Originally Posted by
fnckr
Hi, first post. So, please excuse my layman terms. This conversation to me seems to contradict studies or magazine articles (I have no links) that show that cross-training yields improvements in both aerobic and anaerobic performance.
I understand aerobic improvement to mean faster for longer miles or just longer miles, and anaerobic improvement to mean more powerful or faster for a short period such as sprint or steep hill.
My impression prior to reading this thread was that gym squats would complement long miles. However, I'm interpreting the above to say that my muscles' changeover to efficient fat consumption will be stunted by the need for immediate energy in a gym squat. Would you please or confirm or educate me?
"Cross training" is usually inferred to mean another modality of aerobic or anaerobic training. Strength work is usually referred to as such.
No, squats won't hurt your ability to burn fat as long as what you are mostly doing is aerobic training and only squatting once or at most twice a week. If twice, IME once lighter, once heavy. Both newbies and elites squat. For cycling, I believe the half-squat is the more effective exercise. To start with, once a week just do one-legged half-squats on a chair with a couple fingers on a nearby wall. Work up to 6 sets of 20, then you'll be ready to barbell squat. Complement that with one-legged calf raises on a stair, just one set to exhaustion.
I think that strength work has little effect on fat burning because one spends such a tiny percentage of one's training time actually doing the exercise. 3 sets of 12 squats, maybe 2.5 minutes total out of maybe 10 hours training?
What Chapple is saying is when you are trying to build aerobic base, do that on your rides. Don't ride sometimes hardish, sometimes easyish. Ride a steady moderate pace, below where one starts to breathe hard.