Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)
  • Weight training – counter productive to riding?
  • dirtygirlonabike
    Free Member

    I currently do weights two – three times a week. I’m quite keen to get back into my road riding again after a break (due to over training) From talking to various people (mainly roadies) it has been suggested that doing weights is counter productive to my road riding and that I would see better improvements in my speed if I cut out the weights and concentrated on riding.

    I’m not convinced – I’m pretty light/small, and the weights I do (imo) help keep me strong and stop things like sore triceps etc on long rides.

    I can see how short term, if I did weights and then went for a ride, riding would be much harder, I’d tire quicker, not be able to reach max speed etc. However, I don’t see how it couldn’t help my riding longer term, with proper recovery/rest etc. Surely if I know I get sore muscle groups in areas on longer rides, ensuring that they are strong, will mean I don’t tire as quickly, and therefore able to ride for longer/better?

    Anyway, just interested in thoughts/views. Should weights be a winter only thing when mileage is less and a good way of getting power into legs? As an aside, before I stopping mtb’ing to concentrate on road riding, I found I had much stronger legs and could climb much stronger, than when I only road ride. That would lead me to believe that heavier bike and different terrain gave me stronger legs – which surely weights is also doing?

    (I should add that since I am female and pretty light, I’m not exactly lifting tons, but do include a fair amount of leg work such as lunges, squats, leg press, leg extension. I’m also not that interested in improving average speed – I’m looking at doing longer sportives around the 100 miles, so its more of an endurance thing, and being able to climb well and over a long distance)

    Teetosugars
    Free Member

    Malcom Elliot swears by it..

    Not many on here could catch him.

    MrSalmon
    Free Member

    I guess it depends on exactly what you do- Armstrong certainly included weights in his comeback training. I guess if you’re targetting the right areas and not bulking up in the wrong places you’d be OK?

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    terrahawk
    Free Member

    for long rides, strengthening your core/arms/back can only be a good thing.

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    are you doing low rep, high weight or vice versa?

    to get muscular endurance you should be going for low weight high rep. this will allow the sore muscles to work longer.

    If you are doing low rep high weigh this will bulk you up – but this is slow twitch muscle fibre – which is not a great deal of use on the bike.

    Tim
    Free Member

    Fitness and muscle strength is always good, but building up bulk will only slow you down on a bike

    stumpy01
    Full Member

    I would think that as Tom Thumb says you want to be mainly doing high reps @ low weight for endurance, although the odd session of higher weights won’t do any harm.
    One of the problems with weights can be that your muscles get tight & shorten, so you should make sure that you include a decent amount of stretching into your regime.

    Since having left a gym & doing no weights, I notice that my upper body does get quite fatigued on long rides particularly my triceps as you mention.

    RHSno2
    Free Member

    Its very hard to actually bulk up from weights. You need to consume protein like crazy!

    I do twice a week, 3 sets of 15/20 at a weight that really hurts at the end.

    Have really, really felt the difference this year in my mountain biking and I think strength is a good thing overall.

    mudshark
    Free Member

    If you are doing low rep high weigh this will bulk you up – but this is slow twitch muscle fibre – which is not a great deal of use on the bike.

    Well that’s a curious comment…slow twitch fibres are exactly want you want on long road rides!

    heihei
    Full Member

    I find that upper body weight sessions pay dividends for mountain biking, being able to “muscle” the bike around a bit more. Clearly much less important for road riding though.

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    you are correct mudshark i’ve got my slow twitch/ fast twitch all in a muddle.

    bjj.andy.w
    Free Member

    Tabata training is very good for alround strengh,endurance and cardio.Google it and give it a go.You will be crying for it to stop near the end 😆

    mudshark
    Free Member

    Thomthumb – that makes sense then!

    FWIW I was a bit of a gym rat for a good decade and completely transformed my body but obviously(?) all that extra weight would be a big negative for cycling. These days I figure cycling is the best training for my legs and my upper body is best left alone however I do still push weights in the winter months. But then I have a reasonable level of all around body strength so don’t know if someone much weaker would benefit from specific weight training or not – mtbing tends to give you some upper body exercise though.

    dirtygirlonabike
    Free Member

    I’m mainly doing low weight high rep, but every now and then do some higher weights, low reps. I’ve been training at the gym for years and have never bulked up – as RHS02 says, its hard to bulk up from weights without protein, and my trainer also says its even harder for women to bulk up.

    I’m between 52 – 55kgs, depending on diet/training, so its still not much – suspect that would drop if i stopped the weights. And I still think that I’m better/stronger doing weights, than without – but clearly people around me don’t think that!

    I suppose the only real way would be to test it for a while – but then i will hold onto some muscle strength for a while so it won’t be accurate. And tbh, i don’t really want to lose the strength i do have as it enables me to flit from different sports pretty easily.

    dirtygirlonabike
    Free Member

    i should also add before i started doing weights, i wasn’t strong at all, which is probably a typical trait of being female.

    Ed2001
    Free Member

    Dirty girl I’m sure the roadies will have told the very best thing you can do if you are serious about training and looking for real improvements is get yourself a good coach- it really is the only way if you are serious -defined targets, proper training specific to you ( maybe weight maybe not), and you should see real and dramatic improvements ( the problem with most advice on here is they dont know you: fitness, physique, goals,riding, time you can train etc so it maybe useful or it may not)

    RHSno2
    Free Member

    The tabata thing looks good. Might try that. Quick and intense

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