carleton

Back in to the gym today. Felt really good. Took Quinn's advice and consumed about 40g of carbs before the workout. Felt like a champ!

AlexTaylor

zizou

Have a pretty bad chesty cough at the moment so having to rest. Really frustrating as my legs are feeling really good at the moment

Does the "rest if its below the neck" rule apply to weights as well as cardio?

carleton

I've had lung issues for years. (Parents, DO NOT smoke around your kids...)

Is your energy being sapped to fight off an impending infection? Or is it a nagging cough due to some previous infection or current allergy?

Personally, I'd feel it out and do some anaerobic strength work. If you tire more quickly than usual, then stop and rest. But, if the legs stay fresh, keep going.

Quinn8it

Yeh! Target carbs are the Jam!

if you have any keto stix left check out how long it takes to return to ketosis.. I found it was less than 2hrs after my post protein shake with 10g carbs..

Racer Ex 

Snip from last night's track workout.

brawlo

Weight - Pffftt ... well I was 140kg a few years ago and sit around 120 now, so that's not so bad. I've sat around 120 or just under for just over a year now but have lost a lot of body fat and jammed some good muscle on the legs.

Training - I've really struggled since just before Christmas. I had a knee problem that happened a few years ago revisit and it's stuffed me around with strength work. No large problems, just recurring fluid that restricts movement, but so far it has been gone for a couple of weeks now. A bout of gastro last week just added to the excitement. So training has been lacklustre and the results have not been what I wanted. BUT, I traveled and got a session in on the boards this morning in prep for state masters champs in 3 weeks. Speeds were actually quite good and I got some hot tips on the correct flying 200 line for the track. Club racing last night after 3 days of bushwalking at work resulted in my 200 going from 13.09 before Christmas to 13.03 last night on spent legs. So even though I feel like crap, there are gains, although I think going back to 170 cranks from 175 may have heavily influenced the scenario.

I also got a look at one of my age group competitors this morning. I am big, but this guy is huge! So I may just be going to get a properly timed 200 on the boards, but at least it's going to be a serious benchmark to work from.

Hida Yanra

there's no training like racing.

I'm no longer being embarassed by the "in-season" canuks with my "out of season" legs.
So, I've got that going for me.

Baby Puke

I'm about to begin my second month of consistently getting some training done, which is the first time this has happened for me in at least two years, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. The complexities of adult life and fatherhood were just too much for a time, but now that my boy is in preschool, things are getting more regular and training on something like a regular basis seems like a possibility.

I've got a super-simple gym plan going and it seems like I might be able to stick to it. My plan here is a bit different that a lot of y'alls in that I'm not really going for big numbers, mostly just consistency and hitting the majors with sets of five for a bit more volume. Over the last couple of disappointing seasons I've realized it's very important to be strong, but it's far more important to be strong and uninjured! With that in mind I'm taking advice I got years ago from FGF user Issac that numbers need not be huge in order to make progress, and in particular that a rider my age (40-something) and size (5'10", ~175lbs) need never squat over 225lbs. And I'm sticking to that. But I'll be doing a lot of reps at 225!

Here's my gym plan:

Day1
Back squat, 5 sets
Press, 5 sets
Dead lift, 5 reps for 1 set

Day 2
Single leg press, 5 sets
Pull-ups, 5 sets
Romanian dead lift, 5 sets

That's it. Possibly by the end of March I'll be adding an explosiveness day consisting of cleans and Dynamic Effort presses.

On the bike right now I'm doing one day of big gear (53x12) accelerations, one day of starts on my road track bike, three days commuting a short but hilly bit out to my university and back (with a ~20lb pack on), and on alternating weekends a track day working rolling and flying efforts from 666m down to 200m on a big gear (102") and on the other weekend a plyometric stair bounding workout.

Weight has never really been a problem, other than the desire to add a few pounds of muscle, but things are looking good now as I'm already right at my good racing weight of 175lbs. The focus for now is to be fit and strong, and things seem to be going pretty well. Looking forward to the season!

carleton

Sounds like a good plan.

Quinn8it

man- ive been doing it all wrong then!

aprieto28

I had Angioplasty yeaterday to open majory artery in left leg due to plaque build up causing pain in calf. Temporary fix only. Will need future surgery to remove plaque. been off bike about 4 weeks, and will be off bike about another week. Lookig forward to riding pain free again.

Baby Puke

Well Quinn, you're obviously a lot more talented in the weight room! And I've found myself to be a 'hard gainer', to the point where it became far too easy to reach and exceed the point of diminishing returns. I'm just owning that now and training within my limits. Hopefully it works out!

Hida Yanra

that looks "uncomfortable"

AlexTaylor

Stronglifts 5x5 and Tom Danielson core this morning.
ny back/shoulders are really coming on. Getting along less pain and glutes are starting to fire.

carleton

I've been dieting for 45 days.

When I started, I was using the 2nd hole on my belt. I soon moved to the 1st hole after a couple of weeks.

Wishfully thinking ahead, I went to the leather shop where the belt was made (a Portland thing) and had them punch a new hole further into the belt for later. Let's call that one "Hole 0".

Today, my pants felt loose so I assumed that I was on hole 2 and not my usual hole 1. I was actually on Hole 1 and needed to move to Hole 0 for my pants to be snug.

Yaaaay! right?


When I weighed myself this morning, I weighed exactly the same as when I started the diet. FML.


