spinner5339

I have just started weight training and a couple of questions.
1.Do you take protein supplement for recovery? If so what type?
2.Will you gain weight too much weight?
3.Do you have to cut down the cycling mileage when weight training twice a week?

I do about 200km a week, 5ft 10in and weight 78kg.

bikeferret

Weight gain is pretty much proportionate to how much you eat, even for good weight gain. You won't pack on 20 punds of muscle unless you take in a bunch of calories to do it. So if you do end up munching down a bunch of protein supplements, they can help you get more weight and mass by providing you with the extra calories to gain weight. Personally, I'm not a big fan of supplements. I think that most things can be gotten through diet. If you have any fat to spare, you can lose that while gaining muscle if you keep your diet sensible. That said, if you are down to zero fat, you can expect to pack on a few pounds of muscle here and there.

As far as cutting back on your cycling time, it depends on how hard you lift and what your goals are. I am trying to bulk up, because I am vain from having lost a ton of weight and want to show off what little muscle I have. So when I hit the gym on my legs days, I can barely walk the next day. I can still ride, but it's going to be a recovery ride for sure and not a hammerfest. But for the last year, I did full body workouts and toned up a lot. I could ride whenever and it never got in the way of cardio. Either way, you have to be careful to incorporate rest days so your muscles can recover.

I'm sure other people will have much more incisive things to say, but this is what has been working for me. I am constantly making gains in the weight lifting and speed departments, although to be fair I was in terrible shape when I started. Good luck!

Roody

I think the first step is to formulate your training priorities. That is, do you want big muscles, muscular strength, cycling endurance, cycling speed, general fitness, or what? The idea is, you can't hit the target if you don't even know what the target is.

Usually, you focus on one goal at a time--but of course, you can change goals over time (periodize). For example, some people work on long endurance rides in the spring, fast riding in the summer, weight training for strength in the winter, and so forth.

dmotoguy

I drink cytosport muscle milk after working out/ hard rides, and if it was a really hard day I drink it before bed too. It has REALLY helped with recovery. I have been doing leg work outs at the gym 2-3 days a week plus riding 5-6 days a week. Havent lowered my weekly mileage since I started working out (6 weeks ago). I have not gained weight.. I had 5-10 extra lbs of body fat, and now its gone. I have gained a little size in my legs, but my strength has gone up a pretty good amount. I plan to continue this through the winter.. replacing riding with rollers/spin bike as necessary.

Al.canoe

It's very important for cyclists to get some weight training to avoid bone loss. I second the comment on having a defined objective for the weight training. Otherwise it will be impossible to structure a good program. When I did canoe tripping which involved long paddling days and portaging heavy loads, I'd lift something like 50 to 60 thousand ponds a week. Now I do far less lifting, but it's enough to protect me from injury for my pretty active life style, maintain flexibility, counter the progressive loss of muscle mass due to aging (muscles turn to fat), release those beneficial hormones and help keep my energy up. The increased muscle mass also raises the metabolism which helps maintain fat control which is far more important than weight control.

Though there are books out there making a case for it, there's no scientific basis to supplement with protein if you have a reasonably balance diet. The USDA 2005 Dietary Guideline (free download) recommends 90 gr of protein for a 2000 Calorie diet. The rural Asians who burn more calories than we do (very active lifestyle), get by very well on about 60.

Too much protein stresses the kidneys and there is a scientific basis to reduce animal based protein. Several government funded research programs indicate that animal based protein makes one more susceptible to various cancers and cardiovascular disease.

There should be no problem weight training and cycling if you build up slowly, get adequate quality rest and consume adequate amounts of quality carbs (fruits, vegetable, whole grains). You also need some low quality carbs (sugars) in moderation after exercise to recover glycogen quickly so you are ready to go the next day.

Al

Jesper T

Think about why you are training weights? If you are interested in bulking extra muscle mass it is probably not because you want to be a faster cyclists. As a serious cyclist you are interested in strength gains without extra body weight. So forget about supplementation etc. Right now it is important to figure out why you are strength training.

I have a feeling that many riders don't know how the neuromuscular system works and how it adapts to the weight lifting. Cyclists should not train like body builders. Instead they could learn more from weight lifters or trand and field athletes. These people are experts at improving power without gaining additional body weight.

I recommend my riders to do sets that are low in reps. This is done to put maximum stress on the neuromuscular system so it can adapt to developing maximum power.

5 typical mistakes in the weight lifting gym

Al.canoe

I think a the major reason for a cyclist to weight train is to make up for the lack of overall fitness due to cycling. In other words, you need cross training for adequate fitness. That and the countering of the natural affects of aging which start around 30, are the two most important reasons to weight train for most folks.

It appears that fewer reps (like 5 or 6 to failure) is now accepted as superior in building strength and I switched accordingly some time back. However, power is a different issue as power involves both strength (the ability to apply force) and the time it takes to apply that force. At least that's the way my reference on this issue defines power with respect to muscle activity (Bike For Life by Wallack and Katovsky, p 111).


Power is required for adequate balance and reflexes. Both diminish with age more quickly than VO2 max and over all muscle mass.It appears that the fast twitch muscle fibers, which provides the explosive acceleration for power, degenerate more quickly than the slow twitch. That's why old folks are known for falling a lot and breaking bones (bone density issue) and why the affects of aging are less apparent for endurance sports as slow twitch muscle mass degenerate less with age than fast twitch.


To maintain or build power, you apparently need to lift weights very rapidly. That can lead to injury unless you maintain good form and warm up adequately first. The issue of lifting to failure has never been resolved in my mind as few bother to define failure. The best definition I've come across is where you can't maintain good form. If one applies that literally, I suspect it's the same as mentioned in the 5-mistakes article.

The point of using free weights is very important. While I do have a multi-station weight machine, I emphasis the free weights. The machine allows me to do some core muscle exercises which I would otherwise not be able to do and which are important to my activities.

Al

spinner5339

Thanks folks for all the informative responses. One of the main reasons I have taken weights is injury prevention. Initially I had a weak back and found that doing benches strengthen it. My general cycling has definately improved from 4 weeks of lifting, maybe its placebo but I am actually enjoying the cross training a couple of times a week. Thanks JeperT for a very informative website.

efrobert

I used to manage a heath food store and sooooo many people would come in asking about protien suplements and then say "I don't want to get too big thought". Like you are going to wake up one day and just be huge. If you're lifting heavy and eating enough calories you might be able to gain 1 pound of muscle a month, if your lucky.
Work out hard, take a whey protien shake for recovery and don't wory about getting too big.