Cycling training

[Dirtyhip]

Think I should spend more time in here.  

 

I am going to start doing weight lifting training that focuses on cycling muscle groups.  What are your favorites?

 

I'm thinking leg press, squat row, pull ups, plank, push ups, and core stuff with a ball.

[az_cyclist]

my goal is to hit the gym 3 times a week, focusing mainly on upper body (which is mainly for vanity..).  Almost all are machines.  I start with a seated chest press, then fly, then triceps, then lat pull downs, then seated row.   Next are 2 free weights, an inclined chest press with 35# dumbells, then arm curls with 45 and 50# bars.  Last upper body is a shoulder press machine.  The legs machines are leg extensions (for the quads), leg curls (hamstrings, 2 different machines) , the the seated leg press.  I use more weight for the leg machines on Tues and Thurs, and less on Saturday since I would have ridden a 60 mile club ride.

[Nate]

well, core stuff is core stuff, so anything you like...but for cycling, here is what I learned over the years....

 

First, weight lifting is great for improving muscle recruitment. That is actually what muscles fire with each pedal stroke, but to have this work for you, take a page from Eddie B's old eastern European training. East German track racers used to set up all their weight lifting equipment on the infield of the velodrome so they could hop on a bike right after lifting. This is what improves muscle recruitment and gives you a stronger pedal stroke.

 

So whatever movements you end up using, try and get on your bike as soon after you finish your leg work as possible. For me, I had to go to the gym and then get on the trainer as soon as I got home, but you might find a better way than that

 

For legs I would do stiff leg dead lifts for my lower back and hamstrings. This is an important movement because your lower back is an important part of your drive train. don't go crazy with weight, either. You can hurt yourself easily and nobody cares how much weight you can do a stiff leg deadlift with. I used less than half my body weight. the important part is to use good form and get a good stretch. If you can stand on a little riser, do it so you can get more stretch out of the bottom of the rep

 

Then I did light squats. Generally 2 wheels, but take that to mean about your body weight. Don't go nuts and don't add squats until you have been through a couple weeks of lifting already. Its easy to overdo it on squats and kill your legs for a couple days, and that doesn't help your cause

 

then I would do leg press. don't use a fitness club machine, use a leg press rack that uses actual plates. This is where you can go ahead and push as much weight as you can, but I would pyramid the sets starting at 2 wheels and going up to 5 wheels (on each side) for reps,

 

with both squats and leg press, you can change the muscles employed by your stance: toes pointed in, toes out, toes strait, and the distance between your feet.

 

after all that finish off with leg extensions. Do these for reps. I will do 8 reps, then start alternating legs so that each rep is pushed with one leg, then the other. When I'm blown out, I go back to using both legs for three reps. The total reps for the set will be 20 or more

 

if you do this part right you probably won't be able to stand without holding onto something until you clear the lactic acid

 

do the legs last and hop on a bike as soon as possible for about 20 minutes

 

this is how you not only gain muscle mass, but add muscle mass that will actually be utilized in your pedal stroke