Strength Training in the Gym

Anecdotally I found that
Anecdotally I found that going for some increased strength by upping the weights in the gym and reducing reps made me faster over some of my regular cycles and improved my running and swimming too. I am at the slow end of all disciplines still but getting quicker…..

I think a variation in
I think a variation in classes highly beneficial. Metafit, Kettle bells and circuits are all great and you will be tired and sore afterwards.
All involve a lot of squats etc.
Usually there is a high lady/man ratio to keep you keen too!

bigmel wrote:Road cycling is

bigmel wrote:

Road cycling is about oxygen transport & fat burning. Stay away from the gym unless you like carrying around excess bulk that gets 20 seconds of use occasionally. Fast riders are generally lightweight whippets.

You don’t get ‘excess bulk’ unless your diet permits it.
The over whelming majority of worldtour riders do some gym time, just not in the huge weights you’re imagining.

bigmel wrote: Fast riders are

bigmel wrote:

Fast riders are generally lightweight whippets.

A lot of professional lightweight whippets tend to use the gym. I’d be listening to coaches rather than internet speculation.

If your hoping to gain muscle
If your hoping to gain muscle strength with a bit of shape there is really no getting away from the DOMS & as everyone is saying you need 2/3 days recovery after doing legs otherwise your weekend ride will suffer there is simply no getting around this – however take a protein shake asap after any workout of any sort as it reduces DOMS by 20% or at least I feel it does, in fact I take one every day as well as my post workouts, if you get a good quality high protein factor one (80% up) u will not gain weight no matter what you do if u continue cycling.

The chances of you doing heavy weights & bulking up like ‘Arnie’ are about 0% especially if you cycle at all during the week & weekend they are both so counter intuitive to each other its actually incredibly difficult to gain weight whilst heavy weight training unless you do more than 3-4 sessions a week & eat like a mad crazy possessed animal.

Anyone (s_Jim & fustuarium) talking about the 5 / 3 / 1 rep system is spot on right especially if your only doing it twice a week.

Read Jim Welders 5/3/1/ system (just internet search his name) another cyclist recommended it to me a while back & like me they cycle 100/150 a week during the winter up’ d in the summer – Jim Welder is a powerlifter by trade but knows what he’s talking about – I had been body weight training for 2 years twice a week & switched to the 5/3/1/ twice a week programme four months ago since then I have toned even better, gained a little bit of good muscle weight & know it will just get better & better – it is a really simple
basic program with very very small weight increases monthly & as the majority mention it hits all the major muscle groups in two workouts (or 3 or 4 if u wish but I follow the twice a week program) & gets ample time between for recovery before big rides combined.

My work kindly let me keep a bench in work (bought of gumtree £20 & build my weights collection up same way over time) & I can do all of these within my 60 min my lunch hour every Tues/Thur all year round (granted I don’t compete in any races)

The twice a week is 3 sets of the below with 3 warm up sets & (REALLY IMPORTANT!!) is performed at 65/75/80-90% of your maximum weights NEVER 100%

Warm Up: 1×5@40%, 1×5@50%, 1×3@60%
Monday
Squat – 5/3/1 sets and reps
Bench – 5/3/1 sets and reps
Assistance Exercises:
Chin-ups – 3 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Rows – 3 sets of 10 reps
Back Raises – 3 sets of 15 reps
Rear Laterals – 3 sets of 20 reps
Thursday
Deadlift – 5/3/1 sets and reps
Press – 5/3/1 sets and reps
Assistance Exercises:
Dumbbell Rows – 3 sets of 10 reps
Dips – 3 sets of 10 – 15 reps
Good Mornings – 3 sets of 10 reps
Curls – 3 sets of 10 reps

Cyclist wrote:Martyn_K

Cyclist wrote:

Martyn_K wrote:

To make any gains in strength you are going to have to suffer DOMS, so i would steer clear of doing a gym leg session the day before a club run.

I hit the legs on a Tuesday. Then from December onwards i train on a turbo on a Wednesday. Legs back to freshness by the weekend.

Number 1: you can strength train all year… Not just winter, that makes no sense.
Number2: don’t take advice from an Internet forum about strength training as everyone knows best. But will lack any real knowledge unless it is their profession.
Number 3: don’t take advice from a personel trainer at the gym they are not S&C experts unless they show you a valid qual.
Number 4: DOMS…. You can ride your bike the next day, it will be good for you.
Number 5: I am a professional Strength & Conditioning performance coach.
Number 6: speak to a Strength & Conditioning coach (not me)
Number 7: don’t do bodybuilding routines.
Number 8: don’t take advice about strength training from a forum, seek out genuine S&C sites.

I agree with all the above. Just to clarify a couple of points. I don’t train legs during the summer as i spend so much time on the bike. riding upto 6 times a week and upto 300 miles in a week, i substitute the leg session for a stretch and spa session. For me i feel this helps maintain my fitness. I do however continue to train upper body, core and do some complete body compound sessions.

The point i made about not training hard on weights the day before a club run is valid. There is a whole world of difference between a 20 mile disciplined solo loosener and a club run trying to maintain a group average and sprinting for the village sign!

As already noted, go speak to your gym instructor. State your goals and timeframe to get to those goals. They should be able to help or point out someone who can.

fustuarium wrote:Don’t put in

fustuarium wrote:

Don’t put in some volume of deadlifts instead of squats as they’re tough too recover from. Try to volume squat and deadlift in same session as lower back takes quite a while to recover between sessions.

Good post fustuarium. The above couple of sentences didn’t make sense to me though?