Been noticing a few changes to my flexibilty and strength since reaching my mid 40s. Mainly more aches and pains post ride along with easier damage to tendons which take an age to repair.

I’m doing some flexibility work including yoga but tempted with some some gym work to build up strength, especially for those muscles that riding doesn’t really affect.

Anyone else down the gym to supplement their riding and finding it of benefit?

not currently but intending to do so, especially over winter

Yeah, there is a local place that does a 12 week program I’m tempted by for winter.

Yep, I’m 55 and noticed the same things as yourself in my mid to late 40’s (wait ’till you hit your mid 50’s! 😉 I do 2 or 3 weight training sessions a week in the gym – each about 1 hour duration. Also do 2 or 3 half hour Pilates sessions at home per week. The latter is brilliant for warding off lower back problems; it can take 2 or 3 months of doing it regularly before you really notice a big difference – but if you persist, it makes a huge difference to core strength (much better than doing a few planks and sit ups in the gym). My physio is also a Pilates instructor, and recommended the range of DVD’s/YouTube by the APPI.

HTH

It’s nearly always worth it IME. Doesn’t have to be big weights, just do the exercises to muscle exhaustion.

You shouldn’t be damaging tendons, easy or otherwise, sure you aren’t mistaking those pains for something else? When I’ve damaged a tendon it’s been weeks if not months before I can get back doing whatever it was that I was doing before the injury.

Generally as you age you don’t get the same shock absorption from all the muscles and connective tissue that you do when younger hence the : “I’m still sore after a week” type feeling. Basically you don’t bounce as well.

I do some weights, I think it is beneficial, but I know I really should include some flexibility work as well, I think we really need both as we age and want to stay active.

My physio is also a Pilates instructor, and recommended the range of DVD’s/YouTube by the APPI.

A search of youtube for appi pilates gives many results, would you link the “real” channel?

What @bowglie says.

Yoga is definitely good for most (I was told to reduce it as I am too bendy / flexible and this can lead to excess joint movement) but strength work is vip too. My strength was never great but dropped off a cliff after a period of inactivity 45-47yrs. It’s hard to get back 🙁 Also strength conditioning is very important for injury prevention, a big part of me busting my knee skiing just before 50yo was lack of muscle support for joint.

I find now I have to orepare to excersoze. After pretty much a year off the bike I was back doing 5-7km rides, then 10km etc. Now (54) if I try and go straight into say a 30k ride I’ll just get an injury / niggle that won’t go away 🙁

I think an all round programme of flex, strength and stamina is the way to go. Balance.

Riding is my only exercise outside work, namely being a postie, which is surprisingly physical. I’ve not considered gym training since my fitness regime started at the start of this year.

I do a weekly circuit class at the council gym and a couple of morning swims. I do it all year round and it seems to keep me in fair order.

Jambalaya has it, strength training combined with mobility / flexibility will see you right.

There are great apps out there and online videos. Try Ryan leech although even though his classes are ace his voice does grate. Abi has a great bunch of yoga videos in both pink bike and Vimeo. They are 15 minutes long so very easy to fit into your day.

Yup do my own 10 minute stretch routine everyday. Started climbing again after couple seasons off it. Indoor and at wall. Thinking about yoga. Joining gym when it gets dark early for endurance and cardio. Back to biking in Himalaya next year aged 48. What could possibly go wrong? Would really like 4 day week to get a rest day.

Wait till you get to 61. Did a measly, poxy, half arsed 12 miles with my 30 yr old lad on Saturday from Guisborough on Saturday. My elbows are still aching. 😥

Anyone else down the gym to supplement their riding and finding it of benefit?

Yes, and not much really.

There’s a group of around 10/12 of us oldie MTB-ers who have taken to the gym for a core-strength circuits session over the last couple of winters. (I am 49). Booked again this year – November to May typically.

I’m not a gym goer – or hadn’t been until we started this.

Certainly helps, each session is hellish but the benefits are there – totally ripped come the spring 😉

Well I’m 58 and started weekly gym about two years ago. Also, just doing more exercise than I used to (kids all gone away now), paying more attention to recovery type rides, being a bit lighter etc.

Overall effect is, I am probably fitter relative to my age than I have ever been and recover quite well from harder sessions.

