Do I dare bring this up? But most of the books and magazines say this off season time should be all about weights and technique…but I’m also hearing you don’t want to add mass. Soooo- if you want to get stronger/faster all around can you really do it without weights? Do those that don’t lift still making substantial improvements in their times?
search past threads… there’s been a terrific debate here in recent days
You know I really have- and it seems like most onliners say “no” - but that goes so much against the books and mags- that I am caught in the middle. Maybe the “no weights” route is more for the advanced triathlete and the newbies should lift-
Greetings!
What do you hope to achieve by lifting weights? Do you wish to tone your body or improve your fitness? At this time of year I will lift a bit to keep some tone going in the muscles but also understand that there is really about zero benefit towards the aerobic events that I compete in. If you are wishing to “raise” fitness… your time will be better spent not “raising” lift plates but rather riding, running or swimming more. That said I still would not skimp on core work. Best of luck!
I would imagine the decision comes down to “what are you looking for?” Do you have strength as a limiter…then lift weights! Want to do something different this off season, rather than ride etc…lift weights! If you want to keep riding and running…don’t lift weights! If you get crazy injuries in-season…maybe lift weights!
As far as the bulk issue, you are not going to add bulk to you lower body this winter lifting weights, you may to your upper body, however. Cycling is an excellent exercise for leg development, and thus overall bulk shouldn’t be a major concern.
I am one of the ones involved in the ongoing debate. As I am a Personal Trainer that specializes in endurance athletes I say lift. There are so many benefits even if the mob disagrees. What kind of lifting is a different story. Judging by your name I will assume the you are a female with children (in Colorado). The chances of you “bulking up” are slim and none. Especially if you continue in an endurance based program. What you are looking to do is to make sure your hips are stable and your core is strong. This can be done in any number of ways but the best advice I can give here is to train to the 5th power. That is; Standing, using free weights, multi-joint, multi-planar, and functionally. If you would like to read more check out the articles on my website. Hope this helps and keep up the great work!!
!
As far as the bulk issue, you are not going to add bulk to you lower body this winter lifting weights, you may to your upper body, however.
So how did this individual develop the massive quads?
Mark Allen and Dave Scott both lifted,nuff said.
t~
I’ve lifted in the past, however I just moved to a very yuppie region of coastal SC and the gym’s here are friggin’ crazy expensive. Having just bought a new bike, a health club membership is way outta the question. So for now, my other workouts will have to suffice.
So how did this individual develop the massive quads?
Lifting, steroids and avoiding extended amounts of cardio (i.e. bike riding).
“Soooo- if you want to get stronger/faster all around can you really do it without weights?”
Yes, and this is exactly what the vast majority of people do. Swim,bike, and run lots- and fast. Better yet, get a really good coach or buy a plan and see what they have to say about it. Weight lifting may be o.k. (or not), but only after you are doing all the s/b/r you need to be doing. If you still have energy left after all that by all means lift- or better yet, just spend that time sleeping. I doubt it really helps much, if at all. FWIW- I don’t lift, but still manage to do my core most of the season. I’ve never felt like I needed to be stronger. Better swim technique yes, leaner for the run, yes, more sleep, definately, but never stronger.
Now get ready for hotly debated replys :).
So how did this individual develop the massive quads?
Lifting, steroids and avoiding extended amounts of cardio (i.e. bike riding).
I agree, but I was addressing the statement made earlier that lifting only bulked up the upper body.
This topic is like clinchers vs tubulars, Cervelo vs any other bike, pics with family at race finish line, Campy vs Shimano, etc. I don’t mean to be a dick but do a search on the subject. There are some VERY GOOD arguments on both side of the subject by coaches / PT’s etc. FWIW I lift wts./core train one or two days a week. I’m 54 so I lift because of muscle loss do to aging. For younger triathlete it might be a different story.
Do I dare bring this up? But most of the books and magazines say this off season time should be all about weights and technique…but I’m also hearing you don’t want to add mass. Soooo- if you want to get stronger/faster all around can you really do it without weights? Do those that don’t lift still making substantial improvements in their times?
There is certainly no conscensus on the benefits of weight training for endurance performance. Why would you want to develop fast twitch fibers for an event that depends primarily on slow twitch fibers? Even high rep weight training (20-30 reps or more) develops fast twitch fibers. For example you could do a set of 30 leg extensions to failure. If it takes you 2 seconds for each rep, you could complete it in one minute. Not exactly consistent with the time frame of an ironman.
So how does weight training provide benefit? There is probably some crossover between strength and endurance, i.e. a stronger muscle is more resistant to fatigue. Let’s take a hypothetical eample:
Before you start training you can only do 50lbs max on the leg extension and you can also do 30lbs 20X. As you train and get stronger and your max leg extension goes up to 100lbs, you find that you can do those 30lbs for a greater number of reps, maybe 100X. Then if you extrapolate this futher you might also find that your quads will be less likely to give out on a long climb if they are stronger. This is assuming that your total body weight has not increased from the weight training. Generally, it is possible to see modest gains in strength with little or no increase in total body weight.
Then if you extrapolate this futher you might also find that your quads will be less likely to give out on a long climb if they are stronger.
Or, you might not.
EXACTLY and you can add PNF to that list and several other Kona champs. I am going to go ahead and agree with world champions.
An hour in the gym is one hour less you have to either run, bike or swim. Also, lifting weights is a good way to decrease you mitochondrial density and that’s never a good thing for an endurance athlete.
So were they better because they lifted or dispite them lifting?
jaretj
I personally see no point in lifting much in your 20s, but as you get older lifiting dramatically slows muscle deterioration and I think pros realize this. Allen/PNF/Scott alll have had incredible results post age 35. Allen also says that for optimal fitness cardio and lifting are EQUALLY important. I would like to think people who have earned a living in a sport for over 20 years know what they are doing.
That really wasn’t the question. The question was will it benefit the person in their racing.
Racing aside, its a good thing to have a strong core, arms, etc.