Andrea_C

Hey guys...I feel pretty much lost when it comes to the subject of nutrition,supplements,training,etc..
The thing is I seriously need to increase my strength...I am not bad at long distance,but what I like the best is Mountainbiking,and the obstacle has always been the fact that I am weak and lack muscle.I want decent performance on the way up!!
I guess the reason is that I had never exercised in my life before I first got on a bike(10 months ago),and I still haven't developed enough mass...
I would like to know what kind of training will help improve my stamina,and I would also really appreciate if someone could tell my about ways to increase my protein intake naturally(no supplements) at home,because I don't like meat very much and I am training,so something tells me I'm not eating enough(maybe egg whites or something?)

Thanks!

UmneyDurak

Fat free yogurt has tons of protein. As for strength, hill repeats. Nothing works like them.

TurboTurtle

Power, not strength. - TF

late

Hi,
I do one upper body workout and one lower body workout a week. It's enough.You can easily do more, that works for me.Don't ride the day after you do legs unless it's a very easy cruise. Do abs with arms and the back with legs. It can be hard learning to do the exercise perfectly. You can get hurt doing them wrong. You can find descriptions and even videos of how to do the exercises on the net.
Anyway, there are a lot of good exercises.
For the core my 3 fave exercises are
1) Hyperextensions ( I love this one, but I do seated rows to build up my back for a month or more to get ready)
2)Incline situps (don't forget the twist, and don't start on an incline unless you love pain. After a month on the gym, and after a few easy crunches, do a couple at a slight incline. You will cramp doing this exercise eventually, just walk it off.
3) Deadlifts, don't get carried away with the weight.
Legs..
1)Partial leg extensions ( working only the upper 60-80% of the extension to nail the Vastus Medialus. That is the muscle that protects your knees.)
2)Leg curls. I try to keep the weight on extensions and curls close to each other.
3)Squats....you only need the knee to bend as much as you do when pedaling.If your knees are good you can go deeper. Good form is vital. Keep your butt underneath your shoulders. You may need someone to train you for that.
4)Calf raises...a surprisingly effective cycling exercise if you don't have strong calves.. First week just do calf raises leaning on something so you aren't using all your weight as resistance. 2nd week you should be able to do a calf raise. After that you can use a calf machine if your gym has one.
Arms....
1)Any exercise that uses most of your range of motion in pushing. Pushups are limited in effectiveness, but you can improve on them by putting your feet on a chair and setting some books under your hands. Dumbells, bars,most machines, are fine. You arms act as shock absorbers on a bike, some strength is good even here.

2)Dumbell rows (lean over and arch the back or use a machine). Use full range and it will use your back a little.
3) Lat pulldown/close grip pull down. Do lats in one arm workout and then the close grip pulldown on the next workout.

Be very careful about doing the exercises properly. Anyway, this will get you where you want to go and pretty quick.

Andrea_C

Thanks for all the advice..just one q:What's a hill repeat?..

Homebrew01

Just like it sounds: Go up the hill, turn around, go back down, go up the hill again, turn around, go back down, go up the hill again ......

Andrea_C

Oh,that was kind obvious,lol!...sounds like fun!

fordfasterr

get on a road bike, select the biggest gear and then go as hard as you can for as long as possible. after you blow up, recover and do it again.

LOLz.

The_Spaniard

before doin any of the exercises suggested up there try and find a video or set of pictures of someone doing them right, like he said u really do not want to do weight training wrong you will hurt yourself. Also for your protein Dairy will do well for you, unless u dont like that either, and by not liking meat do you mean all meat, or just a certein type like you dont like beef or something. Also is there a particular reason why you would like to avoid protein supplements, whey and casein at extracted from milk. i know some products ad some extra amino acids and such in but in my experience protein powder is usually the most natural supplement compared to allot of the other weight training supplements

mateo44

The word "repeat" is also appropriate because while doing them I often find myself repeating certain unsavory words!

But really, they are "fun" and a great training tool.

Bikecentric

Quite simply, I would say just climb hills. Don't worry about hammering up them or anything, just climb hills - long ones preferably. You said you were sedentary for most of your life and just started riding about 10 months ago - this means you are going to get a lot stronger, and quickly, just by riding your bike as much as you can (and resting of course). A focus on the hills will increase your leg strength, just keep a close eye on your knees until you build more muscle around the joints. I would say don't do a lot of climbing more than 2 or 3 times a week and make sure you're getting adequate rest.