Anyone else down the gym to supplement their riding and finding it of benefit?

I’m not sure I’d bother with the gym for core stuff unless you really enjoy gyms and have money to burn. I use a combination of body weight stuff like pull-ups, one-arm press-ups, abs and dorsal stuff and dumbell exercises like renegade dumbell rows etc usually two to three times a week. I don’t do much leg stuff bar running as I find it messes wth my riding, but I do try to so short, sharp, explosive stuff on the bike.

I used to use the gym, but I got tired of rubbing shoulders with preening narcissists and the sort of tokenists who think that just being in a room stuffed with expensive resistance machines will osmotically improve their fitness. Everyone’s different though and some gyms are less awful than others YMMV etc.

If you want some background info on sports physiology and ageing, check out a book called Fast After 50 which pretty much does what it says on the cover.

I’m about to lose my forties, geez where did they go ?
After suffering 2 back operations I now rely on weekly pilates sessions to me flexible.
Has really helped with my core strength as well which makes a big difference when climbing.
Have also taken to doing a few short road rides when time doesn’t permit a full offroad ride and clean up operation. Just something to keep the legs moving.
Never tried gym work, would prefer to just go out and cycle somewhere however short the ride might be.

40 this October and diagnosed with a heart complaint.
Been going to the gym since I was 18, keeps me flexible…..most of my similar aged friends can’t squat down with flat feet without their heels coming off the ground , years of deadlifting means I don’t suffer with the usual 40+yr old’s bad back, posture is great.

Do it!

Lots of evidence that shows that as you age, you lose muscle condition faster, so need to keep up with more intense efforts and strength training to maintain muscle mass. Noticeable too that recovery takes a bit longer and more niggly injuries – I’m in the process of trying to deal with a couple of persistent discomfort issues mainly down to some weak core muscles that aren’t engaged properly, plus having to work on flexibility. I have an annual medical and they persistently tell me I’m prone to back injuries because I’m too bendy – sometimes you can’t win!

Gym is not necessary but some amount of strength training is almost compulsory for anyone over 40. It does not necessarily give your more speed on the bike but improves general health especially in later years.

Stretching and yoga are vital for me, I do a bit of climbing and over-use/postural issue’s can be a problem if I don’t stretch.

Can’t be arsed with the gym, boring.

I started earlier this year doing a Military style boot camp (not BMF, but similar)

A lot of fun, good group of people to keep you motivated and my upper body strength is quite substantially better than it was. I’m not a lot lighter (maybe 20lbs, ref STW Chubclub mainly) but quite a lot slimmer going off size and fit of clothing, etc. – basically my tailor made suit from 6 years ago fits again!!

Also did a few classes of Yoga but they stopped over summer as she went off to Sri lanka on a 6 week meditative retreat……. but may be restarting in September. Flexibility is still poor for me especially lower back.

Lots of evidence that shows that as you age, you lose muscle condition faster, so need to keep up with more intense efforts and strength training to maintain muscle mass.

I listened to a Mike Boyle interview as one of the points he made is that power decrease is greater than the strength decrease we suffer as we age so you might want to thing about doing some power work along with your strength work.

Can one of the Pilates users tell me a bit more about it? I have several old injuries that I don’t really expect to ever go away, but would like to try and alleviate them a bit and get some flexibility back. It’s my lower back and ankles/Achilles tendon mainly. Classes aren’t practical, but I could do them at home if there’s anything good book or DVD for it?

I have never been able to maintain interest in the gym, but I swim between 3 and 5k a week and do a lot of stretching, and some yoga (51).

Also do 2 or 3 half hour Pilates sessions at home per week. The latter is brilliant for warding off lower back problems; it can take 2 or 3 months of doing it regularly before you really notice a big difference – but if you persist, it makes a huge difference to core strength

this….. Pilates has sorted alot of my aches and pains out. No longer do i have a stiff back, post ride. My Pilates sessions are about half Pilates and some Yoga stretches too. Makes a great difference.

I’ll slit my throat before i spend much time in a gym.

I just rely on frequent bouts of surgery to keep me active. 51

I have a nice bendy lady who comes around to my house and takes a Pilates session once a week. The main benefit as far as i can see, is that my core now actually serves a purpose. It’s there to alleviate issues around other muscle groups, and provide stability which helps in the the event of a tumble from the bike.

