Looking to start making the most of my gym membership to aid my MM preperation. Will have around an hour or so per session (in the morning before work), maybe 2 hours if I'm doing an evening visit. Any suggestions on a program would be good, eg. what sort of weights might be of benefit, combinations of running/swimming/rowing etc etc?
Or is gym a waste of time for getting fit for this sort of thing? Should I just be spending as much time out on the bike as possible?
Aiming to drop 10kg over the next 2 months to aid my 'power to weight' ratio, so hopefully the gym will assist this as well, maybe that should be the focus of these sessions (probably 3-4 times a week)?
cheers STW
Definitely not a waste of time.
I've dropped off the gym in the last 5 months, and have noticed my upper body aches considerably more following a longish (6hr+) ride now compared to when I was doing a weights routine 3 or 4 times a week. Granted, I've become faster on my bike due to the increased time I've gained by losing the gym, but for a 24 hr, I reckon it's essential. It's just a compromise that's needed!
rowing
core work - lower back especially - it will hurt
hamstrings and calves - surprising how weak they are given how intensive cycling is for legs
lots of stretching to retain flexibility - prevent injury so you can stay on the bike for training.
generally do my gym session - 45mins or so - then go for a swim (1500m) to help loosen off the legs and recover from the weekend - but work the upper body
dont try and substitute riding your bike with gym work - you need a good base milage to finish a 24 - ok some of the fast guys do alot of interval stuff - but they have a monsterous base - they can tune in now to up the pace. as a first timer you want to concentrate on finishing.Even experianced folk dont finish some times!
Interval training is the best wy to get aerobically fit, and tie that in with the rest of your gym session. In my eyes it is defo worth having a personal training session so you can work out how to get the most out of your gym sessions for your needs....
eg. mine at the mo is is warm up 10 mins on rower, 3 lots of 10repsx2 on weights and pulleys etc but keep this high intensity you should feel out of breath while doing the weights, back onto rower/treadmil/bike for some intervals for 20 mins-ish (whatever you have planned), maybe if you have a bit more time get some miles in on the runner/rower, warm down and stretch. You should be able to do all this in an hour easily - rather than working out for an hour and a half and actually not getting much fitter!!! I would never have devised a sesion like this without the help of the trainers at the gym.
That said, I would still rather be out on the bike but when I got into this last year I definitely felt the benefit!! If they have spinning classes get along to them too, they are actually quite fun!
i am in no way an expert however in stw i will be dispensing advice.
interval session once a week (maybe up this to twice nearer the time) will get the top end speed.
lots of endurrace level work (base)
weights for building arms, legs back and shoulders (my shoulders always bad on the real long rides) not to heavy -do not keep up with the body builders- believe me this will take you out of training for a week. the idea is not to build bulk but dtrength and muscular endurance.
as said core strength. swimming is good for this - it's also ace cross training.
I wouldn't do a lot of low-intensity cardio in the gym - keep it all focussed on the bike.
It is hard to recommend anything too specific in terms of weights or exercises, with two months left you have time to make decent progress, but it probably isn't the time to launch into anything too complicated that you aren't used to, in case you get injured.
Stronger core - More control on the bike, stay relaxed for longer before you have to start suffering.
Raised lactate threshold - Training for short bursts at a high intensity, with short recovery. This will increase the amount of effort you can put in before you start getting gassed. It also teaches you plenty about coping psychologically with maximal effort and about where your personal limits lie. You don't want to hit this kind of effort in a 24 but it will teach you how to avoid it! Circuits would be good for this, or a tough spin class.
10kgs is a shitload of weight to lose, even if you are training for weight loss as a goal. I would advise you to focus on workload and eating healthily to aid recovery. Losing too much weight/not eating enough will stress your body and compromise the benefits of the hard work.
a 24hr solo dictates time on the bike as an essential focus, try twice a week 1hr sessions super sets of 3 to failure - focus on quality to provide failure,
press ups
chin ups
dumb bell bench press
lat pull down (in front)
shoulder press (in front)
seated row
legs as above
maybe throw in some:
tricep dips
hip flexion
trunk extension
warm up on rower as mobilizing upper and lower body
worked well for me 10 years ago 😯
you shouldn't ever need to spend longer than 90mins from start to finish in there
oh - throw your bathroom scales away!!!
just read the 2 months bit - if thats when your event is then your kinda pooped - 6 weeks min for physiological adaptation - i think i'd just hammer the bodyweight exercises
My example was devised for me, but I'm sure just half an hour with one of the trainers at your gym would put you on the right track (well, it should if they are any good!)
I wonder if our very knowledgeable Matt Hart ever reads these threads - I'm sure he could come up with a good training plan 😀
STW Calling Matt.......... are you out there?!?!?!
There are alternatives than the GYM 👿
I started doing [url= http://www.britmilfit.com/ ]British Miltary Fitness[/url] a 1 year and a half ago.
and I've really felt the benefits especially in core strength.
In an 1hr session you do (amongst other things) lots of press-ups, sit-ups, burpees and [url= http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises_10.htm ]plank[/url] variations,
as well as lots sprinting in between exercises (running).
I've found it has really helped with stamina on the bike, with my upper body becoming less tired on long rides.
Personally I can't stand the gym and have wasted hundreds of pounds on unused membership!
With BMF Once you've got used to some ex-army instructor barking exercises at you It's acutually enjoyable 😈 and you get covered in mud (like MTB).
But again there is nothing like getting out on the bike. Something no doubt 99% could do more of!!!
Looks great Ackie, can Psychle do that 3-4 tyimes a week in the morning before work!?
Lets face it pretty much everything is preferrable to the gym, but for specifics, and time restrictions if you do it properly it can work.
can Psychle do that 3-4 tyimes a week in the morning before work!?
Depending on where he's based but there usually early morning and evening sessions.
I also swear by commuting, last summer I dropped a stone in weight by commuting 120 miles a week, and it didn't feel like "training" if you know what I mean, more like "Stealth Training" :wink:.
I also swear by commuting, last summer I dropped a stone in weight by commuting 120 miles a week
I only live 5 minutes from work (walking that is)... I could of course go for a ride before work, could easily squeeze in a hour or so and then get home and have a shower, and will probably do this on 'non-gym' days in fact, but as the gym is also on the way to work it makes sense to use it more as well!
Shall sit down with one of the PT's and see what they reckon I guess, though it'd be nice to get free advice off STW of course 🙂
10kgs is a shitload of weight to lose, even if you are training for weight loss as a goal.
It's not a specific target as such, more something I'm hoping to achieve as part of the process, will be on a bit of a 'low fat' and 'high protein' diet with slightly reduced carbs as well, should help 🙂
you dont need any training, just rub sandpaper on your behind to toughen it up:-)