Fugazi Dave

[pic of older dude with absurd upper arms-]

Synthol much?

timmyquest

You never actually played football did you?

grolby

Well, if you're only talking about lifting weight to increase your overall strength with no ambitions of competition, then posting pictures of professional cyclists would make you a disingenuous jackass, wouldn't it?

It is? Like what kind of activity?

Like when? When he needs to escape from New York? You live in a self-indulgent fantasy world, obviously. I don't generally find myself in a position where I regularly must lift more than 50 lbs. I've had a couple jobs that required moving heavy objects around, and my skinny arms weren't a problem. Similarly, your example of a weightlifter probably doesn't need to run anywhere very quickly.

In an actual 10k? Yes, it's fairly mediocre. Moreover, it's pointless in any sense other than a personal one. If someone can do those pushups and then run 10k and that makes them feel good, that's good for them. But if you're seriously suggesting that someone who could do that is a "better athlete" then, say, Kenenisa Bekele, who would run 10k in 27:30 on a BAD day, then you're an idiot.

In which case, as I said, posting pictures of Michael Rasmussen makes you a jackass. And I personally want to be the best cyclist I can be, and have very little interest in lifting (though I will probably being doing some this winter to build some strength, because I want to... not because it will make me a better athlete).

In other words, to be mediocre at everything. Good on you. I'm content for the meantime to merely be a mediocre cyclist. I don't care what you do. It's your pretense that something that you do for your own satisfaction somehow makes you a superior athlete that I think is so pathetic.

You're not paying attention.

I was able to move 1,000 plus pounds of books plus a whole lot of furniture into my new apartment using just my "pencil thin arms." Again, if you think that massive arms are necessary for daily life, including some moderately heavy lifting, you're an idiot.



And yet, you obviously do. Exactly how much good would it do my bike racing aspiration to "hit the weights" 3-4 times a week? Ah, yes, that's right - zero, and in fact, probably worse than zero. I would get slower. So let's see, weight training is not necessary for daily life, and beyond a certain point is worse than useless for cycling. About all that's left is vanity. Which is fine, but own it. Pretending moral superiority because of your muscles because you feel stupid getting blown off the back on the climbs is pathetic.

Fail. Any fast road rider with large upper body muscles would absolutely be faster without them, at least on the climbs.

mustang1

I dont care about other pewople's skinny arms, as long as mine aren't skinney. They are a touch skinny though and I need to train them more. Which I will. Er, tomorrow.Has someone elaready posted a picture of that dude with the skinny arms yet?

Stanger

I can understand that this topic in this forum will cause a reaction, but wow!

A lot of you hit it right on the head, you cannot always see strength. Most *big guys* have a lot of fat in their muscle. I prefer to work towards achieving a very lean, non fatty muscle. If I was in the shape I want to be in, I would be very lean and very muscular throughout my whole body at about 160 pounds, 5' 11". The result? I wouldn't look that strong, but I would be. However, the OP is pointing out that some cyclists are VERY thin to the point that it is apparent that they have very very little muscle in their upper body. As one poster pointed out, it is important to have good strong core muscles and fit arms to ride out of the saddle for extended periods. So, the benefits of having more lean muscle in the arms may actually benefit a cyclist when riding. But these guys are pros, so I suppose they have played with that line and found the optimal level. However, most of us are not pros and would likely benefit from increased upper body and core strength. I love riding, but I'm not a pro and need to be able to handle my everyday activities as well.

Also, I sincerely believe that a crossfit trainer such as Chris Spealler mentioned earlier could do very well in a cycling race. This workout really can prepare you for a lot of things. Hell, Greg Amundson attempted to run 100 miles in 24 hours after doing nothing but crossfit the month prior. The workouts only included 2 miles of running, but Greg was able to complete 80 miles. IIRC he started having joint issues and had to stop(the body just can't take that much), but his health was otherwise fine and could have continued. The paramedics that followed the run were amazed at his condition after the run.

Fugazi Dave

Way to spend a really long time on a post nobody cares about.

gsteinb

L O ****ing L. Bring it on.

kaNUK

My 15 km TT time has gone up by 30 seconds in the last month. I'm sure it's due to all the kayaking I've been doing, or maybe the climbing? I guess after cross-country skiing all winter I might as well sell my bike(s).

Oh, wait, I'm not biking to pay the bills, or make the Olympics ...so it doesn't really matter.

As far as aesthetics are concerned, that only seems to matter to my wife. She has called me "too skinny" on occasion at 5'11", 155lbs

kaNUK

Stanger

EDITED

You all are right, responding to this was a bad idea. Note to self: Never encourage a cyclist to weight train and never encourage a weight lifter to move at a pace faster than walking. Having these extreme ends of the spectrum is more interesting anyway. Carry on with the usual daily routine...

Fugazi Dave

It's even more entertaining from the sidelines.

ricohman

Originally Posted by ricohman No. I'm a LEO. Just what am I supposed to do with pencil thin arms when I really need them?


I was able to move 1,000 plus pounds of books plus a whole lot of furniture into my new apartment using just my "pencil thin arms." Again, if you think that massive arms are necessary for daily life, including some moderately heavy lifting, you're an idiot.




