colombo357

You don't need to lift heavy weights to benefit from gym time.

Most cyclists have really sh***ty mobility and core strength. Bodyweight exercises and a few dumbells and kettlebells will go a long way.

And don't forget the foam rollers.

mcours2006

Most beginner lifters should probably start with body weight exercises and a set of dumbbells anyway, and a pull-up bar. Think P90x.

It's a lot less intimidating and less potential for injury.

autonomy

I'll take it as a compliment coming from that username
Mostly a tongue-in-cheek comment on how everyone's a Cat 1 racer/bodybuilder/etc. on here.

mcours2006

Wait, you mean they're not?

Pizzaiolo Americano 

I am a huge fan of kettlebells but I see a lot of people hurt themselves with them. Because of the dynamic way they are intended to be used, beginners, in my opinion should try to get some form of training before using them. I see people all the time doing swings incorrectly and it is pretty easy to hurt yourself without using proper form...Like I said, I love them but folks should proceed with caution...

TMonk

I enjoy lifting, but have been doing just body weight stuff for years. Focus on abs 2 days/week with pushups and pullups thrown in. I'd like to get back into the powerlifts some day (squats and deads) but I royally jacked my back up last time I did that.

shoota 

Fantastic responses guys!

A little more context from some good questions:

What are your goals with respect to lifting and riding? (General fitness, improved race performance, improved performance at another sport, appearance?) Which is the priority? Cycling is the #1 priority. My goals are general fitness and health, more importantly gaining some strength to improve cycling. When I don't do my core exercises my ability to hold power on the bike is significantly reduced because my low back starts to hurt. It's been an ongoing issue for me for years and getting my bike fit corrected was HUGE, but doing core workouts was helpful after that as well. I would also like to work in some lower body exercises to gain some power. I'm not looking to become the next Andre Greipel but I would like to find a routine that is beneficial for these things I'm describing.

How much are you currently riding (and at what level)? Lately I've been riding about 5-6 hours a week and this is by far the lowest I've ever done in the six years I've been riding. Now that summer is in full swing and the early season gravel races are over I'm looking to step the hours up to at least 8-10. I would consider myself above average for my location but the guys I really like to ride hard with are currently faster than me. I would like to change that. So my three-pronged plan is to eat better/drink less beer, hit the gym for some cycling specific stretching and strengthening, and ride more structured workouts.

How much time do you have? Right now I'm almost maxed out because I don't take advantage of exercizing before work. This will have to change if I want to reach my goal. Realistically, I could probably squeeze an hour in two or three times a week before work.


Hopefully that gives some more insight into what I'm looking at accomplishing.

Campag4life

OK then, since you seem to know, how many days a week should I do curls? How about planks?

redlude97

I would start here:
https://support.trainerroad.com/hc/e...ength-Training
Strength Training For Cyclists Part 1 - Physiology | Tailwind Coaching
Strength Training For Cyclists - Part 2 (Podcast
#43 ) | Tailwind Coaching
Fast Talk podcast, ep. 32: A cyclist's guide to the weight room | VeloNews.com
These are all guides from people who actually know how to make people fast.

If you only have 8-10 hours to allocate total, I'd be spending that all on the bike, or at most a 1 hour session/week dedicated to the core exercises outlined above. Just be aware the first couple weeks will likely result in setbacks to your cycling training so you have to decide if that is worth it to incorporate mid season, where the strength gains likely won't translate until later in the season or next season depending on how long it takes you to get up to speed with good form and heavy weight.

shoota 

Thanks for the links! I will check those out. The 8-10 hours was for just riding.

Lazyass

It's odd to equate gaining 30 lbs in 6 months, or about 1lb a week , to a Cat 1 racer or bodybuilder claim.

joelcool

Livestrong and bodybuilding. From reading blogs and listening to trainers what I've learned is everyone has an opinion and they all disagree with each other. It's very important to learn about your body, what works for it and do that. The internet is an amazing place that's full of ... stuff. Some of it is actually useful.

mcours2006

Well, if it's serious question, and I have my doubts whether you are being serious, I don't do curls. I don't like to do single-lever movements. Not being interested in body building, but more strength and over all muscle tone I focus on compound movements. For most people with the same goal, you only need a handful of movements--some kind of pulling and pushing movement for the upper body at different angles, some kind of pushing and pulling movement for the lower body, and relatively heavy, like as in the 6-8 rep range.

Personally, these are the ones I focus on: front/back squat, dead lift, Romanian dead lift, bench press/overhead press, ring dips for the push, and pull-ups/dumbbell rows. I don't bother with planks either because doing lots of pull-ups and leg work strengthens the core enough already, though I do occasionally do hanging toes to bar.

I'll do these movements every 3-4 days.

PaulRivers

That is a "cigarette company funded studies say smoking is good for your health" level of claim.

