fietser_ivana

Hello guys!

Thought to start with a blasphemous expression.

Haven't been here in ages. One of the reasons is that I've gotten ill in 2004 and since the disease seriously affected my ability to be flexible, haven't touched my road bike ever since.
However, I'd already taken an interested in weight lifting and ... frankly am liking it tons more than cycling.

Errrr that is.. training! All the time I cycled, I loathed the training aspect and if it wasn't for the fact I liked spinning lessons (can't do those anymore either) and was w/o a car so I had to commute everywhere on bicycle, I'd exclusively cycle in weekends or during holidays.

Lifting on the other hand.. I LOVE love love training for.. it's so neat to devise training programs, seeing yourself improve on reps or strength. I've never had this feeling for cycling.. or at least not so much, since (esp outdoor) variables are so different from day to day.

Anyone here who's as much in love with lifting? Or combines them and finds it helpful for cycling performance?

fietser_ivana

Is this question too blasphemic to warrant an answer ?

Nickel

Yup, it's my first love.

Snuffleupagus

I think you fell into the trap of chasing "average speeds" in cycling. To paraphrase Merckx, going after average speed will make you an average cyclist.

Finding good yardsticks to measure on bike improvement is spectacularly easy to do with a power meter, but even if you're not into blowing big boy money on a gadget, you can find a good steep climb and use that as a performance measure. Races are also great places to test your fitness against others.

I lifted/did body building for several years, but got out of it, and more into endurance sports. Mostly because they hurt more. I can also make other people hurt. Lifting lacks that sort of combative, black, seething, anger soaked competition that I so love about road racing.

That said, I wish there was a velodrome nearby so I could both lift and race bikes. There isn't though, so I must lay off the weights and retain my T-Rex physique for road racing

late

Lifiting is great for cycling up to a point. Worry about that point later. Much later..

HillMut

You say training... training for what?

late

gym junkie..

Machka 

Weight lifting gives me a "high" just about every time I do it ... whereas cycling rarely does. I still prefer cycling, but also love weightlifting.

JanMM

You can't get anywhere weightlifting, except maybe to a stronger body. I see the value but haven't recently felt the urge to try a weight machine or free weights, except for the 10 pound hand weights I use once in a while.

Nickel

Or just being healthier overall having some muscle mass, not being skinnyfat, and preventing osteoporosis from all that catabolic cycling.

I like being strong, my project is the flag.

2wheelsonly

Weight lifting is my life. Previously into bodybuilding, but weight lighting is probably a better classification now that I have not competed for years. Turned to cycling within the last year and I have now replaced most of my gym cardio for external cardio (aka mtn or road biking).

What's interesting about cycling is that it's somewhat comparable to weight training for me in that I really enjoy pushing my body to its limits. It allows me to push my body to levels I've not taken it before. I've ridden a 100 miles on my own just to get that feeling that I've given it all I have and seeing what to do after that. What a rush.

BTW, I also post on the bodybuilding.com forum as sdnatural. Lots of good tips there for training and nutrition even for things other than bodybuilding.

fietser_ivana

Of course you can push yourself on a bicycle, and when at it, have more beautiful experiences than you'll ever have in the gym. Nothing compares to climbing a beautiful mountain and enjoy breathtaking views on top.
But training for it? Sorry, it always sucked. Never could bring up any enthousiasm for it.. if it wasn't that up till 2006 my only form of transportation outside public transport was a bicycle, I'd never have cycled as much.
I must say that nowadays there are better instruments available. However, the only time I've had an indoor trainer (into which you can put your bicycle) I was bored to tears. There's still very little feedback while you're at it.
Lifting weights takes less time to see results. And what's more, you see your own physique change.

All the time I was cycling , my abdominal fat just kept growing when off the bike. Probably due to the type of sports I did: long distance randonneuring as well as being a guerilla - camping touring cyclist. Both extremely stressful on the body and not conducive to good health.

Finally, 4 years later I'm finally having the body I'm pleased to look at and don't spend more than 90 mins tops in a gym.
What makes lifting weights so fascinating as opposed to cycling? The way you can manipulate your training and nutrition to make it work. Sometimes I think that cyclists are light years behind on bodybuilders when it comes to finetuning their training. The average cyclist that is.. I'm sure pros are very well trained. But how come that on every single cycling discussion list/forum I've ever been on .. just about 0.1% of the topics deal about training and 0.01% on nutrition?
Why shave off 5grams of your bicycle when you could drop 5 kg of body weight by eating smarter in order to be faster. Or why not train your legs better in the gym, so you have a higher power output.
Or train your back and abdominal muscles, so it will not be as sore after a long ride, since you've got to keep it in the same position for so long?

fietser_ivana

Wow, that's not what I thought you'd be referring to. Thought you were talking about vertical flags.
Hats off to you when you can accomplish that one.
Due to RSI I can't do as much with shoulders than I'd like to, otherwise my project might be handstand push ups. Right now I'm just trying to motivate myself for losing a bit more body fat by seeing the # of pullups go up.
Also, I'd like to take more time for improving on the hang cleans and perhaps go towards power cleans. Nothing did as much for shoulder strength & muscular development as doing cleans did.