Originally Posted by ricohman If some of you guys are to lazy to hit the weights 3 or 4 times a week or do some other form of cross training don't say others do it for vanity.


And yet, you obviously do. Exactly how much good would it do my bike racing aspiration to "hit the weights" 3-4 times a week? Ah, yes, that's right - zero, and in fact, probably worse than zero. I would get slower. So let's see, weight training is not necessary for daily life, and beyond a certain point is worse than useless for cycling. About all that's left is vanity. Which is fine, but own it. Pretending moral superiority because of your muscles because you feel stupid getting blown off the back on the climbs is pathetic.


Originally Posted by ricohman I would bet that you could ask any fast rider with a muscular body (entire body) if he would be slower with skinny arms and no chest or shoulders.
What do you think he would say?


Fail. Any fast road rider with large upper body muscles would absolutely be faster without them, at least on the climbs.


Hmm. I'm not talking about moving books. I don't think books fight back. And if you think LEO's don't get into a good old fashioned fight now and then, your an idiot.

Moral superiority because of a muscular build? I advocate total health. Just because you lift weights or do other forms of excercise, this will not guarantee you a body builders physique. But I'm not reffering to that anyway.
If you don't want overall health, your choice.
I'm a recreational rider. Nothing more. I ride for fun and commuting on different bikes. Maybe 5k miles a year at best. With young kids its hard to get saddle time.
Since you are a serious contender for a future TDF or upper elite forms of racing you obviously have a much different lifestye than the average Joe like me. To each his own but this crap about weight training and vanity is just stupid.

bigtea

Whoa there pilgrim. I played Division III (no athletic scholarships) football at one of the most selective liberal arts colleges in the nation. What position did you play? Left Out or Draw Back?

grolby

It's my time, not yours. Do I care? Hmm, no.

Police officers? I've seen too many ****** cops in my day to find that a very convincing argument. I worked in a machine shop in high school, there was a lot of heavy equipment and materials that needed to be moved around. I was built the same way I am now, and practically never had a problem with being insufficiently strong for the work. Again, working out is not necessary for daily life.

Your other comments about being a pro cyclist just show how much of an idiot you really are. Athletes at all levels benefit from focusing their training on their own sport. I want to be the best possible cyclist I can be, so I train like a cyclist. As it happens, I'm fairly mediocre at it, but so what? I'm better than I would be if wasted my time running marathons and benching.

And no, you weren't the one that posted pictures of pro cyclists, you only agreed completely with the OP who did. Oops, my bad.

Listen, if you want me to understand what your profession is, just say you're a cop. For all I could tell, you were talking about your zodiak sign. In any case, see above - there are an awful lot of unfit police officers out there. I certainly am not convinced that most patrol officers only stay strong enough to bully pot-smoking teenagers and make the occasional tear gas and nightstick-assisted arrest by pumping iron.

But I can be generous. Yeah, policing can be a tough job that requires one to maintain some muscular strength. It's also a job that most people don't have.

And again with the crap about health. Weight lifting and upper-body strength has nothing to do with health. In fact, neither does cycling at a high level, though light aerobic activity actually is necessary to maintain the best possible health. But again, I have excellent, uncommonly good overall, total body health. And yet, I also race bicycles and have the requisite physique. There is NO ASSOCIATION between build and health. Period.

The stupidity just keeps coming and coming. I'll say it again: a cyclist at any level, no matter how mediocre, will be better at his or her chosen sport by focusing training on that sport. It's the same with running, powerlifting, cross-country skiing, you name it. In fact, us crappy average-joe bike racers probably get more relative benefits than do the pros, what with the insane level of natural talent that they have.

And yes, weight training, except when it is necessary for one's sport, or in the extremely rare circumstances when it is necessary for one's profession, is about vanity. It's NOT about health, it's not about being a "better athlete" than someone who specializes. There's nothing wrong with vanity, but friggin' own it.

grolby

On second thought, you're right. I let myself get sucked into the maelstrom when I should have just been sitting back and laughing. My dumb mistake.

gsteinb

you're wrong. you make a decent point and then you go off the deep end.

Stanger

You're a crazy ass bat. Get some help. A pound of muscle in your arms isn't what is holding you back from racing with Lance. Come back to earth with the rest of us.

ricohman

You do realize that all forms of weight training, done properly, are recognized by orthopedic surgeons as an excellent way to maintain joint integrity and reducing osteoporosis. Again, this is about weight training, not body building. I'm also an R.N who has worked in the O.R for the last 19 years so I talk to the docs every scrub.
And its not about size. Its about strength, endurance and agility.

Al Criner

Those guys are concentrating on fast bicycling, not building muscle mass that slows them down.

KiddSisko

Winky and thumbs up aside, clearly, neither of you understand that the USMC and USAF exist to support the Army, aka boots on the ground doing all the dirty work. FAIL.


former 101st Division helicopter technician

KiddSisko

Life isn't fair. It's full of horse hooves in need of trimming and nagging chubby wives. Where's the joy?

silversx80

Is the sarcasm meter still broken?

Fugazi Dave

These are the intarwebz. Sarcasm at your own risk.

botto 

ironic.

silversx80

??

Fugazi Dave

Not actually, no.