anyone have any weight training schedules that really had a positive effect on your cycling or running?
Although I could outline a really effective total body routine as well…I’ll just give you my #1 exercise for building your leg strength…
Smith Machine Lunges. When you do lunges on a Smith machine they become, in effect, one legged squats. Be really conservative on the weight you use, as you want to really be able to get low enough to get into your cycling range of motion. If you go too heavy you’ll find yourself using a limited range of motion and you might as well not be doing them. For reference…I can do a normal squat with over 400 lbs for sets of 8…but for the Smith lunges I only put 25 to 30 lbs on each side. I go as low as I can, sliding the rear leg back as I go. Another thing using too much weight will do is force you to use your rear leg. Your rear leg should optimally not bear any weight at all…just resting behind you enough to provide a bit of stability (which is not all that necessary since you are using a Smith machine. All the work should be born by your forward leg. The most I ever use for these is 45lbs on each side of the bar…any more than that and I really start to use both legs to complete the exercise. Again…focusing the effort on one leg and getting low enough to be in your cycling range of motion is the key to the effectiveness of this exercise.
One other note…proper execution of this also relies quite a bit on good core strength.
Check out: http://www.byrn.org/gtips/gtips.htm#f
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And it’s a great way to trash your knees and back. Smith machines are NOTORIOUS for doing that. It’s just that some people have managed to escape that and therefore think they are safe machines. Au contraire.
Lifting will do little to nothing for your endurance sports, unless you are really weak. If you want to beef up, well, that’s another story. Squats (not Smith), deadlifts, weighted dips, chins/pulldowns, will about cover it all. Everything else is just overlapping or unnecessary (unless you like other lifts better and/or are uncomfy with these).
I have been squatting(free weight w/ barbell) and deadlifitng for the last few years(year round); along with upperbody and core stuff.
It has done wonders to my power on the bike… I notice it the most by staying seating and still having that “jump” to respond to a jump or attack.
I top off the squatting with 135lbs and do a 100 rep-set… Its about a 5 minute effort and my knees are shoulder-width apart. This has really been a staple in helping my time trialing and XC racing.
Oh yeah, I just race bikes, so I guess I can afford to trash my legs more without having to race tri’s …
FWIW
You are wrong on most accounts.
You’re probably referring to some studies that indicate no correlation between weight training and endurance sports. Many of those have later been rebutted by better studies. In most cases there is a fatal flaw in the original study. I will agree with you, however, that the number of movements necessary is minimal. For instance, there is no earthly reason for endurance athletes to do things like iso-curls, six kinds of bench-press, etc…one basic movement is all that is required. And compound movements are the most desirable.
You are correct, however, that Smith machines are notorious…but I will contend that is because they are used INCORRECTLY. For one thing…I nearly always see folks using too much weight. Too much weight, combined with a restricted movement vector is a recipe for injury. Used correctly, however…they can be valuable tools.
“You’re probably referring to some studies that indicate no correlation between weight training and endurance sports. Many of those have later been rebutted by better studies. In most cases there is a fatal flaw in the original study.”
Of course I say I’ll never get into these debates again, but could you please provide some support for the aforementioned three sentences?
Thanks
You are wrong on most accounts.
You’re probably referring to some studies that indicate no correlation between weight training and endurance sports. Many of those have later been rebutted by better studies. In most cases there is a fatal flaw in the original study. I will agree with you, however, that the number of movements necessary is minimal. For instance, there is no earthly reason for endurance athletes to do things like iso-curls, six kinds of bench-press, etc…one basic movement is all that is required. And compound movements are the most desirable.
You are correct, however, that Smith machines are notorious…but I will contend that is because they are used INCORRECTLY. For one thing…I nearly always see folks using too much weight. Too much weight, combined with a restricted movement vector is a recipe for injury. Used correctly, however…they can be valuable tools.
Dude, you mean I’m right on most accounts!
Smiths are rarely good for anything. They force you into a fixed bad path for presses (though a few years of it didn’t hurt me at the time, I wonder if my multiple shoulder ailments now are from that). It forces you into a posture that is very tough on the low back and/or knees (shearing forces) if you squat. Don’t take my word for it; look at what real powerlifters say about them. Best use is to rack it high and chin from it. Seriously.