44 and strength & endurance on the bike is best it’s ever been. I couldn’t sprint as fast as my youth though. Stuff hurts a bit more when I crash. Other than that main issue with age is more on the digestion side of things 😀

I mainly ache when I’m not riding enough. Sedentary job sat at desks makes stuff seize up.

I just ride more, and the great outdoors is my gym. Nothing worse than spending a fortune a month to go to a sweaty gym with everyone’s germs and doing mind numbing exercises, at least for me.

Oh, and self preservation overrides my ability to do some stuff.

Pilates…. whats not to like.

Anyone else down the gym to supplement their riding and finding it of benefit?

Don’t go to an actual gym, but I have tried to increase my use of ‘free weights’ for the same reasons you highlight.

It’s the big five-oh for me next year and whilst my CV fitness is still ok, I am starting to suffer with various old snowboarding/cycling injuries aches and niggles so I’ve been incorporating more yoga into my routine – I’m currently trying to strengthen and open up my hips a bit more.

Never been hugely keen on the idea of going to a gyms (although I would probably benefit from some coaching), but using free-weights and my own body weight with various exercises has definitely helped on the bike as well with greater joint stability and less arm pump/fatigue etc

43 here and have been doing a weekly strength & conditioning course at Sheffield Hallam that’s aimed specifically at bikers (the lass who runs it is an ex WC level CX rider). There’s a mix of yoga/pilates-ey stuff, creative dicking around, a good hit of weights (properly coached!) and various aerobic & core circuits.

I’ve always done a fair bit of stretching and climbed a bit indoors which has meant I’m in reasonable shape, but I’m noticeably stronger now – especially core stuff and that’s translated into better posture on the bike and I’ve got more power and pop than I used to. Trialsy stuff has got a lot easier! I’ve also noticed I recover a lot quicker from hard efforts when riding.

It helps that we’re all bike biased in the group -some are endurance specialists, plus a good bunch of top 10 enduro types of various ages – there’s no gym preening and we all have the same outlook on it – there’s a good craic going. As an aside I’ve found the weightlifting element of it quiet fascinating actually – I’d never realised how technical a discipline it is. If the course folded, I’d probably find an Olympic lifting group to join.

I’m 49 and finding riding and recovering a lot easier than I did when I started mountain biking when I was in my early 30’s. Suspect that says a lot more about my fitness (or lack thereof) back then than anything else though!

Now I’m in my forties I try to take more care of myself and supplement the bike riding with weight/resistance training and stretching. I also go for a sports massage once a month to get any knots out the muscles and help prevent any strains.

Next birthday is my three score and ten so living on borrowed time after.
Still work out in gym and cycle up two steepest hills round here – Peak and Salcombe hills in Sidmouth on my MTB.
Supposed to wear my knee and elbow protectors off road but dont.
Not much to getting old other than a bit slower and it hurts more and takes longer to repair me when I fall off.
Core work and a stretch class are the best things I have found to keep me going.

have been doing a weekly strength & conditioning course at Sheffield Hallam that’s aimed specifically at bikers

Sounds interesting – Have you got anymore details JonEdwards? My ‘google-fu’ doesn’t seem to be strong today?

Blue Steel strength and conditioning is at the Hallam.

It’s excellent. There’s social media account you can find them on.

Or gmail – bluesteelconditioning at

Blue Steel strength and conditioning is at the Hallam.

Great stuff – thanks very much for that ianfitz!

Have you got a local bouldering/climbing wall. Will enhance your core strength, flexibility, balance and stamina, all whilst being great fun if a couple of you go together and work on problems. Found it really helped a few years back and miss it now I am not going (wall moved from local town to another about 20 miles away :-(). Really should make the effort to get back into it

Here’s the link to the DVD’s on the official APPI website http://www.appihealthgroup.com/products/DVDs–Videos

I’ve met 3 physios who’ve all independently recommended attending classes led by APPI qualified instructors, or using their DVD’s. Only thing I’d add is that if you use the DVDs, it’s worth visiting a class or instructor at least a couple of times a year, to check that you’re getting the fundamentals right (avoids injuries that way).