Originally Posted by
I Like To Ride
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Lifting for higher reps builds strength and endurance at the same time. Riding a bike only builds cardiovascular endurance and leg endurance. You also need upper body endurance and the best way to train the upper body and core strength / endurance is using higher reps. For me personally I would much rather prefer to deadlift 140 pounds for 50 or 60 or 80 or 100 reps non-stop than deadlift 600 pounds for 1 rep.. I would argue that endurance training is more important and more useful in real life than raw strength training because humans have evolved to be endurance creatures. As for developing fast twitch muscle fibers, you can do that with sprinting, plyometric training and fast explosive type of training non of which require very heavy weight.
I want to emphasize that I'm not saying to do one or the other, rather I'm saying I do both, as well as a third type which is power, which is like plyometric training. Lifting up to a 100 reps is good, but it doesn't work on setting a foundation of strong connective tissues and bone, which lifting a very heavy weight (slowly) does as well as doing power reps. And I do sprint, both on and off the bike, as well as things like jumping; however, I did injure myself years ago when I first started sprinting (in a run), because I didn't understand the importance of building up the musculoskeletal system. I injured my Achilles heel -- that took a long time to heal and that's when I started to realize the importance of connective tissues.
As I said above, we can't improve every time we lift, so when I feel like I've hit a ceiling, I switch it up and I also do tons of reps. I don't like to say one is better than the other, but they all serve a very specific purpose, of course there is a little overlap. However, strength is foundational and it lays the foundation for even the power/plyometric movements. I've seen it recommended that one should squat at least 1.5 times their body weight before starting intense plyometrics. I would include doing some isometrics as well and be very careful when starting power/plyometric exercises. That's where the real injuries come from. A normal joe just jogging can easily impart a force of twice their body weight (at least) on one leg and a professional sprinter can impart about 1,000 lbs of force on one leg during each stride.
Running is not just a cardio exercise, it's a Power exercise. And so is sprinting on a bike, but since the pedal gives way, it's much harder to injure oneself.
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