To the 135x100 squatter… that is indeed manly, and more than 2x as many reps as I ever did. I doubt it does much for your triathlon performance, though. If you are also a trackie, then it’s certainly beneficial for that.
Here- this is from another one of my posts from a previous weight trainign thread-
Do not isolate body parts, but rather train movements. The human body is integrated and multiplanner, asymetrical dynamic explosive and rarely static. No single joint, single plane stabalized exercise can compare to the benefits provided by movement based training.
At Functionally Innovative Training, we have been doing allot of strength based research with athletes in NYC training at commercial health clubs and this is one of the conclusions that we have come about. It seems more and more of athletes are working harder to become stronger and healthier. These athletes are constantly working to improve their activities by increasing their flexibility, strength, endurance, and power. A tremendous amount of athletes are performing high-level activities even though they are inefficient in their fundamental movements. These individuals create poor movement patterns, train around a pre-existing problem or simply do not train their weakness during their strength and conditioning programs. People are spending thousands of dollars on their bikes to become “faster” but spend little when it comes to their actual performance enhancement and or injury prevention.
In today’s evolving training and conditioning market, athletes and individuals have access to a huge arsenal of equipment and workout programs; however, the best equipment and programs cannot produce if the fundamental weaknesses are not exposed. The idea behind strength training is to individualize each workout program based on your weak link. This weak link is a physical or functional limitation. In order to isolate the weak link, the body’s fundamental movement patterns should be considered. Most people do not begin strength and conditioning or rehabilitative programs by determining if they have adequate movement patterns- but they should. By looking at the movement patterns and not just one area, a weak link can be identified. This will enable the individual, strength and conditioning coach, athletic trainer or fitness professional to focus on that area. If this weak link is not identified, the body will compensate, causing inefficient movements. It is this type of inefficiency that can cause a decrease in performance and an increase in injuries.
Once you can determine if you have a weak link or not, you can then start on movement based stability and mobility work. Another interesting piece of info that we have found in our research is athletes will always sacrifice quality of motion to maintain quantity of motion and in turn develop compensatory movement patterns in order to overcome functional deficits. An example of this is how an athlete will develop hip stiffness due to athletic participation. This is a result of the muscle hypertrophy and movement patterns that occur due to training and participation sports. When the hips become stiff in the end ranges of flexion, extension and adduction, the lumbar spine will have to sacrifice its stability at the expense of greater mobility. Excessive flexion, extension and rotation will occur at the lumbar spine in an attempt to compensate for a relative decreased stride length during running caused by the stiffness in the hips. Therefore, an athlete who has a slight decrease in range of motion may lose 2-3 inches in their stride and they will compensate by using poor body mechanics. This compensatory movement pattern is a temporary strategy and, although straight-ahead speed may be maintained, the ability to maintain it efficiently over long periods of time may be altered. This situation will predispose the athlete to develop micro trauma, or excessive wear and tear on the body. Imagine if your stride is shortened by 2-3 inches, and you run at a rate of 90 strides a minute. That is 3 inches per stride times 90 in a minute- now figure how many inches/feet/miles you can save or make up in an Ironman marathon.
Long long story short, work on your movement patterns for your strength training program. First identify potential biomechanical weaknesses and work on turning them into a strength and prevent injury and your weight program will help you tremendously.
“Too much weight, combined with a restricted movement vector is a recipe for injury. Used correctly, however…they can be valuable tools.”
I use a Smitt machine for one purpose only: Reverse push ups - It’s like a chin up crossed with a row. The Smith machine FORCES your body (legs and back on squats, shoulders on bench press) through a range of motion that is constrained by the machine. On a proper squat, your shoulders should move forward, but can’t with a Smith, bench press should use an arc of motion starting above the chest and ending above your chin.
Far better exercises and methodologies exist to do any exercise - including lunges - without the Smith.
“Smiths are rarely good for anything They force you into a fixed bad path…”
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- Amen to that brother!
“I wonder if my multiple shoulder ailments now are from that.”
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- I’d put money on it.
“To the 135x100 squatter… that is indeed manly, and more than 2x as many reps as I ever did. I doubt it does much for your triathlon performance, though.”
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- This is one of the best leg strength exercises for muscular endurance. Right up there with big-gear seated climbing. If you’re not a strong climber or sprinter, all the more important. Proper periodization would also call for some shorter sets for greater strength.