after doing some gym work Monday I am both amazed at how weak I am, and now that I feel every fiber, how small my muscles are. I quit lifting/rock climbing when I broke my first clavicle in 2011. I figure I can get back to like 75% of my strength numbers on just recruitment and beginner's gains.

It rained today; I did not ride to work.

Despite Death Valley being 300 miles from here, my NorCal friends still think I live a couple miles from there. 'Hey, we're camping in Death Valley....wanna stop by for coffee?'

You can't beat the elevation (I suppose the Sierras can), and when you do go up into Big Bear or the other peaks it actually is nice....but the rest, yeah. The only reason I'm here is because this was the first place to offer me a job when I got out of the Marines. If I knew how easy it was to get a job up there I would have probably went back to SF.

Indeed. My W/kg is pretty damn high for a working stiff, but if I weighed what I did when I was running in college, I wouldn't be going to grad school next fall.

Short of abject deprivation/starvation, I'm still scratching my head as to how Ilnur Zakarin lost 10kg of body mass IN A YEAR while riding at the ProTour level.

The Inland Empire is the armpit of California.

IMO/IME norcal >> socal. Central Ca (Santa Barbara, SLO) ain't no joke either.

2x20' at 100 and 105% - wasn't too difficult, esp considering how fatigued I am. HR was 5-10 beats below LTHR as well. Time to retest after next week!

(re) gaining fitness is so much fun.

Used the rest week for a gym session in which I actually lifted my legs. DOMS and short z1 spin tonight before more rest. I carry muscle from my pre-cycling gym rat/football days which has slowly melted off over the last 2 years, but I plan on maintaining what I have now for overall health. If I was a Cat2 or higher I might rethink that, but I think it is overboard before then.

I'm cat 1 and have begun lifting for my overall health.

I've stopped lifting in hopes of dropping some easy weight. So far it has worked, but I'm still bigger than 99% of the p12 field. I can also lift my bike onto my roof rack without much trouble though so I suppose there are some positives.

So I'm doin this time trial tonight https://www.strava.com/segments/2142660 I know the course well, I ride it all the time, but never have had a chance to put in that kind of effort.

Commute yesterday as ussual plus four 1 minute intervals (90% ftp) finishing with 15sec sprints, Crit after work if it doesn't rain. Need 4 more races to CATup to a 4

Just bumped up my FTP by 5w. Yay me.

I am very tempted to start lifting but I'm worried that it will hurt my endurance if I start up during the season. I think I'll be patient and wait until the end of August or so, and then do 3 months of heavy lifting, easy commuting, and maybe a longer weekend ride to try to hang on to some endurance. My fiance will probably be out-lifting me for a good month or so at that point >_< If I can get my squat up to ~225 and deadlift to ~255 I'll be happy.

I've wanted to do weekly strength maintenance throughout the race season the past couple of years but always had injuries or personal setbacks that prevented me from gaining the necessary strength during the off-season to begin with. Hopefully it pans out this year, as I feel really weak off the bike right now. I've been doing some pull-ups, box jumps, and core work but that's it.

I lifted in high school and freshman year of college. I do miss being able to pick up heavy things and opening jars. Overall I feel healthier than I did then, but cycling fit is a special kind of fit that might make you feel invincible but you can't buy milk in anything larger than half gallons because if you pick up a gallon your arm might snap in half.

SoCal ugly January, Castaic Lake.

http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/x...CE6D2283C3.jpg

In the winter I lift lower body once a week with 3-4 interval workouts on the bike. This time of year I don't lift much if at all, and when I do I'm sore for like a week as my body isn't really used to it. I would hold off like planned but don't be afraid of lifting and riding. One thing that helped me a ton was lifting in the AM with a PM recovery ride. That allowed me to get back to hard training the next day.

More SoCal ugly, Glendora Ridge Rd

http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/x...FD74F49A40.jpg

Aw, SoCal life is so hard when I'm cycling. Mt Pinos.

http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/x...364E68F965.jpg

I thought the armpit of California was Bakersfield Fresno stuff

And even worse when I am not. Off Point Vincente, Santa Monica Bay.

http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/x...F5C3EBF397.jpg

We've played this game before during deepest darkest winter, and despite not seeing the sun in what seemed like years we still wrecked the California crew.

I am fond of the picture you posted of the sushi because the dolphins look delicious, but the rest of the photos look the way Celine Dion makes me feel.

Lifted for years, and I thought it was a curse but I could get strong but could never get mass (freakishly strong for my size). Last few months I do a leg day 1-2 times a week. Got a faster sprint now and haven't gained any weight.

I feel like you'll end up here:

Now's when I could really use a gif of that ridiculous ad with the guy with huge pecs and a sombrero on..

Thats no curse, thats perfect for gymnastics!

Fudgy on his commute, or post-retirement Schleck?