It will soon be time to start hitting the weights again. Anyone have a favorite set they’d care to share?
Manmakers. 4 sets of 20 squats at a weight you can barely make 20 with. Make sure the squats are good and deep, almost hitting your ass with your heels. Don’t change the weight, the first set should be hard and the fourth set should be excruciatingly painful. This is more about toughness than anything else.
Then 4 sets of 10 jump squats. If you’ve never done them start with just the bar then build up. This will help build a little explosive power.
Then 4 sets of 10 front squats. Support the bar in front of you and squat. Make sure you go low, heels to ass.
Then throw up.
Then 4 more sets of Manmakers, 4 x 20. By this time the weight for the Manmakers will prob be about half of the first set.
Then throw up some more.
The free weights are on the second floor of my gym. Do you suggest that I slide down the stairs after I’m done, or have someone carry me?
100 squats at 1/4 of your body weight - immediately run a mile on the treadmill as fast as possible
2 minute rest
100 squats at 1/3 of your body weight - immediately run a mile on the treadmill as fast as possible
3 minute rest
100 squats at 1/4 of your body weight - immediately run a mile on the treadmill as fast as possible
-or-
squat for 2 minutes as many as you can - with a one minute rest
These are killer workouts you might want to drop the reps/time the first couple of times to get used to them.
I’d be surprised if you make it to the stairs. We’d do this workout as part of our Rugby offseason program. It was brutal. The best part about the manmakers are how they teach you to take it one rep at a time and keep pushing.
Here is mine: Very simple:
3-4x per week: 5x40 free squat using own weight+as many lbs as you are over 100lbs. (so, when I was 130lbs, it was 130+30=160, when 125lbs, it was 125+25=150, get it?) As short a pause as possible, or do another exercise in between sets)
On the alternate day, run stadium stairs for 1hr.
Manmakers. 4 sets of 20 squats at a weight you can barely make 20 with.
Why would a person do this? Why not just take athe weight you would usually do for 10 reps (not to failure) and do 20 reps with them (ala, John McCallum, Leistner, Jones, Rader, etc).
Why dig yourself into a recovery deficit of that magnitude?
How is it even possible to 4x20 with a weight that is already your 20RM?
I’m all for toughness in the weightroom, and to failure training, and forced reps, and negatives, and all that … but what you’re describing eith er has to be impossible, or the early part cannot be maximal.
What you’re describing is analogous to someone talking about “sprinting” a 30hour run.
20 rep squats rock … but are impossible to do as you described … unless you fake the effort and/or the poundage.
Any workout designed by McCallum, Arthur Jones, Ken Leistner, Maximum Bob Whelan, etc will get the job done.
Car pushing as a finisher, floowing a tough workout, is another gooden’.
Here is mine: Very simple:
3-4x per week: 5x40 free squat using own weight+as many lbs as you are over 100lbs. (so, when I was 130lbs, it was 130+30=160, when 125lbs, it was 125+25=150, get it?) As short a pause as possible, or do another exercise in between sets)
On the alternate day, run stadium stairs for 1hr.
Geez, I feel sorry for any 300 pound dudes that try this one out. Let’s see, 300+200=500 lbs :)!!!
(Oh yeah, I’m not a 300 pound dude, only around 190-200!)
The point is that the amount of weight you can do 20 reps with is vastly different from the amount of weight you can do 10 reps with. The weight you’d use for a 20 rep set is not hard for the first few reps. In fact, it is really easy the first few reps. 20 reps of any decent weight is tough. So, you put on the weight that you can do 20 reps with. You’ll find it doesn’t get tough untill the last 4 or 5. The next set it gets tough the last 5 or 6. The next set, the last 6 or 7. Then the last set the last 10 are tough. The point isnt that the weight is heavy, the point is that your legs and lungs are burning and you have to keep pushing.
I guess to clarify better, the 20th rep of the first set should be painful. I guess a better weight to say would a weight you can barely do 25 reps with. However, I’d guess the weight difference to be minimal in that situation.
Its not so much a test of muscular strength as much as it is stamina and toughness.
Tonight I’m going to do a set of about 2700-2800 reps at the max power I can maintain for about 11 miles. Of course, I’m trying to get faster at triathlon, so this may not apply to you.
thats actually the warm up to my session.
I see what you’re saying … it sounds similar to “cumulative fatigue” training.
I like the deadlifts and lunges as well as back squats. Leg extensions increase muscle size, but don’t do much for cycling strength. When I was younger I did a lot more heavy stuff, but now 225 is about as big as I ever go. Usually 135 is my squat/deadlift weight. Or on a good day 185.
Yeas, there are about as many different ways to improve your performance in triathlons as there are ways to demonstrate that you are an arrogant prick. Thanks for both examples.
My knees hurt just reading this stuff.
Yeas, there are about as many different ways to improve your performance in triathlons as there are ways to demonstrate that you are an arrogant prick. Thanks for both examples.
Well, isn’t that special. How’s this: doing squats or any other weightlifting to build up your quads won’t make you a faster triathlete. This is nominally a triathlon forum (“Triathlon Forum” is the name of the room), and it’s possible that you aren’t interested in becoming a faster triathlete.
Arrogant, no. Condescending, probably.
Arrogant, no. Condescending, probably.
That would be a good line to replace the “peaceful Tribe” as ST’s identity … and I don’t say that with any hint of insult in my voice.
How’s this: doing squats or any other weightlifting to build up your quads won’t make you a faster triathlete.
How’s this? Wrong.
How’s this: doing squats or any other weightlifting to build up your quads won’t make you a faster triathlete.
How’s this? Wrong.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?id=strengthstern
Take your shot.
Guess you didn’t read Amy Mason’s rebuttal in the very same article…