As for forums, I'm not often on bodybuilding.com anymore. Used to in 2002-2003 when it was quite a bit smaller.
Now I really like JP Forums (https://forums.jpfitness.com ) (New Rules of Lifting gets a heavy focus here) and for good information BodyRecompostion.com though it's extremely agressive towards people who don't know 'squat' as well as extremephysique.com .

I can easily say that reading about nutrition and training occupies a lot of my free time. Something that never was true when I was 'only' cycling. Like I said before.. cyclists do NOT talk about training/nutrition. I don't know why they are sooooooo engrossed in the technicalities of their bicycles while that's easily the LEAST important part of their cycling performance.

And frankly, if there would be just a bit more of that kind of convo going on, I'd not have turned my back to the cycling community. But as it was.. there was nothing really interesting going on.

jaa1085

That's badass!

Nickel

Yeah I have been working up to the handstand pushup and just doing pike ones until my shoulders are strong enough as they are the weakest part of my self. My hip flexors are pretty strong and I can extend my legs straight out if I prop myself up on my elbow, holding onto the pole.

I love seeing bodyweight accomplishments, partially because I can't always go to a gym and rely on playground equipment but also because I think there is some pretty amazing stuff out there!

Bantam

I like Squatting and I LOVE Deadlifting. I enjoy messing around on gymnastics rings as well. I have to keep the heavy stuff, 2x bodyweight Deadlift, limited to off season so I do not kill myself with racing and race training.
I'd kill for a velodrome...

PunkMartyr

If you want to be a great lifter, measure your progress and go for more

If you want to be a great cyclist, measure your progress and go for more

Snuffleupagus

Maybe one day the mythical Charlotte velodrome will come to fruition. Until then, I can't afford the gas to go out and race in Asheville or Atlanta on a regular basis.

J.W.

I love lifting. I actually havent been on the bike in about 3 weeks due to the fact i was losing too much mass. I am bulking at the moment.

Nothing makes me feel better, physically and emotionally than pumping iron. Especially with some nitric oxide...Mmm NO2, talk about a SUPER PUMP!

fietser_ivana

Must say that I'm torn about deciding whether or not to get my touring/randonneuring bicycle revamped. It's been in a humid bike shed for nearly 4 yrs after having been used on a near-daily basis for 7 years and logged about 70 000 K (almost 45K miles) on it.
It's going to cost major €€€ to get it revamped.

And you know what motivates me most to get it re-vamped?
My nearly disappearing hamstrings! Only late 2003 I finally got the cranks I'd needed for nearly 30 years but never had.. viz. 150mm instead of the 165 I had (or the 170mm standard size). So, between autumn 2003 and Jan 2004 when I got ill, there was only 3 mo. to develop more hamstrings size as I *finally* was able to not just push but also PULL with the cleats. These f*ing stupid bike people always claiming how not a single person was in need of cranks smaller than 165mm yada yada..

Anyway, when you have long hamstrings (I can touch the floor with my hands, despite ossified lower back), it's very difficult to put some size on them when you only lift weights.
There's very few gyms with GHR (glute-ham raise stations),Romanian DLs don't really work THAT well and while lying leg curls are good, my current gym has only seated leg curls.
If I'd not be such a chicken (or rather have stronger shoulders) I might really try to do the actual snatches & clean+jerks as I've seen pix of girls doing these and they generally have fantastic legs!

Soooooo who knows.. sprinting with my own bicycle and only pulling up the pedals (I've got Speedplay Frogs on them), might just do the trick?

JW: NO products aren't just for 'teh PUMP" which actually (as my bf tells me) is NOT better than cumming but has a useful function , viz. better blood flow and more oxygen delivery. Frankly .. even more useful for cyclists who barely use them, than for weight lifting.

J.W.

You're preaching to the choir!

It really plays a role in "Transiant Hypertrophy", and of course oxygen delivery and all that good stuff. I agree that it is also very effective for endurance athlete's....another reason i take it. Probably another reason it is a banned substance by the governing bodys of cycling....

fietser_ivana

Not Oxygeno, which is the NO product I'm using sometimes (my bf uses it more often).

late

Why not just get the bike on the road? Get some new tires, a tune up, and head out.

If you want to update it, buy the bits and pieces here and there when you can afford it. Next year you'll have your major revamp.

EatMyA**

Those two are also my favorites. And getting stronger will have a better impact on your health than getting more endurance, because "STRENGTH IS HEALTH". but cycling is a close second favorite to training.

JoeG

my best ham and quad workouts have been speed reps of squats and Romanian deads and riding home from the gym. Geez, slice some ****in' bananas in your post workout shake cause' your going to cramp up after haha