I read a lot about deadlifting, I'm quite happy with my technique as I have to put a lot of power in and nothing feels bad. As long as I remember to straighten up at the end to relax my back.
First time I tried the bar for squatting I couldn't do it at all, but this time not so bad. I find it hard to get my hands/arms far back enough, due to shoulder inflexibility.
Those instructions look good, will try and work on it next time.
There's a lot of range of movement required in the lifts - I have a faulty ankle due to a bad break which was pinned back together and my right shoulder is a bit weird from years of bass playing (wouldn't be so bad if I'd used a pick!)
Yoga helps me a lot - and I've found that my recent habit of sitting cross-legged to meditate has helped with the squat! Definitely find some exercises that increase mobility (I hesitate to call them stretches because that's not really the best way to approach them...)
I must start yoga or pilates or something, my upper body is stiff as hell.
Just try some of Abi's routines on Pinkbike.
I also do Scaravelli inspired yoga but that's rather niche! 😉
I find it hard to get my hands/arms far back enough, due to shoulder inflexibility.
Does your gym have a safety bar for squatting? If so try using that. Much easier hand position
Safety bar? The one on runners that just slides up and down?
So is the weight coming off?
[quote=molgrips ]Safety bar? The one on runners that just slides up and down?
Nope. One of these. Give a much more neutral arm position.
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So is the weight coming off?
Of course not 🙂
(yet)
@boardinbob haven't seen one of those - will have another look.
I'm confused, does the OP want to lose weight or be leaner?
Well no, I don't care about how I look (see Capt America pictures for evidence). I just want to loose fat to cycle better. I didn't say 'lighter' because I want to keep cycling power.
With that in mind, manage your diet and use your exercise time to train on the bike.
I must start yoga or pilates or something, my upper body is stiff as hell.
Yoga, pilates, weights... stuff I'd love to have time to do but given limited time for exercise as I have to fit around job and family (and STW) time I'm pretty sure that substituting on bike training time for these activities would be to the detriment of making me faster, leaner, or lighter.
However if you enjoy it and want variety then crack on.
I'm confused, does the OP want to lose weight or be leaner?
Lose weight.
With that in mind, manage your diet and use your exercise time to train on the bike.
So you don't agree with all the advice about weight training to lose weight?
I know I can lose weight if I ride 10 hours a week. But if I don't have 10 hours, does weight training make sense? Interval training on the bike does not help me lose weight, for whatever reason.
The gym can be done late when the kids are in bed, or I can go for an hour at lunchtime if I'm home, whereas an hour's biking doesn't seem to do much - plus the extra 30 mins spent getting ready and cleaning the bike. So it fits in time-wise.
The idea was that changing to something different would help. I seem to have adapted to doing the riding I do, so not much changes.
It's not just about weight loss though, is it?
The aim is to get faster on the bike and I reckon the best way to do that is to ride your bike. You can do gym work and maybe lose weight but then you won't have been riding your bike as much. There's more to being quick than just power and weight.
Interval training on the bike does not help me lose weight, for whatever reason.
I'd be wondering what that reason is. Sounds like you've now been doing weights and you're still not losing weight, for whatever reason. Hmmm.
Sounds like you've now been doing weights and you're still not losing weight, for whatever reason
I haven't done it long or consistently enough for it to have an effect. I ended up going away with work just after I got this programme, so I didn't have the facilities to do the programme so I just sort of made it up a bit - then I was ill, etc etc.
I'll give 5x5 a chnace and do it properly, see how I feel. And I'll ride.
You can do gym work and maybe lose weight but then you won't have been riding your bike as much
I've been riding for long enough that I know I can pick up bike fitness easily enough. But losing weight is pretty difficult, so I'm focusing on this. A large part of the problem in the past has been focusing on bike fitness, training hard there, which means I have to eat more to fuel the hard training and the weight stays the same. Currently planning on more low intensity cycling and the weights, will see how I get on.
Be interesting to see how you get on. I can't see why, if you don't lose weight because you eat more when training hard on the bike, that the same won't happen with weight training.
TBH it just sounds like you're just eating too much 🙂
I've started doing a fasted commute 3 times a week again and have lost 5-6lbs in a fortnight.
