How much weight training is enough?
 

I am in my 50's and do weight training 2 or 3 times a week in the winter. The summer I do less as I spend more time biking.

I don't really enjoy weights but do it to keep up my strength and certianly do not want huge muscles.
I can see I am somwhat toned from doing it. I don't lift a lot no more that 30 lbs per arm.

Plus I do pilaties/yoga when I get up mostly for stretching. I sit at a desk all day

Can I just get away with 1 day a week?

I would rather spend my time on the bike especialy in this nicer weather.
Thanks

Since you're just trying to stay somewhat toned, 1 day per week together with your other activities will help & certainly slow the rate of regression. It won't build new muscle, butI don't think that's what you're looking for. Maybe try to get in 3-4 workouts every 2 weeks as a compromise. About 1 every 4 days.

i'm trying to judge this as well. i go to the gym 3 times a week, but since i started racing, i think that i should cut down to 2. this is all new to me, so i ordered a book on training:

"The Cyclist's Training Bible: A Complete Training Guide for the Competitive Road Cyclist"

it was a shade under 3 dollars used on amazon! hopefully, it should help me tailor my gym and bike workouts.

good luck!

I guess it is a balance
 

I see thse guys at the gym taking what ever and have large muscles. They must be taking somthing.
I could never get that big. i am 5'8 and 150 lbs.
I think weight training is very inportant.
As a guy I think we do loose our strenth as we get older.

You don't necessarily have to be taking something to get large muscles. Body type has a lot to do with it. Training methods do also. All other things being equal, heavier weights @ lower reps will build more muscle than hi reps w/ low weight. A lot of aerobic activity (which I assume you do since you're in this forum) works against building muscle. Serious body builders tend to shun aerobic exercise & only do what's needed to keep body fat down, usually at low intensity.

http://www.crackmuffin.com/images/icons/freaky_legs.jpg

not until you look like this

Weight lifted is a small part of whether you get bulky or not. Sets/reps, genetics, and DIET are huge factors. Guys you see in the gym with huge muscles have spent a lot of time getting them. Don't worry about it...unless you are training specifically for that, it's hard for most people to do.



Pilates and yoga are excellent choices especially for core strength. Do some moves that focus on strength and balance as well as flexibility and you will see great rewards. A daily regime of those two with some push-ups and pull ups could get you through the season.

However, strength training is great, especially for "older" people. Cycling is great, but it neglects the upper body and much of the core and is low impact which does nothing to increase bone density. Strength training, or some kind of cross training, should try to offset these deficiencies. Strengthening the shoulders is also great for cycling since falls often result in damaged shoulders.

+1. I always kind of laugh at those who think they will bulk up (especially women) if they lift a 5 LB weight. People who want those muscles have to try very hard to get them. Unless you're a genetic freak there is not much chance of getting them inadvertently.

It is a balance
 

All comment have been helpful.

I think I will do the weight training 2 times a week while we have good weather.

I also swim laps for ab out 45 minuets every week.

My chiropractor wants me to get an x ray for the area between my shoulders. He thinks a nerve is being bothered.
A long time ago I fell on some ice and did a whip lash move. I pulled a ligament in that area and from time to time I get sour muscles in that area.
I thought weight training would help. I am not sure if biking has agravated this area from the leaning over and the bumps as you ride?

High volumes and moderate loads of weight lead to hypertrophy increases (muscle mass) and lower volumes and higher loads lead to gains in strength.

Avoid bodybuilding type training and do compound movements involving multiple joints. Train unsupported using free weights (stay off the machines), and train explosively.

Get the book "Men's Health Power Training" by Robert dos Remedios.

What you ultimately want to do is to gain strength, balance, and power. Forget body part training, i.e. biceps, triceps, chest, etc. and start learning pushing and pulling horizontally and vertically and in multiple planes.

Keep the sessions brief. Warm up well, stop each set when you have 2-3 more perfect reps in you. Stop each exercise when you have 2-3 perfect sets in you. Walk out the doors feeling like you can do more. The entire session should take no more than an hour max.

This is an excellent idea; something I should do more of as well. Generally, the act of swimming stretches the spine. Cycling tends to compress.

It sounds like that may be a possibility. I'd get the exact problem diagnosed. Only then will you be able to determine the correct exercises to perform, and, just as importantly, which exercises to avoid. Generally, push ups tend to strengthen that region.

When trying a new program, your first few sessions should always always always be on the easy side. The following day, note how your body has responded and then you have more information on whether or not to include it.

