Originally Posted by
queerpunk
Can you elaborate on this, in particular, your second sentence about pushing through and adapting to the stress of weightlifting?
It's my first year of weightlifting, and I'm moving from a couple months of hypertrophy-esque focus on form to 5x5 strength-building work, so I'm always trying to glean more info about what I can anticipate. I'm also not spending a lot of time on the bike, it being winter in Minnesota and all. 3-4 hrs/week indoors...
Bmontgomery sort of covered it.. but ill get into it a bit more..
first off- drop the 5x5!
5x5 is a great way for a novice lifter, especially one not genetically pre-disposed to strength gains (yes- you Enduros!) to get some volume early in a strength progrm, without the weight progressing so fast as it does in a 3x5 program with linear progression (adding weight every workout, across all sets)
I currently do 1 day of 5x5 as part of The Texas Method (intermediate program) and i can tell you that a properly executed 5x5 at a heavy weight is a Mother Facker!
so- id switch to 3x5...
as for the adaption. There is a period early in weight training, especially when combined with cycling, where the fatigue seams too much. If you can ride through this phase, you will likely adapt and find 2 things: first- you will not feel nearly as worked after a while as you did.. you just get better at recovering from weights, and they affect the bike less.. second- you will find that even on the days that you feel really fatigued, you dont lose much performance.. i was assured by my coach this was the case- and sure enough he was right..
to me- that is one of the great mental aspects of weights that makes you- the lifter- So Fricking Awesome- the knowledge that you crush no matter how you feel.
one last piece of this puzzle is how critical roller work is for the lifting cyclist.. it helps adapt the lifting into bike strength.. and it helps with recovery. try it- youll like it