Eschew the recovery can of coke and you'll be lighter in no time.
I did fasting commutes. Didn't lose weight. Ate little. Endurance improved a lot, legs stayed incredibly tired all the time.
Are you sure you didn't have an overactive H2M reflex at the same time?
Yes, I am, for that period.
BF seems to be lower at around 18%, it was 22% a while back.
Quite enjoying Stronglifts 5x5.
It started me off at 42.5kg squat a month ago which was very easy, now on 65kg squat and 55kg for the bench press, both still reasonably easy. Looking slightly slimmer but weigh the same.
Feel like a significant improvement in leg power on the bike. 5 hour mountain slog last weekend and finished strongly despite being incredibly hungry.
I'm sure you all care.
Up to 82.5kg squat now - it's getting to be a proper effort. 37.5kg overhead press is hard though and I may have my first failure tonight at 40kg.
Still weigh the same and subcutaneous fat also doesn't seem to have gone down much visibly but I somehow look slightly less pot-bellied. Definitely buliding muscle under the fat though.
I care Molly. Keep it up.
I'm only posting to keep myself honest 🙂 May do another selfie soon.
I care, too. In fact I was going to bump it to enquire but thought you'd probably take it the wrong way.
My squat is the same weight (with bar) and yeah, quite hard work to stop it becoming a Good Morning. Bench is up but the overhead is seated so although I'm lifting the same my standing was 10kg more before surgery last year. Deadlift I had to dial back as an old upper chest injury started up again. Physio's helped but I'm only upping the weight by 2.5kg to try and get back to the 140 before the recent strain.
I don't know about you but I'm eating shit loads (clean) and not suffering like I did when I tried it in calorie deficit. Fat loss is slow but as you write, muscle makes its way through. This week (though probably next week or the week after 🙂 ) I'll start the hill sprints and box jumps but the mesh makes itself known whenever I move too fast so that's my excuse and definitely not the 10 minutes of vomit inducing struggle.
Pehaps an STW Shirt-Off is in order.*
* JK
Edit : I'm only doing 3x5 on the squat, too, not 5x5 as on the presses and row. I'm 49 so that's my excuse. I have a love/hate relationship with squats even though I'm short and gravity is on my side.
I'm not finding that the lifting makes me eat more. If anything less, because they replace a run or a bike ride which, although I can manage them because I'm so used to it, they do take more out of my system that it then demands be put back in. I'm only doing 2 workouts a week instead of three, because I'm still running and biking.
The problem during April when I settled into 5x5 was that due to the great weaather I was doing lots of riding at the weekends. So I'd still have slightly sore legs come Tuesday which made the sqauts hard. Didn't do so much riding the last few weeks and the squats are easier.
I originally decided to eat moderate carbs - small bits of pasta, wholemeal bread etc - whilst doing this and felt fine, but now I am seeing what happens if I run a significant calorie deficit. But the strength gains seem to be really helping on the bike, so maybe it's not worth trying to diet. If I can sqaut 1.5x body weight at the end of the summer, it should generate a load more power on the bike, shouldn't it?
I have a love/hate relationship with squats
I like them. Prefer deadlifts but the Stronglifts guy doesn't so I don't do many 🙂
May do another selfie soon.
Who's currently in possession of the STW 'sensual sock'?
This is interesting:
https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/why-serious-cyclists-should-consider-strength-training
Didn't do so much riding the last few weeks and the squats are easier.
I found it difficult to keep the weight increase going when I combined cycling with weights. The 10 - 15 mins of hill sprints and box jumps straight after the weights session is much more manageable for me. Definitely wouldn't consider riding on a rest day but I'm lifting for strength and body recomposition at the moment hence the calorie surplus - it's deliberate rather than forced through lifting. Better for recovery, too.
I am seeing what happens if I run a significant calorie deficit.
I tried that late last year - got down to 800kcal before injuries and tendon pain started and the fat fell away in no time. Looked good, tho...
Also, last year when I was still cycling on the odd occasion, I hooked up with a friend for a local ride which always starts with bloody Stocking Lane - a bastard of a climb when cold - but to my surprise I killed it without any issues on the leg muscles, suffering only in the lung department.