I'm never a fan of any philosophy in which appearance takes priority over function. So, in that regard, you and others have - and will - hear me rant about why bodybuilding protocols are not always the best option (sometimes, yes, but usually not).

Shakespeare said "Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so."

Well, most exercises are neither good nor bad but the trainee makes it so. What you bring to the table in terms of body geometry, athletic back ground, injury history, and knowledge plays a tremendous role.

Make no mistake, there are some horrendous exercises out there (the traditional sit up and its cousins are some that I loathe).

I'm not a huge fan of machines because the movement of a particular machine may NOT match the movement of my body. It's like riding a poorly fitting bike; eventually, you'll injure something or make yourself more vulnerable to injury.

However, if a particular machine gives me an effective result, I won't ignore it.

At the gym I train at, there are only four machines (out of close to fifty) that I use. And I use these machines because I've tested the movement pattern using light load, seeing how I feel a day to a week later, then using moderate load, seeing how I feel a day to a week later, then progressing.

The rest of my weight training involves body weight (yes, you're lifting a weight - your body), free weights, and cables.

Cables DO count as free weights because of the high mobility range it provides. It's also convenient to move a pin to change the load and it's generally safer. Just be sure that damn pin is in alllll the way and the mini carabiner is closed properly. Also check for any frays or cracks in the cables/belts.

It's true that compound movements give the most bang for your buck. However, I've seen very few people use proper form. Don't just ask the trainer (he may be incompetent) and don't just copy the alphas (many of these guys don't know *****; they just have the genetic aces to get away with sloppy form). Research research research.

There will occasions when you want to isolate a body part (to avoid excessive stress on another body part). This method works when you want to train around an injury. It's dangerous to chain yourself to any one philosophy.

As far as training explosively, yes, that's an excellent way to recruit the fast twitch fibers. This is the much safer alternative to the other method: lift heavy for low reps (the high load will leave no other choice than to move slowly). Ideally, anyone interested in maximum strength/power needs the heavy days and fast/explosive days.

But let's not open that door just quite yet. Instead, we need to build the fundamentals. Based on what the OP stated, I strongly advise against heavy lifting at this stage. If you progress in the gym and want to try going heavy, you will need experience and overall conditioning in the tendons and ligaments first.

As for explosive work, focus on a tempo which takes 1-2 seconds to lift, pause 0-1 second at the top, then lower 1-3. This ALL DEPENDS on your coordination, the load, and how you respond to variations in tempo.

And not all exercises should be done explosively. For instance, there is no way in hell that I can do a PR of 31 push ups with feet on stability ball/hands on medicine balls this quickly. The nature of the exercise demands that I apply more control which takes more time. So, it all depends...

I'll say this again because so many injuries are a result of those who go harder than necessary:

warm up properly

know what exercises to avoid for your body type and history

know the proper technique

stop each set with a few perfect reps in the bank

stop each exercise with a few perfect sets in the bank

walk out the door feeling like you can do more

Why are sit ups and there variations not that good?
 

I thought sit ups were good for the core. A lot of the Pilaties/Yoga has variations of the sit up/crunches.

By compound exercises you mean free weights?

I don't use many machines any more except the ones were you pull down to strenghten the lats.

I think swimming is great. i just do the front crawl, not so good with the other movements but I an almost up to 1 hour non stop.

thanks

I despise the traditional sit up and its cousins because at the end of the movement there is a tremendous amount of pressure on your lower back. We, as cyclists, get more than enough of that type of stress. This is a classic example of why I avoid religiously following any particular philosophy. I incorporate yoga and pilates work into my program. However, I do NOT perform every single exercise in the yoga and pilates subset just because "hey, I'm doing yoga and pilates...this ***** has to be good because everyone says so..."

Remember - neither yoga nor pilates was invented for cyclists. Both will have movements that can FURTHER AGGRAVATE irritations we get from riding.

No doubt some enterprising trainer has modified a yoga and/or pilates program for cyclists. However, the cardinal rule applies:

If a certain movement, exercise, etc. causes injury OR has the potential to cause injury, re-evaluate and don't be afraid to remove it from your program.

Compound exercises involve multiple joints/muscles. Examples include squats and deadlifts. Proper form is absolutely critical because there is smaller margin of error. Some may recommend that you practice using little or no weight. However, if you have sloppy technique to begin with, the low-resistance work WITHOUT proper critique can only reinforce what you shouldn't be doing.

As for the lat pull downs that you do, I presume you're doing them on a cable machine. Like I said cables DO count as free weights in my book due to the high range of movement they provide. Just remember what I said before - test any machine to see if it matches your body geometry; training on a poorly fitting machine is like riding a poorly fitting bike.