Time is tight with having a young family. But I need to get into the gym and start working on some strength exercises as it’s getting harder and harder to keep up on the trail with my mates 😀

So, seeing as I’m going to have about 30-45 minutes 2/3 times a week to train over a lunchtime – whats the best way to maximise it’s use? I get enough cardio exercise on the daily commute, so I’m just looking at strength exercises really. Should I just be focusing on core and leg stuff like dead lifts, squats etc? Is there anything out there which I can get some kind of training plan from?

The hardest part is going to be having to walk past a Greggs to and from the gym. Any help appreciated!

Have a look at the stronglifts 5×5 program for starters – it’s easy to follow & ideal to fit into a lunchbreak, I started using it at the end of last year as I only tend to commute when it’s decent weather & felt the difference fairly quickly. There was a few threads on here a while back discussing it & other strength training, I also like kettlebells as you can get a lot done in a short space of time but you’d be better off doing a few classes with instructors to get the technique correct for those before heading into the gym & swinging them around at random.

j

Whilst not strength training as such, i used to do a lot of rowing at the gym, can’t beat it for cardio and it really uses so many muscles, plus i felt that you are strengthening your core and ahs the explosive push with the legs when done right, alternated that with the weights sessions on my work lunch hours and it worked well.

Yep stronglifts or similar . Squats, bench ,barbell row one day , squats/deadlifts , shoulder press another day. Repeat as infinitum!

As above vary programme by day as you probably don’t have enough time for “whole body” each day. I found working out just before lunch and then drinking lots of water surpessed my appetite too.

Time crunched? Super sets and complexes for the win!

One question though, if you’re struggling to keep up on the trail, will more muscle mass/strength help you with that?

Should be able to get through this in 45 mins, something I got from someone on here a while back. Its similar to Stronglifts but IMO works better for cyclists.

Twice a week –

3×5 deadlift or back squat (alternating)
3×5 bench press
3×5 barbell row
3×5 overhead press
Chin ups or pull ups (alternating)

Thanks for the replies all.

@BillOddie – it’s the only thing I can do with my limited time at the moment!

@Craig24 – Would those be pyramid sets or something similar?

Another advocate of Stronglifts 5×5 here.

After three years off it (having got to a 202.5kg squat and 240kg deadlift) I’ve got a squat cage in the garage and am going to start from scratch again on it. I never felt as good as when I was lifting heavy. Plus I could eat 4,500 calories a day and still lose weight.

If you can’t keep up with your mates then surely it’s because of worse aerobic fitness than them rather than not being strong enough ?

Stronglifts. Just download the free app and follow it.

@Craig24 – Would those be pyramid sets or something similar?

Do 1 or 2 warm up sets, then 3 sets of 5 reps with a heavy as you can for each exercise listed.

I also looked at StrongLifts and did do it for 3 months but with all the squatting it really had a bad effect on my cycling.

This is where I got the workout from –

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/weightlifting-and-cycling#post-7444342

@BillOddie – it’s the only thing I can do with my limited time at the moment!

You sure?

You’ve not said what equipment you have at the gym but I bet you have a rower there!

I’m going to assume you have…
Intervals on the rower (tons of HIIT protocols online) or a good old fashioned 2km row for time (if you don’t want to die/quit at the 1km mark you’re not trying hard enough).
If you split your time 50/50 weights and cardio you can get a decent squat, deadlift, press or barbell row session (bonus points for doing a press and a barbell row supersetted) in the 1st 20min and then give yourself a horrible CV workout in the 2nd 20mins.

But if you haven’t got a rower
5+ rounds of a circuit of goblet squats, DB bench, DB Rows, KB Swings, Overhead DB Press then 1min rest will get your Heart Rate up and give some strength gains at least initially (assumes you are untrained at this point).

High-intensity intervals on a Wattbike, proper warm-up, 6×20 seconds maximal efforts with 40 seconds recoveries , 1-2 times per week. Use the other sessions to work on conditioning e.g. kettle bells, core etc.