Winter leg weight training

[mdk555]

MTB sounds great but just the other day I asked the hub if anyone had a tandem MTB to lend me so that I can try the sport and kinda got zip resposnce

 

You can always contact Maverick in Somerset West - they have a MTB tandem, and are often looking for a gullible soul to ride stoker....

Thanks Velouria, will give them a call.

[BikeMax]

 

 

At the end of the day if you want to improve your cycling you need to cycle' date=' doing other forms of exercise does have benefits but the most improvement will only come from TRAINING ON THE BIKE.

If the weather is a problem then the only solution is to use an IDT and do specific quality training to improve the areas you feel you need to improve in i.e. hill climbing.

[/quote']

 

100%

 

[mdk555]

Bikemax, in the winter months we do quite a bit of hiking in the Table Mountain area up some very steep valleys, will this be good or bad for leg strength?

[Wonder Woman]

How do you improve hill climbing on an indoor trainer??

[mdk555]

How do you improve hill climbing on an indoor trainer??

Increase resistance

[BikeMax]

 

Bikemax' date=' in the winter months we do quite a bit of hiking in the Table Mountain area up some very steep valleys, will this be good or bad for leg strength?

[/quote']

 

Mike

 

The issue to get your head around here is that leg strength is never a limiting factor in endurance cycling performance. cardiovascular ability is the limter.

 

So by hiking you may be developing CV fitness (or more likely maintaining it to a degree) but it will not improve your cycling. It will only make it worse if you miss bike training sessions as a result.

 

[SwissVan]

How do you improve hill climbing on an indoor trainer??

Increase resistance

 

Basically Increase resistance he he' date=' not easy simulating hills on a IDT.<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

One of the tricks with an IDT is to try and do the same as what you would doing the real thing, even going as far as using the recovery periods to simulate riding down hill (loooow resistance big gear light pedaling or spinning with a corresponding drop in HR / EFFORT.

 

You can also try the following:

 

?          Add an extra block (couple of inches high) of something under the front wheel to simulate an uphill gradient (apparently this helps to activate the correct hill climbing muscles).

?          Don?t just grind heavy gears, mix it up by alternating a few minutes at different cadences (whilst keeping within your training zone) i.e.  With a resistance setting slightly higher than normal do 1minute each @ 75 rpm, 85rpm, 95 rpm, 100rpm, 95 rpm, 85 rpm 75 rpm ? recover 5 ? 7 minutes with easy resistance and repeat x 2 [ do only 1 if it is the 1^st time, progressing to 2 and 3 or more as you get used to it'].

?          Do some low cadence (75 ? 80 rpm) pedaling with a slightly higher gear setting (at a normal resistance) keeping the effort /  HR < 80% max, start off with 1 rep building up to 8 reps of 10 min with 5 -10min recovery between.

?          Set a higher resistance to simulate +/- 5-8% gradient and do some short 1-2 minute HARD race like efforts (like you are chasing a breakaway / attack), followed by 1 minute at a slightly lower effort, then repeat until you cannot maintain the speed obtained in the first effort.

Have IDT, HAVE FUN...

[Marius]

YOU DON'T GET OUT MUCH EY SWISS???

[BikeMax]

 

How do you improve hill climbing on an indoor trainer??

Increase resistance

 

Basically Increase resistance he he' date=' not easy simulating hills on a IDT.

 

One of the tricks with an IDT is to try and do the same as what you would doing the real thing, even going as far as using the recovery periods to simulate riding down hill (loooow resistance big gear light pedaling or spinning with a corresponding drop in HR / EFFORT.

 

You can also try the following:

 

?          Add an extra block (couple of inches high) of something under the front wheel to simulate an uphill gradient (apparently this helps to activate the correct hill climbing muscles).

?          Don?t just grind heavy gears, mix it up by alternating a few minutes at different cadences (whilst keeping within your training zone) i.e.  With a resistance setting slightly higher than normal do 1minute each @ 75 rpm, 85rpm, 95 rpm, 100rpm, 95 rpm, 85 rpm 75 rpm ? recover 5 ? 7 minutes with easy resistance and repeat x 2 [ do only 1 if it is the 1^st time, progressing to 2 and 3 or more as you get used to it'].