I really don't know how to rationalize this. Is the belt stretching? Am I gaining mass? My pants are fitting tighter. I actually cannot wear pants that I wore this time last year. And the new cut of pants that were my current go-to cut (Levis 559) are now fitting like the other pants did last year. So, I'm the "tight pants guy" that comes in to the coffee shop every day :-/








Zubas.

queerpunk

They have pockets. So you CAN put your keys in them and leave the house in them, despite what roommates or lovers or concerned citizens may say.

Baby Puke

Sounds like things are going to plan then! Just rock sweats. You're getting so huge, who's gonna **** with you??

Hida Yanra

my post-racing pants- it's one way to get a name at a new track.
(also, they handily do double shifts as cat-nap pants)

TrackMonkey7

Bodyweight: I'm 5'10" and just under 160 lbs at the moment. Contrast that to last year when I was ~185/190. I'm focusing more on being an enduro, since it's more useful for road and 'cross racing. I would like it if I were ~165/170, though. I'm guessing I'm around 6-8% bodyfat, so I'm staying pretty lean, thankfully.

Weight lifting: N/A, somewhat unfortunately. Last year at this time I was focusing primarily on getting my lifts to go up, with little success. After dropping gym visits entirely when school started up again last semester, I realized that all the weight training I've been doing may have been detrimental to my on the bike fitness. I was much faster in certain areas on group and solo rides when I had fresh legs. I do want to get back in the gym, though. Squatting and deadlifting makes me feel good, and I miss having arms that don't resemble pipe cleaners. Also, benching always seemed to improve my posture. I just have to figure out a quick and easy routine to get my lifts close to where they were when I stopped, and figure out a program to use during the season. I pretty much just wanna squat, dead, press, bench, chin, and do some ab work once or twice a week.

On the bike: My track bike is now my trainer partner. I use it for tabata intervals and cadence drills, and occasionally I'll put on a somewhat tough gear and spin for 1.5 hrs. I had my first group road ride of the year this past Sunday and was pleased to find that much of my fitness from this past season has remained intact, if not improved. I've been running since this past fall, and I think that has a lot to do with it. Endurance has always been a weak point of mine, and seasons where I've focused on base mileage rather than weight training I've felt much better during the season.

I feel pretty good about this upcoming season. I've decided to focus all of my energies on getting my cat 3 track upgrade. I seldom make meaningful new years' resolutions, but that's mine for this year. I've even promised myself a set of deep dish carbon tubies when I get my upgrade as extra incentive. Though I was starting to see results closer to the podium last year, I must admit I'm terrified I either won't be fast enough to get my upgrade, or that once I get it, racing in the 3s will be so tough that I'll barely be able to hang on.

Quinn8it

Just wanted to clarify-

My post was not a response to your program or an attempt to compare our training...

My issue is with the advice if your coach.

As a masters cyclist with limited time- I think that everything you do should add up to performance gains. If you are adding a strength program to your training schedule- it should make you strong- preferably as fast as possible and with as little time spent as possible. Knowing what I know about you- I would be willing to bet you are capable of doing 5x5 at 225lbs right now.. Doing reps at that weight won't make you any stronger.. Weights just don't work like that.

So if your strength program isn't making you stronger what is it for? I would suggest adding in other work that develops strength.. On bike or whatever.. Or go with a more volume oriented strength program with very small linear increases to keep you in a range you are comfortable in.. But you have to be making progress...

"If you aren't getting stronger, you are getting weaker"!

Just my two cents...

Velocirapture

Skipped gym on friday - new to the weight room and loving it - as i was due to race (road, but for training) on sunday. Woke up feeling rough, so binned the race thinking i needed more sleep, and looking forward to getting back on the track which has been closed for a concert.
Got the good news that the track is open again yesterday, and woke up with a cold/flu today. And i could have lifted on friday after all! Meh.
track league racing next week, so hopefully kicked this bug by then.

queerpunk

yes bro

Baby Puke

Thanks for this, Quinn. Yeah I am doing 225x5x5 right now, and I'm going to progress to higher reps, 6x5, 7x5, and when I get to 8x5 I'll reevaluate. I'm progressing linearly with single leg press and deadlift, and with many misses and re-sets on the press too. It's just the back squat that has given me so many little injuries over the past couple of seasons that I feel I need to take extra care with. So yeah the volume is going up on that lift, and when the volume gets silly, it's time to maybe add a couple of pounds. But slooooooooowly.

Quinn8it

Here is some advice you didn't ask me for:

That looks a little unfocused and probably way more work than you need to accomplish your goals of really widening your foundation for injury prevention and building strength in a safe way. Once you get past 6 reps you are getting into hypertrophy work- and I don't think that's on track with your needs...

One question: around what weight does your squat start to fall apart?

This is what I would recommend:
Go to the store and by 4 rolls of tape- probably 4 rolls of blue painters tape, Peel off enough tape so that the rolls weigh in at 14oz each.. Now you have a set of fractional plates that will allow you to progress in manageable increments. (1.75lbs)

Now- back your weight off 10lbs (reset) and begin 5x5 with a linear progression- adding
1.75lbs a day 3x a week- so you will be progressing 5lbs a week in very small increments..

That's a ton of volume!!!!

When you approach a stall- I would then drop it to a normal 3x5 Starting Strength Beginner Program- keeping the same progression.

When you approach a stall on 3x5- switch to Texas Method- calculating your 1x5"intensity day" at you current 3x5- this will allow a nice run of Texas Method before the 1x5 gets tough for you... That drop in volume will probably time out nicely with your ramp up in intensity for the race season this year..

I'd drop the leg press.. squats are all you need..