upperbody training

frenchyge said:

Maybe you could be worth a [censored] if you really put your mind to one thing or the other.

Some people would prefer to be good at something rather than being equally not worth a [censored] at anything.

Ouch!!!.....that hurts 😄

daveryanwyoming said:

Yeah IIRC, Ric says something like: if you can stand up from a chair you've got more than enough strength to ride and race...

Here's a screen shot from WKO+ showing data from a race this past summer. It took a whopping 53 pounds per pedal stroke to deliver 416 watts or nearly 6 watts per kg. Sure I only held that for a minute and pros manage that for an hour or more but the difference isn't leg strength as moving my body weight up a flight of stairs requires more than three times that force per step. The difference is the ability to continue supplying fuel to my muscles at that rate for extended periods and that's all about metabolic fitness, not leg strength.

53lbs...hmm. Thanks for the info Dave...I knew it had to be numbers like that.

Too bad I can climb stairs and get out of a chair but right now my L4-L5 does not seem ready yet. Amazing how a spine injury can really screw you up...Hoepfully soon....

Funny thing I can now do 3 x 10 or 5 x 5 of 160lbs on the leg press machine but I guess all in good time and no need to screw up the healing just yet.

swampy1970 said:

He is balanced - fecking skinny all over. Doesn't matter what part of the body you're looking at (or trying to avoid looking at) you can be rest assured that most Sparrows have more meat on them...

You know people really pick on the guy but he is a pro and cycling is his bread and butter. He is willing to do what it takes to win so I give him alot of credit. He is a tall fellow it looks like from the pic and most of the smaller guys probably weigh about the same so I see no difference other than the way they look.

He is no different than the Bodybuilder who lives, breaths and dies for it...or on that matter any other athlete. I think comparing him to weekend warrior or ethusists is not fair.

-js

daveryanwyoming said:

Snip.....P.S. I also like quiche...

Yuck, no quiche for me! :p 😄

I actually do upper body weight training, mostly in the early Spring, but it doesn't have anything to do with bicycling.

I do it because once the snow melts off I've got a large yard to take care of and I don't want to hurt myself lifting things after a long winter.

leanman said:

just curious to what everyoine does as far as weigt training or any kind of exercises.i dont know at all, but i imagine 99% of us on this board are guys that train when we can and race when we can, but do have familys and jobs, so having a balanced body seems to be only normal..thanks

I will respond to your question. I think the "real man" seemed to set a few people off. I am just over 6 feet and only weigh 155lbs so guys at the gym would likely not consider me a real man. Unfortunately, my only strength (if you can call it a strength as I am only a solid 4/5 guy) is climbing, so I really don't want to gain weight. Cycling is my competetive focus.

The problem is that I have a yard that needs work, furniture to be moved occasionally, I like to downhill ski, play a little tennis and basketball, golf, etc. If I only cycle, those other areas of my life suffer and I suffer during and after those activities if I only train for cycling. To combat this, I lift weights (lately I have been doing p90x upperbody dvds) 1-2 times a week and try to throw in some lunges/various jumps 1-2 times a week as well. I work my upperbody during days I take off from cycling. These other workouts likely hurt my cycling a little but my wife thinks I look a little better and I feel like my body holds up better day to day with weights worked in. I lift closer to 2x weekly in winter when my training is more focused on the trainer and closer to 1x weekly when I am out on the road.

I agree with the previous post. I used to go to the gym almost everyday for at least 6 years before I got into cycling and all I did was upper body. Now I go maybe 1x a week and if I do, it's only to do leg work 🙂. I plan to start doing upper body again, but just to feel better, not to help with cycling. To help with my cycling..... I cycle 🙂.

I've been riding consistantly(3.5-5K miles) per year, the last 13 years. I have a specific body type. I've been refered to as a "ecto-morph" (well recieved info/judgement by someone who didn't even know me but all of 10 minutes!), given my physiology has adapted to bicycle riding... for 1hr, 2hr, etc. durations.

I do have a gym membership, but I primarily use conditioning exercises for my core, a little bit of upper body stuff and some lower body stuff(but not a ton).

I've gotten into conversations over this very thing with other atheletes from other sports(wrestling, baseball, runners, etc) , and the bottom line is your body will adapt to given stressors(daily, weekly, etc). Over time, your physiology will adapt and physically you will change. I've come to realize(and perfectly comfortable) with the fact that I will most likely never be able to bench press over 225 pounds(I weight 170 lbs, and I did bench 215 in HS as a 150 pounder); however I do have excellent cycling skills that transend these small sacrifices in my upper body strength.😄

Hmmm. If it can be done inside whilst laying down, it's not really worth doin', for me anyway. I can't think of a single reason why I would want to be inside, either standing at a machine listening to others brag about how much they can bench or doing bench presses, when I can be outside? Summer, winter, it doesn't matter. The fun is outside. Lifting would be time spent that I'd never be able to get back.

