Originally Posted by
dieselgoat
I can't offer any advice for your routine. I also lift weights as a part of my fitness "routine." I have worked out since high school and I am now 52. I have had to change my workouts over the years due to joint issues and other stuff, but I don't ever intend to quit lifting. I'm 190 pounds and fairly lean. I have no desire to look like Chris Froome. I do about 10K a year including 8-10 centuries, some of which have 10K+ feet of climbing, and I usually finish in the top 20% of the field, at worse. I have always participated in sports and still consider myself an athlete who just happens to like cycling.
Weight lifting is not understood by many people. Some people avoid it like the plague, but I think it is an essential part of a total fitness routine. I personally would rather look like "The Rock" (Dwayne Johnson) than Froome whether I could ride a bike well or not. That's just my opinion.
I agree on pretty much all points. I see that this is a very sensitive topic on BF. I guess everyone assumes that the goal on these boards is to be faster lighter no matter the sacrifice. I and I believe most others feel different. If I am competitive in my group rides (which I openly admit have never done one) ride for my cardiovascular and push myself to become the best I can be on the bike then I will still be faster than 98% of the people out riding. All we ar email talking about is improvement and I guarantee that me at 180lbs solid is faster than most at 160lbs with no workout regimen. He'll I'm living proof of this from 5 years ago when I used to ride with good friends. Not saying I will beat you in a race but the benifits of strength training or undervalued in the cycling community IMO. Again if we were training for the tour of California, it may be a different story.
Like the poster above said, I may look into interval traiming and find time for one 75mi ride per week to get my endurance up.