Increase strength/ Keeping lightweight

[WarrenG]

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After a race I have sore abdutors(inner and outer) but my quads and lower legs feel fine whereas before the weight work they would've felt as my abdutors do now.

Weight work for my legs has only been good for me.

If you tried strengthening your muscles while on the bike you would not have a few weak areas. Anytime you are using "strength" on your (road) bike you are also relying on aerobic energy mechanisms (along with anerobic) and you won't be training those in the gym. Better for road cyclists to re-allocate their time in a gym to more specific training on their bike (except maybe during winter).

Tom Boonen and Allesandro Petacchi are not training in the gym.

 

[Carrera]

I guess I'm a bit weird as I like to climb and, so far as I know, climbers don't do squats. I mean, I don't think either Marco Pantani, Van Impe or even Virenque ever squatted (or knew what squats are).
Do I feel the squats are worth doing?
I guess they do strengthen my lumbar region which is a bonus and they seem to fit in with big-crank-style seated climbing when I push down from the hip and drape my hands over the shifter hoods on the not-so-steep hills.
However, they may possibly hinder performance in smaller gears on the far steeper gradients where technique is so important and you need to stay out of the seat e.t.c. Too much squatting and your legs pump up.
But really, let me stress, I do this for fun and am not a competition cyclist. I simply enjoy joining in with other athletes on the squats once a week. I mean, one of my training partners took silver in the commonwealth games recently and the other guy I train with is a pretty decent foot sprinter. So, I kind of just join in and do my own thing.
I suppose I'm aware squatting is something sprinters do, not climbers. But what the hell.

If he is a road sprinter, I bet not much. The track sprinters do some lifting , but standing starts seem to be the staple for for power building on the bike. The kilo and team sprinters do starts in 100"+ gears with weight vests on. Your countrymen are quite good at it. You ought to look at how the middle distance trackies train, I think you would like it

 

[Billsworld]

I guess I'm a bit weird as I like to climb and, so far as I know, climbers don't do squats. I mean, I don't think either Marco Pantani, Van Impe or even Virenque ever squatted (or knew what squats are).
Do I feel the squats are worth doing?
I guess they do strengthen my lumbar region which is a bonus and they seem to fit in with big-crank-style seated climbing when I push down from the hip and drape my hands over the shifter hoods on the not-so-steep hills.
However, they may possibly hinder performance in smaller gears on the far steeper gradients where technique is so important and you need to stay out of the seat e.t.c. Too much squatting and your legs pump up.
But really, let me stress, I do this for fun and am not a competition cyclist. I simply enjoy joining in with other athletes on the squats once a week. I mean, one of my training partners took silver in the commonwealth games recently and the other guy I train with is a pretty decent foot sprinter. So, I kind of just join in and do my own thing.
I suppose I'm aware squatting is something sprinters do, not climbers. But what the hell.

I think the aussie sprinters squat most of the year. Sean Eadie (former world champ)is a beast and from what I have heard a great squatter. I would bet most of the guys on this forum do some lifting or activities outside of cycling. Warren spoke of some on the bike weight training that all the sprinters do. For the first time in 20+ years I am no squatting and i am doing stuff like that. It is a great feeling to be fit, big and strong at the same time. Like you said its fun

 

[Carrera]

I'm not actually a sprinter but I did give this bus a run for its money today. Just got into the biggest gear my bike has and gave it may all. Sure, I couldn't keep it up for very long but I seemed to be moving.
The point about squats: Simply they may not be as useful for cyclists as, say swimming, rowing or running, but the point is you can still work your cardiovascular system on a rainy day (with squats), if you wish to do them. Anyone whose done a set of 30 reps will testify to that.
The funny thing is I've rarely ever seen anyone squat that way. The muscleheads these days tend to perform sets of sixes or maybe eights and then they're sitting down on a bench. But 30 reps is a long, arduous ordeal. One of these days I'll fit a HRM on myself when I do my set and see how high my pulse winds up.

I think the aussie sprinters squat most of the year. Sean Eadie (former world champ)is a beast and from what I have heard a great squatter. I would bet most of the guys on this forum do some lifting or activities outside of cycling. Warren spoke of some on the bike weight training that all the sprinters do. For the first time in 20+ years I am no squatting and i am doing stuff like that. It is a great feeling to be fit, big and strong at the same time. Like you said its fun

 

[WarrenG]

I'm not actually a sprinter but I did give this bus a run for its money today. Just got into the biggest gear my bike has and gave it may all. Sure, I couldn't keep it up for very long but I seemed to be moving.
The point about squats: Simply they may not be as useful for cyclists as, say swimming, rowing or running, but the point is you can still work your cardiovascular system on a rainy day (with squats), if you wish to do them. Anyone whose done a set of 30 reps will testify to that.
The funny thing is I've rarely ever seen anyone squat that way. The muscleheads these days tend to perform sets of sixes or maybe eights and then they're sitting down on a bench. But 30 reps is a long, arduous ordeal. One of these days I'll fit a HRM on myself when I do my set and see how high my pulse winds up.

Will you be stressing your cardiovascular system for say, 30-40 minutes at a time?

 

[Carrera]

Sure. I imagine my pulse rate would be very high for 30 minutes on a weights day.
I think where were heading here is that, on one hand you have pure cardiovascular activity such as running, swimming and cycling. These activities we do primarily to develop our fitness, correct? We're talking cardio.
I also tend to believe that cyclists should be aware of two factors which are:
(1) Fitness.
(2) Performance.
Squats can certainly be beneficial for overall fitness but they don't have so much to offer by way of "performance". They can make you fitter but they don't stimulate muscles in the way needed to ride a bike fast - unless you need explosive speed.
What kind of cyclist are you?
(1) You rely on your fitness to drop the opposition and spin your gears.
(2) You develop yourself for explosive bursts at rapid speed at the expense of suffering more over longer distances.
(3) You're an all-rounder and mix power and fitness.
I think in my case, I like to do more explosive stuff but the way I train makes me suffer harder over longer periods, perhaps. I'm at my most dangerous in a brief uphill sprint and maybe descents.

Will you be stressing your cardiovascular system for say, 30-40 minutes at a time?