I’ve read so much stuff on-line that I’m totally confused now about proper weight training for Triathlon.
Here are my requirements/goals:
Lean-up, lose more body fat, gain muscle definition.
NO WEIGHT GAIN - I do not wish to gain weight - even good muscle weight
Strengthen the joints, tendons and muscles.
Does anyone have a plan for the off season that will help me achieve these goals?
Jim
I’ve read so much stuff on-line that I’m totally confused now about proper weight training for Triathlon.
Here are my requirements/goals:
Lean-up, lose more body fat, gain muscle definition.
NO WEIGHT GAIN - I do not wish to gain weight - even good muscle weight
Strengthen the joints, tendons and muscles.
Does anyone have a plan for the off season that will help me achieve these goals?
Jim
Must…fight…urges…
Classic 
.
You should just create a word document with your feelings on weightlifting. When someone asks a question you can just copy and paste the document. You might have to make minor changes to suit the post, but it should save you a lot of time. Thus, you would have more time for squats.
I do a basic set of multiple muscle group type lifting exercises twice a week during the winter. I don’t really know how directly applicable it is to my tri training, and frankly I don’t care. It makes me feel better, and a nice side effect is that I sleep like I’m in a coma. I just like having a bit of muscle on me. Setting aside the strength/endurance/calorie burning/blah blah type stuff, the chemicals and hormones and whatnot that are produced as a result of strenght training make me calmer and more confident. And that’s worth any minor drawbacks that may exist.
What I do:
Bench press - 3 sets of as much as I can handle at 10 reps. Sometimes I’ll up the weight and drop the reps to 6 - 8. Never fewer that that though.
Crunches on the bench - until there’s tears streaming down my face from the pain. Usually in the neighborhood of 400 or so broken up in sets of 50.
standard bicep curls - I dunno - 12 years of swimming seems to have given me disproportionatley strong triceps, and I do this for balance.
leg lunges holding 2 15 lb weights. 3 sets of 10
Shoulder things (there’s probably a real name) - 3 sets of 12 holding 10 - 15 lb weights down at my sides, raise arms straight out to the sides until they’re parallel to the ground. These are a bit dangerous unless you’re ready for them. Easy to hurt your neck.
That’s pretty much it.
Here’s your off-season plan:
-swim
-bike
-run
-eat right
.
You should just create a word document with your feelings on weightlifting. When someone asks a question you can just copy and paste the document. You might have to make minor changes to suit the post, but it should save you a lot of time. Thus, you would have more time for squats.
More squats, yeah, that’s the ticket. My quads are already so big that I’m riding a mixte frame (look it up) because my legs were rubbing (and crushing) the top tube of my TT bike.
It would be more fair and educationimal (not to mention more entertaining!) to post a link to one or twenty of the previous threads on slowtwitch.
Oh go ahead. If you don’t someone else will.
Do a search of this forum. You’ll find lots of good advice. This question comes up at least a couple of times a year.
Do a search of this forum. You’ll find lots of good advice. This question comes up at least a couple of times a year.
A year, heh. This time of year, it seems to lift (pun intended) its ugly head a couple of times a week…
HUH???
You don’t want to even gain good muscle weight? Why then are you asking about weight training!
If I remember correctly the last time you gave someone advice it was to put another plate on the squat rack That’s what I’m going to do for lunch today.
If I remember correctly the last time you gave someone advice it was to put another plate on the squat rack That’s what I’m going to do for lunch today.
Squat rack, bah. They haven’t made a squat rack big enough for me. I use cars. I’m working my way through the Ford SUV model line right now (I’m up to the Expedition).
Do a search of this forum. You’ll find lots of good advice. This question comes up at least a couple of times a year.
A year, heh. This time of year, it seems to lift (pun intended) its ugly head a couple of times a week…
I went and did a search with the word “Weight Lifting”
There was some good information.
There are some absolutely hilarious posts.
Last Tri in 83 – I found so many posts that said “You should do squats” – it became as funny as “your seat post is to high”
What you want to do is pretty simple in concept but hard in reality – Meaning, you need to balance calorie intake with your exercise. If you lack calories - you will not gain weight - not even muscle mass. You can do this by adding cardio.
My opinion: Crank away at the weights and gain the weight - try to not gain fat, just muscle.
Then back off on the weights (to like once a week) when tri training starts and then even stop lifting altogether. Crank up the endurance tri training and the muscle mass will diminish - you will have stronger tendons and ligiments, increased bone desity, and odds are be a little stronger.
Here’s your off-season plan:
-swim
-bike
-run
-eat right
Love it. But you forgot “repeat”.
jmoss- you have to take the good posts with the bad…anyway, weight training in the off season should incorporate full-body workouts and not just bench presses, curls and crunches 2 - 3 times a week. Go out and search the web for specific full-body (especially core) workouts.
ALso, face it- you’re going to gain some muscle mass if you lift enough- there’s no getting around it. If you don’t then you are not working hard enough or not eating enough. If you don’t eat enough, you won’t have energy to workout and you’ll feel like shit the next few days following a good workout, not to mention your muscle mass that will be your friend in a race will deteriorate. But if you balance your time in the gym by doing full-body workouts, and concentrating on exercises specific to a sport (squats, leg extentions and calve raises for bike/run, and chest, shoulder and tricep routines for swimming) then you’ll just hit a lull and get bored quickly.
Personally, I get around the boredom by mixing it up in the gym. I.E. I will do supersets of something (bench immed. followed by assisted pullups, and then go right over to the treadmill and run a 1 minute at 8.5 mph - that’s one set…take a breather and repeat, only next time run 1 1/2 minutes at 8 mph…repeat and run 2 1/2 minutes at 8 mph… you get the idea. Bottom line- you get some variety, and your body turns into a furnace (note: optimal calorie burning). Make your time in the gym count, otherwise you’re not training smart. And don’t be foolish - eat after every workout because your body needs it.
squats, lots of them.
24 Hour Fitness
Rancho Cucamonga Sport
11787 Foothill Blvd
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
Be there from about 6:00-7:30 pm on weekdays. Watch and learn, that’ll be the easiest way to grasp it.
a solid strength training plan would require 6 phases, 1st anatomical adaptation, 2nd hypertrophy, 3rd maxmium strength, 4th conversion to specificity of exercise, 5th competition and maintainance. a well though out strength program will develop joint flexibility, ligament and tendon strength, strengthen the core, develop stabilizers. train movments not individual muscles and will focus on increasing the physical capacity of the athlete.
funny you should mention that…my neighbor is a one of those “strongest man in the world” competitors and I always crackup when I come back from my morning run and see him pulling a loaded down Excursion up and down the street with a chain. He always comments that I am insane running so far early each morning…I am like WTF Dude…you are pulling a truck through the neighborhood…One day we will have the Strongman vs Ironman smackdown.