what do you do for upper body workout?
 

Curious as to what do roadbikers do (if anything) to work out the rest of their bodies?
Is there any type of exercise that compliments a good cycling regimen?

I have no professional background but I do lift MWF only upper body.

I do bench press, lat pull down, curl, tricep extension, fly, reverse fly, and lots of crunches and leg lifts for the tummy.

I'm noticing results, for me.

I think a strong upperbody is relatively important, even in cycling. Core strength is definatly important, but I consider arm strength pretty important as well, since it helps with climbing hills (rocking the bike), sprinting, etc. I do the same regimen I did before I started riding my roadbike around.

I do benchpress, freeweight press, curls, arm extensions, your mom, decline bench situps with barbells, crunches, and some funky thing where you extend your legs out and lift them up with your abs. At college when I have a gym at my disposal, I do a bit more.

Find out what Rujano's regimen is. He's massive.


:D

I do two distinct upper-body workouts.

1) I pull on the bars as I climb.

2) I put my hands out to brace for impact when I crash on my mountain bike.

The former is a low repetition exercise while the latter is a high rep one. :p

I try to hit each body part once per week. I normally do back/biceps on one day, next time I'll do chest/triceps and third day I'll do shoulders. I usually do abs each day I lift weights.

Anything to do with the shoulders or abs.. at least once a day...
Biceps.. I do the odd curls..
That's all...

Couple days a week as follows:

Bench press, incline dumbell press, decline barbel press, pull-ups, curls, shoulder shrugs, sit-ups, crunches.

Try to hit one Yoga class. That's it.

-Z

Go to the local pub, do as many 12oz curls in the first hour, then spend the next hour picking fights with the biggest guys in the place. I've turned into quite the boxer. ;)

Ha!

Phunny.

:D

Maybe not as macho but I've been doing Yoga and pilates. The yoga is great to help out with tight muscles after a hard ride and I'm trying to see the long term benefits of core training.

Don't these make you fart like a trooper??

I use dumbells for my upper body.. If you get a few different sets you do a wide variety of exercises.. I have sets of 12 - 20 and 35lb dumbells..

On a hot day there's nothing better than stopping at the pool and doing some hard sprints.

Mon. - Curls, skull crushers, forearm curls(not sure of correct name) and shoulder 21's.
Tues - Squats, calf-raises, reverse calf raises, leg press, lunges.
Wends. - Flat bench, decline bench, incline bench, sit-ups, hyper-extensions, shrugs and dumbbell side bend.
Thurs. - chainsaws, seated row, seated external rotations.
Fri. - Recovery.
Sat/Sun - Pretty much whatever I feel like. Usually skip weights and go for some rides.

I don't know if it's complementing my cycling per se -- my upper body is no longer a limiting factor for long out-of-the-saddle climbs or throwing my bike around though. And I like having some balanced muscle even if it means I have to carry it uphill.

Pullups (I have to use an assistance machine) and dips are my very favorites. I also do a row and a press and a fly and a back extension. I will probably alternate the pullup with a lat pulldown occasionaly if I get bored this summer. I've got an upper and lower ab exercise and an oblique workout too.

I do a full-body routine just twice a week, over my lunch break (new routine takes just under 45 minutes without stretching so I can still eat lunch!)

I do Arnold presses, bench press, and dumbell curls. Lots of abs also. Back extensions, side, etc.

Corsaire

Note: I do this not to bulk up. Do it with moderate weights and high reps, twice or once a week now that I'm very busy riding, just to keep up my strength and muscle tone (alla Bruce Lee, wink, wink)

Corsaire :)

Beer curls.

However after bottle 5 or 6 I'm tuckered out for the night :D

I love comments like that, because it's soooooooo easy to build mass. During my college years I was a personal trainer. One of my favorite "goals" I would hear all the time, "I want to get in shape, but I don't want to get big". I would laugh to myself everytime.

It's an especially amusing comment when coming from women. As if two or three reps will turn them into Cory Everson. If only it was that easy. :rolleyes:

I disagree. Not every body is the same. I'm what's called a hard gainer when it's about building mass. At one point I was into "getting big", going to the free-weight room 3 times a week, always envy thopse dudes who seem to gain mass soooo easily, while here I was (getting stronger yeah) doing incline with 90 lb dumbells on each arm and not having much to show for. If you could see my pic in the "wha do we all look like" thread you could see what I mean.

Corsaire

Depends on how you lift, diet, sleep. If you under sleep and under eat, sure you can lose mass by lifting. I understand where you were going with your comment. My reply was by no means a direct shot at you, just the comment. You can lift to build your cardio too, doesn't have to be mass building only.

:roflmao:

Wow

That's a lot of upperbody work for lycra geeks. You guys freak out over a few grams on the bike and don't mind a few *pounds* of unnecessary upper body mass?

Some of you are doing more upper body (esp. chest) work than I do...and I'm training for a powerlifting meet! (I bike to help make weight)

I haven't done a single biceps curl in almost three months...

Anyhoo...here's a link to some comments by Carmichael on strength training. May be useful to some...

http://www.roadcycling.com/news/article915.shtml