Originally Posted by
Hondo Gravel
I was doing Wendlers 5-3-1 program before my gut ruptured
I gained a ton of strength over 2 years it is a gradual program with many different templates and is simple to follow. Emphasis on the compound movements with accessory exercises to address weaknesses. My hernia wasn’t from a poor program it was going to happen eventually from loaded hay or using a jackhammer or some basic manual farm/ranch chore. 5-3-1 has templates for older lifters I will look them up in the books I have on 5-3-1. Wendler 5-3-1 programs emphasize conditioning as an important part of the program such as sprinting up hills etc etc.
IME there's nothing really better out there for cyclists than what's in Friel's Cyclist's Training Bible. Simple, quick, no injuries, no excess strain. I know a lot of folks love their deadlift, but it's a huge metabolic strain. Overheads and chins aren't useful for cycling. Really it's just squats or sled, rows, and benches, enough reps so it's not too much weight to exhaustion. Other exercises flesh it out a bit, but that's the basics. You could try the Friel. I always ride for an hour or so before my 1 hour gym session. Works fine. Hill sprints were always my strong point. Long competitive group rides on the weekends. I only lift twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday. So like:
Sunday - long hard ride, preferably group
Monday - off or hike or snowshoe or something non-bike depending on how I feel and the season and weather
Tuesday - 1 hour, usually with a long very high cadence interval, moderate intensity, then gym, 1 hour
Wednesday - usually run, just to keep everything working properly. I'd hate it if I got so weak I couldn't run. But off I I'm going to do intervals on Thursday
Thursday - 1 hour moderate steady-state or maybe with intervals, depending on season and fitness. Then gym, 1 hour
Friday - maybe another hour of steady-state or a run or off, depending on how I feel and how hard the Sunday ride is going to be.
Saturday - usually off, but if I've missed weekday workouts I'll do 1/2 hour of zone 1 with a full-gas 3' interval in it. During base, sometimes I'll ride moderate on both Saturday and Sunday, 60-100 miles total.