for some reason
when i next road or mtb it always seems much easier
anecdotal tho
think i just go fucking bananas in a spin class, like 45mins of pure lactic acid horror, harder than id ever go in real world riding for some reason
when i next road or mtb it always seems much easier
anecdotal tho
joemax
Likes Dirt
Cycling Anatomy by Shannon Sovndal is excellent. It takes you through more than a hundred exercises and explains the cycling focus.
Hamsta
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Absolutely!. I go like the proverbial hamster in the wheel 3 to 4 times per week and my strength and especially recovery has improved dramatically the past 6 months. Spin classes are pretty good for flogging oneself hard and making tangible gains in strength and cardio efficiency in a relatively short timeframe.