?          Do some low cadence (75 ? 80 rpm) pedaling with a slightly higher gear setting (at a normal resistance) keeping the effort /  HR < 80% max, start off with 1 rep building up to 8 reps of 10 min with 5 -10min recovery between.

?          Set a higher resistance to simulate +/- 5-8% gradient and do some short 1-2 minute HARD race like efforts (like you are chasing a breakaway / attack), followed by 1 minute at a slightly lower effort, then repeat until you cannot maintain the speed obtained in the first effort.

Have IDT, HAVE FUN...

 

Just as a rider to that;

 

1. The elevation trick (riser) block has been shown to have no effect

 

2. Cadence is largely irrelevant as it is the intensity that matters - lets not forget that we are not trying to increase strength here and so low cadence has no bearing

 

3. Generally the limiter to climbing is FTP (60 min power) and this is best trained with efforts of >15 mins at 95-105% FTP or around 85-90% MHR - so an ideal IDT session for improving climbing would be 2 x 20 mins with 10 min rest in between.

 

4. Keep it simple and be sure to get the intensity right - not much else matters.

 

[SwissVan]

1. The elevation trick (riser) block has been shown to have no effect

2. Cadence is largely irrelevant as it is the intensity that matters - lets not forget that we are not trying to increase strength here and so low cadence has no bearing

3. Generally the limiter to climbing is FTP (60 min power) and this is best trained with efforts of >15 mins at 95-105% FTP or around 85-90% MHR - so an ideal IDT session for improving climbing would be 2 x 20 mins with 10 min rest in between.

4. Keep it simple and be sure to get the intensity right - not much else matters.

 

 

Well I cannot vouch for the elevation trick either, never really bothered to try it out.

AS FOR THE OTHER STUFF, well there are many ways to kill a cat climb a hill I guess.

 

Some of the routines I suggested where given to me by a rather well known Italian cycling coach, albeit only a small portion of his training program he gave me for mtb marathon training (hills basically ).

The sessions I suggested (first 2) help to pass time quickly on an IDT as you have to concentrate on a few things as well as developing the systems to go onto more advanced hill work.

 

Agree that the 20 min sessions as you suggested are ideal for hills but can be very tough if you have not conditoned yourself for that intensity first.

 

Aah 3 x 20 minutes at 85% MHR brings back good memories...

 

 

 

 

[SwissVan]

YOU DON'T GET OUT MUCH EY SWISS???

 

Hehehe Winter is loooongwetanddark so you have to be inventive...

 

 

[Guest Michelle]

My step-mom swears by weight training all year round.  Considering that she was once a professional triathlete (competing in ironman events locally & internationally) I'm not going to argue with her.  She says it helps her towards the end of long races & she suffers on the bike when she doesn't go to the gym!  Her advice to me was that because I've only been riding for a short while is that I need to go out & find what works for me... basically try everything... if it doesn't work, try something else.

Personally.. I'm going to give the gym thing a go for a few months & monitor my progress with my power meter. 

 

Now if only I could get over this flu bug so that I can start training again

[mdk555]

<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Thanks for all the replies. Last winter I hit the gym hard to try and loose 14kgs I put on after giving up smoking (now is 1 year, 5 months, 3 days, 16hrs and a few minutes) and also did a lot of hiking in and about Table Mountain.  

 

When I jumped back on the bike (still 10kg up but with more muscle) I felt strong like Mother Russia and must have been strong cause my PPA seeding went from K to H. Presume some of it (K-H) can also have something to do with my Boet (7 years older than me) who joined me on the tandem but then again his seeding, also with some winter Mt hiking went from O to I.

 

Guess the best, depending on what you want from cycling, is as Michelle?s Ma=in law says ? do what is best/works for you. Michelle, please PM me with the results from the power meter.

[ChrisH]

How do you improve hill climbing on an indoor trainer??

Put a very big book under the front wheel.