Heavy squats are good for cycling, for sure.
The Stronglifts app gave me really light weights to start with, so I'm only now beginning to feel like it's a workout. But whilst my legs are pushing hard they don't really get tired; my arms do though. But it keeps on ramping up so it'll happen 🙂
Re tendon pain.. I found that with the squatting my ITB pain has come back on the run the following day.
Just had a salad for lunch...
With chicken, right?
Greek yogurt with raspberries and peanut butter (Sunpat for good oils) and a squirt of runny honey about to be necked here.
No, barbecue burnt ends salad bowl from Subway. Not that great.. I should go to Sainsbury's and get a bag of decent salad and add my own chicken.
Then a paeleo bar as I thought effectively no calories was not quite enough for lunch, some thing made from dates and coconut.
barbecue burnt ends
That's a new one on me, had to Google it. Images make it look pretty rank, tbh.
🙂
This is interesting:https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/why-serious-cyclists-should-consider-strength-training
Good link.
Not sure it applies the same to everyone, as i'd expect most are limited far more by CV fitness than leg strength. For really skinny folk like me, i'm convinced there's huge gains to be made from strength work.
However, I couldn't get squatting to work for me, I found it left me with too much muscle soreness, and really badly compromised the quality of on the bike work.
I've found on the bike strength work to be a compromise that has worked well.
Sounds like you tried to lift too much and at the wrong time in the season.
Strength work for cycling is about muscle recruitment rather than muscle growth.
And Molly! You shouldn't even set foot in Subway, shame on you.
That's a new one on me, had to Google it. Images make it look pretty rank, tbh.
It's good. It's just roast beef with a bit of barbecue flavour.
I found it left me with too much muscle soreness, and really badly compromised the quality of on the bike work
This is an interesting topic actually. Some cyclist on the internet tried a strength programme to see if it'd give him sprint power, and all it did was make him tired. But he was already a skinny bugger and admitted he was all endurance and no power to begin with.
OTOH I've always been a sprinter and I reckon it's workng for me quite well. So I think that some people respond well to weights and some don't.
i'd expect most are limited far more by CV fitness than leg strength
Not sure about 'most'. Especially after having done sprint intervals on foot, the pain in my legs is what determines my max on climbs, not my breathing.
And Molly! You shouldn't even set foot in Subway, shame on you.
Why?
Sounds like you tried to lift too much and at the wrong time in the season.
Been a while, but iirc, 5x8 @ 60/90/100/110/115% BW
Felt ok lifting every 3rd day, and making strength gains, but struggled to even manage decent z2 rides on non lifting days.
Been a while, but iirc, 5x8 @ 60/90/100/110/115% BW
that's where you started to or worked up to?
That sounds big.
Stronglifts started me on 50% bw or near enough, and I maintained the cycling which contributes to the overall leg fatigue and the point at which I'll fail as I ramp up the weight. Without cycling I'd be going further with the weights, so it's all going to balance out.
that's where you started to or worked up to?
It's irrelevant if it was stifling on the bike work.
Warm up at 60% x 12
Transition set at 100% x 8
Max strength set att 120% x 3
Should be fine.
Pity you're not keen on swimming, Molgrips. An hour in a pool gets through a lot of calories and is excellent non-traumatic exercise that will make you more rather than less supple. The only problem is that you get out of the water feeling ravenous so make sure you have a bag of apples handy.
that's where you started to or worked up to?
Worked up to - i'm not even sure I could have stood up without knees buckling with 115% when I started 😳
Pity you're not keen on swimming, Molgrips.
Yeah I would swim more, but as I'm working all over the place I don't always have a local pool. Plus even when I'm at home the pool is 1/2 hour cycle away and tbh I'd rather carry on cycling and get a 2 hour ride in 🙂
Worked up to
that makes sense. i was concerned that you's started there then given up on squats!!
Warm up at 60% x 12
Transition set at 100% x 8
Max strength set att 120% x 3
sounds better than
5x8 @ 60/90/100/110/115%
set of 8 is a lot at near max. especially around cycling workouts.