Even professional coaches training self selected athletes at their physical peak have written about removing some of the bigger lifts from their program because the injury rate was to high. Again, among the people least likely to get injured because of their age and dropping out anyone not in good enough physical shape be be an athlete.
https://strengthcoachblog.com/2015/0...we-dont-squat/

Those claims certainly haven't magically fixed my leg, or healed my coworkers back.

Seattle Forrest

RDLs are great for your hamstrings, which tend to be a weak point for cyclists. Most of us should be doing these.

Seattle Forrest

Nobody in here is lifting at a professional level. We're doing this for our health, to make sure we can still put our luggage in the overhead compartment, and to be able to get on and off the loo without the help of a nurse when we're 80.

cthenn

Damn, are you me? That's basically exactly me, except I'm usually only 4 days a week. Just do upper body as well...it's weird, I used to do legs as well, but it would take me damn near a week to get over the muscle soreness. Only happens with my legs. Well, maybe a little with my chest, but that's relatively minor, and only for maybe a day. But I could not balance doing legs in the gym, as well as trying to ride. So I gave up, and figured I was getting enough of a leg workout with my riding. The only thing I do now for legs is some work using a plyo box. We built one out of plywood, and just do basic stuff like step ups and jump ups, things like that.

To the OP, if you don't want to pay for or go to a gym, there is a LOT of different workouts you can do at home. Cyclists tend to have underdeveloped upper bodies, and unless you are seriously serious about keeping weight down for racing, it's extremely helpful to balance your riding with some upper body weight training. I do pay for a gym, but I started off years ago by trying to get into bodybuilding (doesn't really work on an ectomorph like me, unless you get into some bad juju!). So, I'm kind of used to going to an actual gym. Lift mostly free weights, dumbbells more specifically, and keeping good form and quality reps, 12-15. Keeps me from getting too "swole", but I don't look like a typical noodle-armed cyclist. You could probably could get away with one of those door jamb pull up bars, some adjustable dumbbells, and some kind of adjustable bench, you'll be able to do a lot of different exercises just with those things.

mcours2006

Whenever I do my legs, usually just squats, and not high volume either, I find I get DOMS a few days, and by the fourth day it goes away. It's certainly bothersome to have to walk around with sore legs, but the work your legs do when riding isn't the same as the work done in the weight room, and I am reluctant to give up the heavy leg work despite the DOMS.

I also find that the DOMS doesn't affect the riding so much, which tells me that different groups of muscles are being used. The DOMS from doing squats affects my running more so.

redlude97

Are you doing intervals? I can't seem to hit my power numbers after a heavy leg session so usually do them after but one has to suffer.

mcours2006

No intervals. But I find once the muscles are warmed up after the first ten minutes or so I don't notice the DOMS on the bike.

It's not ideal, obviously, doing heavy legs and riding/running, but I'm not a racer, as long as you are sensible about recovery it should be fine.

1500SLR

Most beginner lifters can't even do a pull up, so how is that supposed to work? You will need some kind of assisted pull up machine until you can lift your own body weight above your shoulders. It took me about 18months every day before I could lift my own body weight in a bench press and squat double my body weight when I was training at the gym every second day in my late 20s. You absolutely do not need that kind of muscle mess for cycling though. You need stronger hamstrings, quads and glutes as these are your main muscle groups you use when cycling.

You absolutely do not need more body mass as that's what you have to carry up hill. You should be more interested in eating cleaner which is what I've been lazy about lately.

mcours2006

Good question. The only way to learn to do a pull up is to do a pull up. There are progressive steps which beginners can take to doing their first full pull-up. Doing partials, doing negative/eccentric contractions, doing assisted ones with resistance bands or even that machine at the gym. You can, of course, use the pull-down machine, but it's an inferior exercise to actually doing pull ups.

Being a light weight certainly helps with pull ups, but to get into the 8-10 rep range I have to strap on some extra weight to do it.

Weight training doesn't help your cycling, but as I said in an earlier post, you do it despite the fact that it's not going to make you a better cyclist; you do it because it's good for you.

1500SLR

There's no question its good for you but a cyclist should focus on becoming stronger, not putting on mass, as mass works negatively in the long run towards the point of cycling. Every extra pound is a pound you will have to carry up hill and this is why sprinters will never win a grand tour.

rubiksoval

In my opinion, you should be on the bike 100% of the time. Not only is the gym not going to help you get faster it's likely going to hinder it compared to a progressive interval program on the bike.

Strength isn't your limiter in producing power, your weak aerobic conditioning is.

mcours2006

Most of us here are not elite athletes, and needn't worry about gaining those few seconds on a climb. Putting on muscle mass is just plain good for your overall health. If you make your living cycling, then sure, you can strive to have that Froome-esque look. The rest of us make a living doing something else, and we cycle as a hobby.