I’m not riding yet, but being as when I do I’ll be way behind in my training and sprinting and climbing are two weaknesses of mine so I thought about doing some strength-training. What are some good strength-training exercises for the legs?
Leg press?
Squats?
Leg extensions?
sprinting and climbing 
.
Lunges and climbing. I get on a spin bike at the club and climb. I refer to it as sqats on the bike.
Just go ride. Do lots of hills (repeats) and lots of big ring work.
AP
sprinting and climbing
Well see… that wasn’t my question.
For one: where I live has maximum altitude of 11’, where I race has maximum altitude of 4,000 feet.
So… in a gym… exercises… any suggestions?
Just go ride. Do lots of hills (repeats) and lots of big ring work.
AP
OK… everyone is assuming I have hills to train on… I don’t… I live on a coastal plain and the nearest climb of any sorts is three hours away.
You’ll get lots of conflicting advice here (isn’t that a shock) but I find that hill repeats (alternate between seated & standing) and weighted step-ups at the gym help me climb better…well that and losing that extra 5 lbs of body fat that I really don’t need
.
You’ll get lots of conflicting advice here (isn’t that a shock) but I find that hill repeats (alternate between seated & standing) and weighted step-ups at the gym help me climb better…well that and losing that extra 5 lbs of body fat that I really don’t need
I guess no one is reading my posts… where I live:
NO HILLS… NONE… NADA
Can’t help you about the gym exercises but for hills, you can use a high story parking garage (after work business hours of course).
I’m not riding yet, but being as when I do I’ll be way behind in my training and sprinting and climbing are two weaknesses of mine so I thought about doing some strength-training. What are some good strength-training exercises for the legs?
Job stated it best. More riding but specifically harder efforts into the wind, bigger gears and more miles. I lived in an area where the low point in the city was 28 feet above sea level and the peak ofthe city was 48 feet above sea level. We had a series of 3 hills about .3 mile total in length. Biggest gear I could push doing loops for about 1.5hrs 1-2x per week. I’d go race in the mtns of NC, VA, PA, and have no problems laying down a FOP bike split. More riding will solve many problems that going to the gym will (probably for those doubters) not.
I’m not riding yet, but being as when I do I’ll be way behind in my training and sprinting and climbing are two weaknesses of mine so I thought about doing some strength-training. What are some good strength-training exercises for the legs?
Job stated it best. More riding but specifically harder efforts into the wind, bigger gears and more miles. I lived in an area where the low point in the city was 28 feet above sea level and the peak ofthe city was 48 feet above sea level. We had a series of 3 hills about .3 mile total in length. Biggest gear I could push doing loops for about 1.5hrs 1-2x per week. I’d go race in the mtns of NC, VA, PA, and have no problems laying down a FOP bike split. More riding will solve many problems that going to the gym will (probably for those doubters) not.
OK… let me be more specific… I’ve been riding and racing on and off for almost twenty years and I can tell you that wind, big gears and more miles does not equal training for climbing… at least not for me because I’ve tried. Maybe I’m doing it wrong or not enough, but all of my compatriots here suffer as well when the road goes up in out-of-town races. Additionally, of the only two parking garages over five levels I’ve been kicked out of both. Lastly, as a single parent of two young kids “more miles” is just not possible.
Regarding your workout… your hills are 37 feet higher than mine, and I have only one and it’s not even a quarter mile long and it’s dangerous to train on.
So… my specific question… is there anything I can do in a gym?
Edit: found this thread… looks like this is a controversial topic.
take that time in the gym and ride the trainer. Even sprinting uphill as fast as you can go, muscle strength is neither your nor anyone’s, even pro cyclists like Lance, limiting factor. It is physiological, either gas exchange, Vo2max, LT, LT as a % of Vo2max, etc, not strength.
take that time in the gym and ride the trainer. Even sprinting uphill as fast as you can go, muscle strength is neither your nor anyone’s, even pro cyclists like Lance, limiting factor. It is physiological, either gas exchange, Vo2max, LT, LT as a % of Vo2max, etc, not strength.
“uphill” like elevating the front wheel?
i like doing a lifting exercise followed by a plyometric exercise that uses the same muscle groups. I’ll do my sets of squats followed immediately** followed by a set of box jumps. when i do lunges (usually backwards) i follow those with squat jumps. other lifting exercises that i do are step-ups and the leg press. i’ve found that lifting twice a week combined with some big gear work, jumps, and some threshold intervals **has helped me ride stronger in the hills.
I just got off the spin bike, pushed hard gear/tension for 45 minutes plus 15 warm up and cool down. Other than that like i said before lunges. Plyometrics also work great for me.
Hell sometime I take the seat off the bike and lay it on the floor, can’t cheat and sit. I’ll climb standning for up to an hour. My ass hurts too much on those bikes to climb seated for that long.
No. I was saying that even if you are sprinting and sprinting uphill, your strength is not the factor that is going to cause you to lose a race of get dropped. It is the physiological processes that limit you ability to do this, not how strong or how much you can lift but your LT, Vo2max etc…
What I was saying that if you are time under time pressures, riding more will do more for you in these situations that doing strength work in the gym.
If you insist on lifting do squats, leg presses, anything that mimics the motion of cycling.
So… my specific question… what can I do in a gym?
Let’s try to answer what you actually asked.
Smith machine squats are useful for strengthening the upper range fo the quadraceps, which are generally tougher to work on a bike.
Walking lunges - long sets, with weight when ready e.g. walk lengths in a 50ft room
Got a box or step about 20 inches high? This could be your best workout. We up in the great white north call them “Tie Domi’s”. Stand beside the box, one foot on the ground and one foot on top. Now power yourself up and across the box until you land on the other side with the opposite foot on the ground/on the box. Start with 30secs and try to build up to 120 secs of these, and you’ll be a stud. Great for building explosive single leg strength (for skiers or cyclists). This is a favorite exercise of our national ski team athletes, and lord knows they have strong legs.
I like doing sumo squats when on business travel. I use my own body weight and squat about 200 reps each set for about 5 sets. *Exhale *on the way down and *inhale *on the way up — that took a while to get used to.
Edit: found this thread… looks like this is a controversial topic.
Ah, the good old days…
Way back when, there was a South Jersey (read: very flat) Cat IV named Chris Hope. I happened to do Tour de Toona one year, and he kicked ass on one of the hardest climbs around on the road race.
At the Skylands Triathlon this year, 50+ year old Des Nunan, from Ocean City, NJ (that’d be right on the ocean), had one of the top bike splits on a 14 mile bike course with a major (I used a 38-26) climb in the middle.
These guys weren’t/aren’t strong: they are in great cardio shape from riding a lot.
Yes… I know 6’ 140 pound guys that aren’t strong and live in the flatlands and can climb… and I know strong 5’10 180 pounders that grew up in the hills and now live in the flatlands and can climb… I am, unfortunately, a 5’11" 175 pounder and grew up in the flatlands…