Old 04-19-21, 08:03 PM
  #3  
Carbonfiberboy 
just another gosling
 
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Everett, WA
Posts: 19,544

Bikes: CoMo Speedster 2003, Trek 5200, CAAD 9, Fred 2004

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What's your cycling history? What do you want to accomplish or improve?

I you want to know what I for example did, my first two years of strength training when I was ~55, I did 3 sets of 30 in a gym, circuit style. IIRC it was, in this order, barbell squats, horizontal rows, leg sled, barbell bench press, calf raises, stiff-legged deadlift, and lat pull-downs. I let my HR drop until I was no longer breathing hard between sets. I used the same weight for all 3 sets of each exercise, a weight which I would fail on at about the 28th rep, 3rd set. I rode my bike or took a spin class for an hour before I hit the weights. I did that twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday. I got some serious results. In spite of the fact that I wasn't regularly working heavy, the fact that I was going to failure on the last set meant that if I wanted to, I could work in with the big guys on the sled or squat rack when it was too busy for me to do my circuits.

Today, 20 years later, the standard recipe for cycling strength training is to do only heavy lifting, the max you can use for 4 sets of 4 reps. If you can do 5 reps, you up the weight. The issue with those who aren't young is that's a good way to get injured. If you do what I did, that's an injury prevention program. After you do that, think about lifting heavy. My advice. The important thing, no matter how many reps you do, is that you can't complete the last set at least once a week. If you're just doing reps at moderate weight, all the studies show that you won't improve on the bike. You might feel stronger and be having fun, but no results.

I've noted here and there on BF that I've been using dumbbells during the Covid time when gyms were closed. I gave it up. No results, just made me tired. Using that time on my bike worked better. Some gyms have reopened and we're looking for one that takes Silver Sneakers.
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