Here ya' go...Is this what a real cyclist man looks like? LOL!

First shot - all set for my first race only 2 weeks after getting on a road bike for the first time in probably 20+ years. July 2006, ~210-215lbs.

Second shot - July 2009, no upper body weight training at all since June 2006, ~ 195lbs.

Even to this day, all I gotta do is look at a bench press and my pecs start to swell...something like a lactating woman hearing a baby cry😄.

I still got an extra 15-20lbs or so of pecs, lats, delts, tris, bis, traps, etc...if anyone wants to take them off my hands I'd be glad to give 'em away...

[LEFT]And clearly paying off.

I did Gymnastics for 4 years and put on 10kg of upper body muscle and despite having not been in a gymnasium since 2001 the muscle isn't going away.
[/LEFT]

gman

bingo!!!! you seem to be the only one who understood my original post by your comment. thanks

"I plan to start doing upper body again, but just to feel better, not to help with cycling"

i think lance has the $ to get the best coaches....why do his coaches have him doing this if its no good and a waste of time?
to be truthful, i dont know, or care. all i was wondering, is why these few recreational riders won do movements like these.
i hope this video of lance workout out with weights for his entire body comes up..
[ame="[MEDIA=youtube]uDawlrIeaVM[/MEDIA]]Lance strength training[/ame]

leanman said:

i think lance has the $ to get the best coaches....why do his coaches have him doing this if its no good and a waste of time?
to be truthful, i dont know, or care. all i was wondering, is why these few recreational riders won do movements like these.
i hope this video of lance workout out with weights for his entire body comes up..

So what you're saying is you don't care, but you do care 'cuz you think it helps make your point.

I think people will do what they feel is right for them, and that their goals are not the same as yours. It's a big world, and it's full of billions of different motivations. So, there.

Frankly, I'd rather be outside 100% of the time, than spend a second being stifled in a gym. For me, that would be a tremendous waste of time and a big drain on my soul.

As a counterpoint to your Lance video, I don't believe Merckx spent much, if any, time in a gym. His training was riding, riding, and riding more. If the records are correct, he seemed to be quite a success.

leanman said:

i think lance has the $ to get the best coaches....why do his coaches have him doing this if its no good and a waste of time?
to be truthful, i dont know, or care. all i was wondering, is why these few recreational riders won do movements like these.
i hope this video of lance workout out with weights for his entire body comes up..

Probably the ones who will get fired now there is a decent course for the Tour and Lance will get punished for the extra upper body mass he is carrying.

Also have to say having spent some years teaching people weight training in the gym that is some awful form.

alienator said:

Frankly, I'd rather be outside 100% of the time, than spend a second being stifled in a gym. For me, that would be a tremendous waste of time and a big drain on my soul.

I'm glad I don't find being indoors soul draining...

Enriss said:

I'm glad I don't find being indoors soul draining...

Is being indoors always the same thing as being in a gym? Out on the road, you don't have to see Biff pumping himself in front of a mirror; Tad and Percy trying to out flex each other in front of Buffy....or Dwayne; or all those droids with their heads impaled on ear buds or stair stepping as they surf the net.

alienator said:

Is being indoors always the same thing as being in a gym? Out on the road, you don't have to see Biff pumping himself in front of a mirror; Tad and Percy trying to out flex each other in front of Buffy....or Dwayne; or all those droids with their heads impaled on ear buds or stair stepping as they surf the net.

Ah, so you're saying you hate people. Or at least the people who hang out in gyms 😄

Enriss said:

Ah, so you're saying you hate people. Or at least the people who hang out in gyms 😄

Nah, but what seems to be the run of the mill gym rat does seem to rub salt in the wounds. I can't see paying some fee to go to a gym to exercise in the din of gym, when the outdoors is free. Riding under the sun or even under an overcast sky seems magnitudes better than exercising on a machine under the 60 Hz flickering of fluorescent lights. And frankly, taking a dump in the woods or having to wipe my a$$ with a snowball is much more appealing than being in a gym locker room. I'd much rather catch giardia than come develop a community of MRSA on my feet after using a gym shower.

Besides, the 'rhoid fumes in a gym are overwhelming.

What on earth does this have to do with cycling???

We are cyclists, not gym bunnies, we know that riding our bikes faster makes us ride our bikes faster even if Lance or his high paid coaches don't!

fergie said:

What on earth does this have to do with cycling???

We are cyclists, not gym bunnies, we know that riding our bikes faster makes us ride our bikes faster even if Lance or his high paid coaches don't!

I wouldn't go so far as to say that's the case for everyone. Besides, the entire thread has been about upper body training, which generally a gym or indoor activity.