[narra]

 

Nice write up on the subject at www.pponlie.co.uk

Strength Training And The Importance Of Leg Exercises: Novice, Expert and Club Cyclists

 

Go read the hole thing at there site, but I will post the summary hear:

Summary

Strength training may improve cycling performance through increased

leg power, a greater ability to cope with local fatigue and improved

upper body stability. However, this has yet to be proved in research.

In beginners and club level cyclists, more cycling is probably the best

way to improve performance. Taking time out from cycling to do strength

training will probably lead to a decline in cycling efficiency and

skill level. The exceptions are abdominal and lower back exercises that

can help prevent lower back pain.

Once skill and aerobic fitness levels have improved through normal

cycling training, performance can be improved through introducing high

intensity training even during the competitive season. This is a very

specific way of inducing load onto the legs that forces local

adaptations to take place. Just doing ever-larger volumes of cycling

may well lead to overtraining.

For elite level cyclists, introducing explosive strength and body

weight exercises is likely to improve sprint and short hill climbing

performance. Traditional strength exercises, however, may be

detrimental in that they increase muscle mass and size, adding to the

air and gravitational resistances that cyclists need to overcome.

 

The important thing to remember is that new stimuli force the body to

adapt and improvements in performance are made. New training methods

should not be used in addition to existing training. Instead, try to

keep one or two sessions a week aside for variety. These may include

strength training, HIT or core work.

 

narra2007-04-16 08:52:27

[Windbreaker]

 

Basically Increase resistance he he' date=' not easy simulating hills on a IDT.

 

One of the tricks with an IDT is to try and do the same as what you would doing the real thing, even going as far as using the recovery periods to simulate riding down hill (loooow resistance big gear light pedaling or spinning with a corresponding drop in HR / EFFORT.

 

You can also try the following:

 

?          Add an extra block (couple of inches high) of something under the front wheel to simulate an uphill gradient (apparently this helps to activate the correct hill climbing muscles).

?          Don?t just grind heavy gears, mix it up by alternating a few minutes at different cadences (whilst keeping within your training zone) i.e.  With a resistance setting slightly higher than normal do 1minute each @ 75 rpm, 85rpm, 95 rpm, 100rpm, 95 rpm, 85 rpm 75 rpm ? recover 5 ? 7 minutes with easy resistance and repeat x 2 [ do only 1 if it is the 1^st time, progressing to 2 and 3 or more as you get used to it'].

?          Do some low cadence (75 ? 80 rpm) pedaling with a slightly higher gear setting (at a normal resistance) keeping the effort /  HR < 80% max, start off with 1 rep building up to 8 reps of 10 min with 5 -10min recovery between.

?          Set a higher resistance to simulate +/- 5-8% gradient and do some short 1-2 minute HARD race like efforts (like you are chasing a breakaway / attack), followed by 1 minute at a slightly lower effort, then repeat until you cannot maintain the speed obtained in the first effort.

Have IDT, HAVE FUN...

Just as a rider to that;

1. The elevation trick (riser) block has been shown to have no effect

2. Cadence is largely irrelevant as it is the intensity that matters - lets not forget that we are not trying to increase strength here and so low cadence has no bearing

3. Generally the limiter to climbing is FTP (60 min power) and this is best trained with efforts of >15 mins at 95-105% FTP or around 85-90% MHR - so an ideal IDT session for improving climbing would be 2 x 20 mins with 10 min rest in between.

4. Keep it simple and be sure to get the intensity right - not much else matters.

 

Bikemax, I definitely believe that FTP is key BUT I have been wondering about the cadence thing for a while now. As you probably know, I tend to do most of my intervals (L4 & L5) on hills because

a) It is difficult to find a flat piece of road that will let me do 20 minutes @ L4 uninterupted

b) because it's easier.

 

I can't achieve the same output on the flats as I can on the hills and I've come to the conclusion that it's because I am not training at higher cadence.

 

It seems to me that the effect is different on the body i.e. ftp @ 75-85rpm feels a whole lot different to ftp @ 95-105rpm. Maybe I'm just still soft.