Training & Nutrition - Addicted to iron?

It's really funny guys/gals

Last year I finally seriously started weight training early October with the double purpose of losing weight by combining a low-carb diet, cardio exercise (2 spinning lessons/week plus a 150K commute to/from the gym) and weight training.

From Feb thru May I've spent a lot of time cycling and couldn't lift weights very much. This and past month I'm not just at home but also done with the brevets (I qualified for PBP by riding 200,300, 400 and 600K).

I am reversing back to the winter situation: do 2 spinning lessons/week, 3 weight lifting sessions plus the commute, but now supplemented with just one extra weekend ride of approx. 150K. (not as planned 100K plus 150K or so..).
I've just entered a new routine: Hypertrophy Specific Training.. and am thrilled about it.. it's a combination of power lifting exercises with extra exercises for minor muscle groups.


Anyone here who's almost more addicted to iron than to riding a bike...

DenverFox, Maelstrom?

Ivana

PS: no worries, July will be spent cycle-touring in Norwegian fjord-areas.. but I'm worried about how my WL routine will suffer! Any suggestions for open air routines with/without use of (touring) bike and luggage are welcome!

Anyone here who's almost more addicted to iron than to riding a bike...

Almost. My wife and I are loving our new Body For Life program. It is teaching me some new techniques, and we have an excellent trainer. Never had something like a trainer before, always considered it a waste of hard-earned money. But . . . my opinion is changing.


no worries, July will be spent cycle-touring in Norwegian fjord-areas.. but I'm worried about how my WL routine will suffer! Any suggestions for open air routines with/without use of (touring) bike and luggage are welcome!

A couple of years ago I was riding at the local State Park, and saw a gentleman there - with huge muscles - doing all sorts of weight routines using only his body weight and a park bench.

I should have asked what routine he was using. He looked as if he might be a Green Beret or Special Forces guy, he was in that kind of condition. Tough looking muscles.

There must be a lot of techniques of building your body using your own body weight. Look at gymnasts - they have super bodies, pretty much built on using body weight against gravity.

I would say right now I'm equally addicted to both.Its hard balancing both but I think I have finally got it down to where if I prioritize one too long say more than 4-7 days I will start feeling incomplete and need to focus on the other awhile.In fact that is why I think 7-10 day tours agree with me as I can then focus back on weight training.If you are going to be away from a gym try doing pullups and dips to supplement the cycling focus on legs.If you can't find exercise stations in a park try a door ledge or similar for pullups and two chairs for dips.You might also try carrying one of those rubber bungie cord stretch devices for a range of exercises.P.S. Of course lifting a weighted touring bike can be quite a challenge as well I make a point of purposely lifting it around more than necessary when parking it or returning to it etc.

I'll be gone for about 4-5 weeks.. also, I can't do dips as my rotator cuffs are very lousy, esp the right one.
I have just started a Hypertrophy Specific Training routine and had to throw out the dips immediately, even at as little as 18 kg (68-50) . I'm doing the lateral raises with just 3 kg and will keep it at that..

It doesn't surprise me in the least why my 5RM bench press is a mere 40kg, my DL 5RM 65 kg and my squat 5RM around 80 kg (minus 3 as it's not an olympic barbell)

Ivana

Then the rubber tubing might be a good idea because one of its recommended uses is for isolating rotator cuff strengthening exercises.I think you can just get some surgical tubing and make your own devise .

DnvrFox is right, you don't need weights as the weight of your body is ample. For instance, press-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, dips, squats, step-ups, squat thrusts, and dynamic tension exercises all make use of the body's weight (except dynamic tension which relies on strength/force).

Anyway have a good tour, Portent

Originally posted by fietser_ivana
I have just started a Hypertrophy Specific Training routine and had to throw out the dips immediately, even at as little as 18 kg (68-50) . I'm doing the lateral raises with just 3 kg and will keep it at that.. Ivana

http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/popup_hstwarn.html

Portent is right- by using body weight, you can do all those exercises and maintain muscle mass. You may lose a little mass, but when you get back, you'll probably take a week or two to get back to your pre-vacation shape.

In addition, if you're bringing a backpack, you can load up your backpack and do those same exercises with the extra weight for increased resistance.

Consider that when you do your weightlifting, you should de-emphasize getting on the scale and measuring yourself for weight loss, since muscle weighs more than fat. Go in for a bodyfat analysis about once every 2 months instead and rely on how your clothes feel rather than getting on the scale. I do remember you saying in a post you had concerns about not losing weight fast enough, and this is probably the reason why. So don't stress yourself out by getting on a scale.

I was addicted to weightlifting for a long time- I got to the point where I was just a walking wall of muscle, then one day someone took a pic of me, and I freaked- I think I took it too far, so I backed off the weights. I have a tendancy to gain a lot of muscle in a short amount of time- genetics.... :rolleyes:

I'm just getting back into the weightlifting again to get my weight back down. I don't want to be as big as I was, but I do like having a lot of extra muscle, and I do like being able to go to the gym and pull out the same dumbbells as some of the guys there and work out with the best of them... their eyes always get wide, and sometimes, you get into conversations with them, and before you know it, you're part of this great group of guys and getting in on all the secrets of guys that they don't tell women normally....

Man, I can't wait to get back to my gym!

Nice to see another addict Koffee

I have a body fat monitor, if that is worth anything. It does measure consistently though. What's more, I had my bf monitored a few months ago with a caliper and it was almost the same as the device I have at home.

BF went down from 38% last April to 29-28% now (85 kg to 66 kg). It is amazing though how much the weight varies around the 'as women say' time of the month.. it swinged from as much as 70 kg to 66kg in just a week.
Water retention and dehydration I'm sure, but still, when I take a reading on the scale fat% swings quite a bit as well.

In any case, I'm continueing to dig up open-air exercises and also will try to do a rehab thing for my rotator cuff as leaving it alone doesn't make it get better. I was amazed how much less pain I have in my wrist e.g. since I started weight lifting.

Fietser Ivana

It is amazing though how much the weight varies around the 'as women say' time of the month.. it swinged from as much as 70 kg to 66kg in just a week.
Water retention and dehydration I'm sure, but still, when I take a reading on the scale fat% swings quite a bit as well.

Oh, I religiously avoid doing any kind of measurements from about a week before to a week after... which usually means I don't measure myself but once a month!

Avoid measuring during this time like you're avoiding the bubonic plague!

Koffee