I have just added weight training to my schedule and had a question.
I don’t want to gain any more muscle, just make what I have stronger. I have been told that I need to do more repetitions with lower weight. I am concerned about the type of muscle I would be building. I obviously want muscle for endurance (slowtwitch muscles) but I have a lot of fast twitch built up from years of hockey.
Does weight training add to what I allready have or does it build new muscle fibers?
Is there a way to convert what I allready have or do I need to lose the muscle? (I wouldn’t know how to if it’s possible.)
If you are new to triathlon then put the time into training for sport specific events (s/b/r and transitions) - if you have a limiter in climbing on the bike then you should weight train and after a good base period you would want to throw in some heavier weight to get stronger and maximize your strength to weight ratio.
All that being said - in general hockey players tend to have very a good strength to weight to weight ratio - and you may not need to weight train at all - and you could do some big gear rding as ‘strength training’ on the bike or run hills for run strength.
Also - your fear of putting on mass is probably unfounded - in general most triathletes are lean and have a hard time putting on more then 3-4 pounds - and if they do, the strength they gain offsets the difference. IF you are stocky and tend to bulk up then maybe stay away.
If you want to lean out and lose muscle then you need to run - a lot. That is what I have found to be effective.
i started training with weight just after Christmas, and it’s all upper body and core strength training.
i’m actually trying to get my upper body and core much stronger and built up. dont listen to all these coaches who say otherwise, upper body strength really does contribute to more efficient cycling by providing a strong “anchor” to the bike. it also will allow you to fatigue less.
hey, if lance works his core, check out the TDF photos and compare LA to Tyler,
Speaking from my own experience I think that weight training is good in the off season and it is a good break from running and cycling outside during the cold months of the winter. It will definitely make you stronger. I follow the Joel Friel approach outlined in the book “The Cyclist Training Bible”. I have found that I can ride up hills in one or two smaller cogs as a result of weight lifting over the winter. Also I think that it contributes to strengthening of bones and tendons that will prevent injuries. Be careful not to injure yourself weight training too.
You should expect to gain some weight during the off season and from lifting weights. Also I have found that intense weight lifting impacts on ability to complete aerobic workouts because I’m just to tired to cycle or run from the weight lifting. This is a picture of me hack squatting during the “maximum weight phase” that’s 850 pounds!
Any comparisons to Lance Armstrong or other pro’s that ride in the TDF is basically irrelevant for me an age grouper in the 45 to 50 age group. I’m in a whole different league with different criteria and different agenda.
Of course, you could look at Tyler and say, wow, looks like you don’t need too much upper body to be that good. I’d “settle” for his ability any day :).
More repetition with lower weight is the exact OPPOSITE of what you should do to avoid gaining muscle.
If you do want to lift, do 2-3 sets of 5 using your 7-10 rep max weight. In other words, do the 5 reps using weight that’s low enough so that you could squeeze out 2 or 3 more clean reps. Also, take longish breaks between reps(3-5 minutes). This type of workout should mostly stress your nervous system, the key to strength gains, without adding mass, unless of course you’re one of those ‘easy gainer’ genetic freaks ;), < 5% of the population.
I normally gain muscle mass very easily - especially the lower body. But with running 25-30 miles a week and biking 100+ miles that aint gonna happen. If you have lifted in the past and are secure in your technique then lift for strength and power - forget the high reps. Better to put your energy into more SB&R than countless boring reps.
i’m actually trying to get my upper body and core much stronger and built up. dont listen to all these coaches who say otherwise, upper body strength really does contribute to more efficient cycling by providing a strong “anchor” to the bike. it also will allow you to fatigue less.
if you’re not strong enough (pre weight training) to sit on your bike and support yourself then there’s something seriously wrong with you, such that you won’t be bothered whether you can go fast or not on your bike. Upper body strength does not make you more efficient, and nor would it positively alter your fatigue.
weights won’t make you better at cycling unless you fall in to a few specific categories (such that in most of these cases any exercise would make you better)
Gains in size come form two things. Diet and genetics. I have studied bodybuilders lift schedules and they are all over the board.
So don’t worry about it and feel good about your increase in strength.
As far as Tyler Hamilton goes forget it. He is in a unique position. Your average Joe benifits from being strong.
Wieght training is good. Those who say it is bad just don’t like to lift wieghts.
weight training increases strength. Your average Joe (a sedentary person?) will probably benefit from weights (and any and all exercise). On the other hand, irrespective of whether i like to lift weights or not, weight training won’t increase (endurance) cycling performance (except in untrained, low fitness people, people with a functional disability, etc).
There’s a time and a place for everything. If you haven’t lifted in a while (>8 weeks) you NEED to start out with high rep/low weight work to build ligament/tendon strength before you hit the big weights. You can very easily develop muscle stength that will exceed the ligament/tendon strength. This is a recipe for a very nasty injury. You have to periodize your weight training the same way you periodize other aspects of training. Build the base first (nothing glamorous here) then go for the strength gains after you’ve prepared your body to handle the load. There are some great thoughts and some sample strength plans on Gordo’s site (under strength training):
Who on this board has an honest to god shot at the Ironman world championships or the olympics? Anyone?
Parce your numbers and get all technical till the cows come home but most people have a life outside of triathlons. Wieght training can help you in everyday life.
As we age muscle mass goes. Add and maintain some now and you will proably have a more active and healthy golden years. In real life people move, clean out sheds, put up cieling fans, etc. All made easier by a little extra muscle.
Any girls want to tell me that if there skinny triguy develops a little size in thier arms or a little width in the shoulder you would complain?
We all like to act like we are training to win the Ironman but whats wrong with training for other areas of life?
The original poster and the people to whom i responded were directly asking about endurance/cycling performance, so that’s where my answer lay.
as regards ageing and muscle mass, typically the decreases in endurance performance (i.e., LT and VO2 max) occur at much earlier age than loss of strength, further supporting the suggestion that the endurance aspect is way more important than the strength gains.
i don’t believe that the question was aimed at whether we’re good looking or not with big or small muscles, but i’d say there’s allsorts in this world, and i’m positive not everyone likes bigger muscles.
I seem to remember that this was a hot topic of discussion a few weeks back. And the more I thought about your arguments (and reviewed your evidence) the more it started to make sense to me that doing weights probably doesn’t help triathlon performance. I wonder though what you think about weights for injury prevention. Is there any evidence to support the widely-held belief that it does prevent one from getting hurt?
I seem to remember that this was a hot topic of discussion a few weeks back. And the more I thought about your arguments (and reviewed your evidence) the more it started to make sense to me that doing weights probably doesn’t help triathlon performance. I wonder though what you think about weights for injury prevention. Is there any evidence to support the widely-held belief that it does prevent one from getting hurt?
Kim
Kim,
it (weights) will likely hinder tri performance (as well as not helping). Certainly, there’s no evidence that doing weights will prevent injury in cycling, and i’m not sure there’s any in running. furthermore, i know and/or know of several world class runners who don’t do any weight training.
Thanks everyone for the info, I was concerned about putting on weight but it looks like that myth has been debunked. My focus for weight training has been really been for swimming, not biking. In fact, I love climbing with the bike. I normally pull away from my friends while climbing. Mike, it’s funny that you’re the first one to reply to me. You happen to be my coaches’ coach, He actually gave me strength training with big gear riding on the bike last summer.
Thanks, I found Gordo’s tips very interesting. I never thought about the ligament/tendon strength thing. I’m going to use his core strength routines as well as his others.
Still kind of sorry about our chain cleaning debate last summer. I think I was a bit closed minded.
