furiousferret

I've been going to gym for a few weeks now; my glutes are atrophied enough that the weights give it a boost. I'm just doing it twice a week and will go to one day a week when I either plateau.

I have to start working on my upper body too; despite popular belief, you don't get 'big' just by lifting weights.

Used to be a gym rat for years, don't miss it.

jsk

Dunno, maybe some with the initial jump. I've been lifting off and on since high school, only riding for a couple years so I can't really say "My sprint improved after lifting" since I've always lifted since I've been riding.

It doesn't really seem that strength training helps with increasing FTP or VO2Max, studies that have tested that found no real benefit. But there have been some more recent studies showing that strength training improves fatigue resistance at lower intensities. Apparently the mechanism is that if you need to use fewer of your muscle fibers to produce a given wattage, you can maintain that wattage for a longer period of time before fatigue sets in.


I do a general strength program, not really cycling specific. So I do squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, rows, etc. Also some isolateral stuff like split squats, one-legged deadlifts, and core/mobility work. It's not so much about making me faster on the bike, but rather fitter/stronger/healthier in general: improve bone density, avoid losing muscle mass as I age. Plus my wife would probably divorce me if let my upper body atrophy to that of a GC rider.

tetonrider

Anyone have a link for a squat bar (with knurled center) -- someplace that will deliver to this rural area?

I don't need one that will be used for 600 pounds, nor do I need one to pass on to my great-grandchildren.

Thanks!

gsteinb

I've from new stuff from ebay (with free shipping) or amazon (if you have prime) to be the least expensive way to go.

jsk

Rogue Fitness sells pretty much everything weight-lifting related, and they ship. Not sure if they'll have a barbell in your target price range or not but it's worth checking out.

hubcyclist

Another 75mins today, power is slowly coming back, hardest part is trying to stick to a gradual plan, opposed to trying to go for 90-120mins right away

TMonk

A little under 2 hrs this morning, mostly at tempo. I rode from my gf's this morning and forgot to snatch my ANT+ computer at my apt, so I rode it by feel. How barbaric! How did they even ride in the caveman days????

hack

Rogue makes solid stuff. They have a wide variety of bar quality and quite a few different knurling patterns and depth. Their stock bar used to be about $250 and is a great bar.


ETA ... their Ohio Power Bar has center knurling and is $250-275

wktmeow

I've always used Starting Strength for all my lifting advice.

20 min test #2 of the season on Saturday, might drive out closer to Palomar to do it there. Coach wants me to do it sitting the entire time x_x I usually alternate a lot when testing, mostly to mitigate the pain. Only managed 270 last test. Hoping to get back over 300, but probably not near last season's high just yet. Then more big gear + volume on Sunday, and then an easier week.

Hoping I can start doing higher volume overall next month and maybe some group rides as I taper off the weights & big gear work. Looking forward to checking out Swami's and SDBC A ride.

I'm glad my Stages has bluetooth, so I can use my phone in a pinch and not have to resort to such savagery!

TheKillerPenguin

Lotsa trainer time through the weekend. Worst week to start base training. :-|

TMonk

ha! I'm in the market for a PM for my race bike so I can swap between carbon clinchers and deeper tubulars for racing. Maybe I can try stages, or maybe pioneer!

my daily rider (the TCR) is going to stay with the ptap/hed belgium hoops I have. Not fancy, but oh so reliable.

also, you'll find that the Swamis ride is invariably harder than SDBC A. You can make the SDBC ride hard if you help drive it on the front, and stud loop can be legitmately challenging, but outside of that you can really just sit in and cruise it farily easily. You can also skip stud loop in RSF which I often do if I need to pee or something.

the swamis ride has terrain that forces difficulty and typically a higher caliber of riders. it can be real hard just staying with the lead group sometimes.

Wylde06

Is it stupid cold there too?

TheKillerPenguin

Yuuuuuuuuuup.

Ygduf

tRAINer day again on the TT bike. Did the same workout as last week, upped the Zwift ftp 5 watts. Pretty decent. The 3rd interval sucks each time.

tetonrider

thanks. the problem is finding one that would be appropriate. if you have the time to make a suggestion, i'd love to hear it.

thanks. is a $275 bar (delivered) necessary for my basic requirements?

"I don't need one that will be used for 600 pounds, nor do I need one to pass on to my great-grandchildren."


i think the diameter is larger so the plates i have for my dumbbells won't work.

thanks!

tetonrider

i see it time and time again (and experience it in my own training) -- 2nd to last interval is often the lowest power, but riders can muster something extra for that last one.

one illustration of how much of this is mental.

hack

No more than I need an SRM ...

What's the driver for the center knurling? Remove that requirement and you open up a lot of options. If you're looking to use the narrow (~1"?) diameter weights, the bar quality will be pretty low, won't have any rotation, but will work for some basic lifts.

tetonrider

hah.



i thought that was necessary for a squat bar. maybe that's only for serious weights. i'd probably only add 100, 150# for the specific stuff i want to do.

i don't know what i don't know here, so i was looking for guidance. if someone tells me why i might want the cadillac bar and what the trade-offs are for the lowest-end one, i might change my mind.

i'm open minded enough to be sold on the SRM or to get an iBike, to continue your analogy. help a brother out.

hack

I think for squats, you'd be fine with or without the knurling. If you find that a non-knurled bar is slipping, you can use chalk or a bit of hockey tape on the bar to get traction. Dropping the center knurling opens up the lower priced bar options as well.

The Rogue stuff is good quality, will spin well for a long time, and will be a good bar. Is that going to be noticeable with lighter use when compared to a lower quality bar? Maybe, maybe not. I haven't lifted a bar in a couple of years, but it always sucked when you ended up with a crap bar on your back or hands and the collars weren't spinning. All that rotation gets translated to the bar on your contact point and your using excess energy to fight it from spinning.

tetonrider

Thank you! Didn't realize the sleeves were for rotation--duh! Never realized that would be an issue.

Also, thanks for clarifying the issue with center knurling. We're talking a single user, a couple sets 4-5x/week for part of the year = pretty low use.

An 85-90" bar is pretty damn wide for where I envision storing this when not in use. Wonder if there is anything in the 60" range. I'm not stacking 10 plates on each side.

(Also need to buy plates and collars, too, I guess.)

gsteinb

There are shorter bars (5 foot / 60"), but generally they're for other exercises. Some stuff, like squats or other power moves, you could run into balance issues with a short bar, and it'll keep the weight you use lower. Not that any of that is inherently bad, it just changes the equation.

tetonrider

are those real issues for like 150# of total weight (incl bar)?

we're not talking squatting 600# for this.

honest inquiry. convince me i should order that rogue bar when i wake up in the morning.

gsteinb

I'd find it to be the case, for sure. YMMV. Is there some place you can go to check out bars, a gym maybe?

TexMac

Sneaked out of work earlier, pretty sunny cold day. Planned something easy due to some knee discomfort but after 1.5hrs in, ended doing 1x20 at FTP and another 5 mins, total 2.5hr solo fun ride.
Taking kids to Lego Land San Diego, hope to find a rental and put in some miles netx 10 days

jsk

For lighter weight, a 6' bar like this one might be OK if space/length is really an issue. Distance between collars is the same as the longer bars, so I don't think balance would be affected much if at all. And 30mm bar diameter is nice IMHO, especially for squats.