"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Compound lifting exercises

Hi

So I've recently joined a team and plan to do my first crit in a month or so. I am also about to join a gym more for showering after training rides but I figured I'd do some lifting as well. I have a background in weightlifting before cycling but I have no desire to regain 20 or 30 pounds of muscle. To maintain some shape I was thinking of doing deadlifts, standing barbell rows, standing shoulder press and bench press a few times per week. The goal is to maximize caloric burn with the compound nature of the lifts.

Thoughts?

Rob

wait...where is the holy grail of cycling lifts...the squat

You seem like you are working the arms and shoulders a lot in this routine, which is not bad, but you might want to throw in some leg presses and knee extensions as well. There is a book on weightlifting for cyclists and The Cyclists Training Bible also has a good section.

dips = the upper body squat

If you want to get faster on the bike, skip the upper-body stuff and let those arms, chest, and delt muscles atrophy. You can do squats, deadlifts, lunges, and other core/leg work, but be forewarned of two things: it will only slightly help your max sprint speed (and not much else), and you should lay off the weights at least one week prior to a race.

I couldn't do weighted lifts when I was racing and stuck solely to bodyweight exercises but you may be able to recover better than myself. I think your split hits everything except for maybe some squats. My split is practically the same except I do pullups.

You might want to do add in some endurance core work, plank, hanging leg raise for the flexors....etc

I lift straight through the year. I do a maximum of three days in the winter, and during the height of
the racing season I may only do one. I lean towards ultra high reps (up to 100 per set), and compound movements. Typically I do squats, lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, kettle bell swings. crunches, ab rollers, and twisting ab motion thing holding a plate in each hand. I personally wouldn't do any upper body specific stuff, but as an ex body builder I'm pretty muscular to begin with.

wait...where is the holy grail of cycling lifts...the squat

You seem like you are working the arms and shoulders a lot in this routine, which is not bad, but you might want to throw in some leg presses and knee extensions as well. There is a book on weightlifting for cyclists and The Cyclists Training Bible also has a good section.

Well since I'll be lifting directly after riding I figured squats may not be the best idea. Plus, the deadlifts can provide a nice little leg burn.

Thanks for the tips gentlemen.

Rob

- weightlifting for cyclists is an area of hot debate - the formal scientific evidence is inconclusive, mainly because there are few studies using real cyclists.
- but, lots of riders swear by it, and they each have their own variation on routines.
- think about your goals - for many cyclists it's muscular / anaerobic strength endurance, general postural support, and vanity. Nothing wrong with looking good at the beach.
- I'm a big fan of bodyweight work and core strenght, including lots of yoga
- I'm also a big fan of plyometrics but do your reading before attempting a program - you can get injured easily.

Do hip flexor endurance/strengthening exercises.

do hip flexor endurance/strengthening exercises.

+1000

I don't think the low reps of weight lifting translates to on the bike strength very well. IMO you're better off doing kettlebell swings, build up to 10 sets of 15-20 reps with short 30-45 second rest periods for muscular endurance. You'll feel it in the legs, hips and back.

I'm an advocate of lunges and deadlifts. Use a 40lb weight vest and do 2x5min sets, alternating legs. Deadlifts at 135lbs for 25-30 reps x 2 sets. Don't do both exercises on the same day.

Do you not have a shower or something?


I'm in the lifting is useless camp. Core work is good though.

Personally, I cannot lift for my lower body in season. The training load it puts on your legs makes it hard to do a lot of high quality work on the bike.

I'm willing to bet that most racers do not do signifcant lifting for their legs in season. Obviously Gsteinb has been at this a long time, and what he does is working for him, however.

As to the OP, with your weightlifting background, I doubt a lack of muscle strength in your legs is going to be your limiter. If I were you I would focus my efforts on the bike, do some core work, and skip any weightlifting involving your legs until next off season.

Keep in mind that what I do in season doesn't make me sore. It's mostly cross training, and really serves to maintain. But when I get to September I'm ready to dive right on in and don't need a lot of ramp up time.

Just do what Lance (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0902/cycling.lance.armstrong.training/content.1.html) does....

^ I'm not a Lance worshiper, o I don't follow the various updates. But I bet he is not lifting for his legs now.

Hi

So I've recently joined a team and plan to do my first crit in a month or so. I am also about to join a gym more for showering after training rides but I figured I'd do some lifting as well. I have a background in weightlifting before cycling but I have no desire to regain 20 or 30 pounds of muscle. To maintain some shape I was thinking of doing deadlifts, standing barbell rows, standing shoulder press and bench press a few times per week. The goal is to maximize caloric burn with the compound nature of the lifts.

Thoughts?

Rob

I would do high rep cleans with lighter weight. Try to do a few sets of 40-60 reps with 35-50 pounds or more if you are strong. Doing them as fast as you can without straining anything. These will not build bulky muscle but endurance and overall core strength and power. These things built overall core strength like nothing I know. In fact, done properly they are so intense that rarely will you see people doing them. They work most of your body muscles at the same time. Do some squats and leg exercises a couple of sets of pullups and pushups and some kind of back exercise. Like on a pullover machine. Don't do any isolation lifts for arms. Don't do multiple sets of upper body. Just one easy set of three or four upper body exercises. Do a lot of abdominal stuff.

In fact, if it was me I would only do the high rep cleans, high rep squats or leg presses and abdominal stuff. But try to use the heaviest weight that you can on the legs to build power.