Bike Forums - Does biking help with pull ups?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Toespeas (Post 21933708)

yes if you loose weight , but direct muscle use i highly doubt it , maybe it increases your ability to absorb the pain and move the lactic acid around , i do think that pull ups will allow you to create a more solid upper body position on the bike allowing you to loose less watts when you are thrashing the bike during high efforts !

I didn't lose weight, but I think you hit the nail on the head with regards to lactate. I think biking has improved my ability to convert lactate back to glucose:
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ce40ff1ca8.png
I believe when muscle failure happens, it's not because of the build up of lactic acid. It's because it's run out of ATP. But if the liver with biking has increased the biochemical machinery to convert serum lactate back to glucose, this glucose can then be readily available for more pull ups. So when I get to 14-15, my biceps, traps, and lats fatigue. I can hold on and rest in between each of the last 8 till my grip can no longer be maintained. I'm convinced this is due to biking. Before the biking, I did similar reps(plus more climbing) which did not move the needle on the max#.

if you put a pull-up bar on your bike you could save time.

if you saw off one side of your handlebars, you will be able to do one handed pull-ups like John Bacher.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camilo (Post 21933695)

Certainly something is helping that specific fitness, but you'd have to explain how cycling works the lats in any meaningful way. I can't imagine it. Biceps, maybe (but not much). But there's no lats involved no matter how much you pull on the handlebars from a sitting or standing position.

What are your PT band exercises?

And you don't think your DAILY MULTIPLE SETS of pull ups aren't what's causing your max to increase???

Yes, I'm pretty sure you're looking at the wrong place for your improvement.

Band exercises were just eccentric internal and external rotation. Not much adding of weight. The multiple sets is something that was unchanged before and after the spike in biking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by burritos (Post 21933785)

Band exercises were just eccentric internal and external rotation. Not much adding of weight. The multiple sets is something that was unchanged before and after the spike in biking.

But you have kept up with the multiple daily sets of pull-ups, even with adding bicycling. That specific strength training what is giving you improvement in that specific strength. The general fitness might have a little impact, but hardly meaningful compared to your diligent specific strength training.

If you'd seen weight loss fun bicycling, that would definitely have an impact on pull-ups. But you haven't seen that- probably me likely stable weight with some replacement of body fat for lower buddy muscle (maybe some core), but that can't really be recruited for pull-ups.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camilo (Post 21934790)

But if you have kept up with the multiple daily sets of pull-ups, even with adding bicycling, I still think that specific strength training what is giving you improvement in that specific strength. I ride a lot in the summer a lot and xc ski in the winter a lot. Neither has improved my pull-ups. Because neither works those muscles.

But I did those similar sets before the uptick in bicycling also. And that didn't move the needle.

At 20, I could do 20 with 25lbs on me.

After a decade of rock climbing, I could do 12 but also a one arm on the right and nearly a one arm on the left. I was climbing consistently 5.13.

At 42, I can't do any. I climb mid 11 and sometimes more.

My cycling and riding have never been too much effect on my pull-ups. Having a youthful and energetic body though...

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosefarts (Post 21935591)

Wow! 5.13's. That's crazy in my eyes. 5.11's is still quite impressive. I can flash 5.10c's 40% of the time. Maybe was able to do an 11a once. I suppose pull up strength isn't totally vital in the ability to climb. Hmm. I guess I'll have to come up with some other etiology for my count discrepancy.