Terence Hope Posted March 9, 2016 Share So, who does cross training? What have you found to be the benefits? What have you found to be the 'down sides' if any? How often are you cross training? Do you adopt the 'muscle balance' form of training, ie: stabilisers and muscle you don't predominantly use while riding, but add to your overall endurance and power output?Reason for this topic is that I have been running these cross training sessions with a group of guys from our 'club', we have all noticed big changes and improvements, I want to see what others have to say about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monark Posted March 9, 2016 Share Go sit on a spinning bike, now turn up to a climbing load and start a hard seated climb (warm up first), remain seated and then take one hand and put it behind your back but keep the other on the bar.... then stand on the same tension and do the same thing... a good indication of how strong/weak your core is... if you struggle.... start cross training.... (I am not a doctor but this is how I assess where I am strength wise. I focus a lot of energy on core strength and lower back strength) Edited March 9, 2016 by Monark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter-morgan Posted March 9, 2016 Share I do Crosstraining(Crossfit) 2 to 3 times a week and it mostly helped me with Climbing with mountain-biking, endurance has improved quite a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingScot Posted March 9, 2016 Share Out of interest, what exercises do you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HdB Posted March 9, 2016 Share I'd be quite interested in hearing what exercises you do as well. I'm joining my wife at crossfit, starting tonight, to see if it helps me with some of the imbalances.Picked up a niggle in my left knee at some point last year caused by an imbalance, and I'm hoping that this will help avoid similar problems. If it makes me faster as well, bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadenceblur Posted March 9, 2016 Share Have you guys seen Nino Shurter's latest video?That's him though... Blokman, Suidwes Boytjie, SwissVan and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HdB Posted March 9, 2016 Share Have you guys seen Nino Shurter's latest video?That's him though...I saw it, yes. Hectic!I just know if I attempt most of those things, muscle imbalances would be the least of my worries... Carpediem 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard29 Posted March 9, 2016 Share I'd be quite interested in hearing what exercises you do as well. I'm joining my wife at crossfit, starting tonight, to see if it helps me with some of the imbalances.Picked up a niggle in my left knee at some point last year caused by an imbalance, and I'm hoping that this will help avoid similar problems. If it makes me faster as well, bonus.good luck two weeks of pain when you start crossfit..... but dont stop Dexter-morgan and HdB 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisan Posted March 9, 2016 Share I'd be quite interested in hearing what exercises you do as well. I'm joining my wife at crossfit, starting tonight, to see if it helps me with some of the imbalances.Picked up a niggle in my left knee at some point last year caused by an imbalance, and I'm hoping that this will help avoid similar problems. If it makes me faster as well, bonus. I know people like to sh** on CF just because it is CF, but I am honestly asking - does it really help with imbalance? Strength yes absolutely! I'd imagine that Pilates for example would be more helping when it comes to imbalance. I've been doing running and swimming for cross training. Can't really say whether or not I observed any benefits, but muscle imbalances like hamstring / glute tightness did become more prominent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HdB Posted March 9, 2016 Share I know people like to sh** on CF just because it is CF, but I am honestly asking - does it really help with imbalance? Strength yes absolutely! I'd imagine that Pilates for example would be more helping when it comes to imbalance. I've been doing running and swimming for cross training. Can't really say whether or not I observed any benefits, but muscle imbalances like hamstring / glute tightness did become more prominent.No idea, but I'm willing to give it a try, plus it sounds like fun. I'll chat to the instructor too, to get his opinion on it.My GP gave me a basic exercise to do, specifically for the knee pain I was having. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Hope Posted March 10, 2016 Share CF works, no doubt ( I own a CF box though so maybe a bit bias). The thing with CF is that it doesn't target specific muscle imbalances and is not targeted to cycling specifically. Yes, it helps with general conditioning and strength, and also is invaluable when it comes to HR intervals etc, but you are able to achieve MUCH better results training specifically, with a certain element of CF. Knee pain, lower back pain etc are normally symptoms of muscle imbalance, even upper back pain while riding. Hamstring , glute , stabilisers are what we target , Single leg exercises to avoid compensation by the dominant muscles etc. If you in and around the Fourways area, give me a shout, join us one evening and you can see for yourself what it is we do. HdB and FlyingScot 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Hope Posted March 10, 2016 Share Have you guys seen Nino Shurter's latest video?That's him though...Awesome example of cross training. if the pros are doing it, then?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted March 10, 2016 Share I know people like to sh** on CF just because it is CF, but I am honestly asking - does it really help with imbalance? Strength yes absolutely! I'd imagine that Pilates for example would be more helping when it comes to imbalance. I've been doing running and swimming for cross training. Can't really say whether or not I observed any benefits, but muscle imbalances like hamstring / glute tightness did become more prominent.It works, IF you adopt or are trained in the proper form as well as the movement. If you don't have the proper form, you are likely to hurt yourself... Monark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monark Posted March 10, 2016 Share Agree with Myles, I know of many people that have been injured at CF due to poor form and maybe even a lack of experience from the trainers at those specific venues. CF is great but you need to ease into it due to its HIT nature. Yoga and Pilates are also great... Yoga hurts me but I feel great about 3 days later once I can walk straight again (I am as flexible as a pane of glass) Edited March 10, 2016 by Monark EmptyB and Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jva Posted March 10, 2016 Share I find cross training very beneficial. Not that young so I have to keep working to keep muscles firm and flexible. I Try to do cycling specific strength training in the gym with a focus on core strength. It has made a big difference to my riding and you can really get your leg strength up. I follow a lot of the training exercises Joe Friel has in his book, The mountain bikers training bible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Dale Posted March 10, 2016 Share It's crucial One can have a strong engineBut the chassis is integral to how the racing car performs Jva 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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