Come out fighting

Jan 5th, 2008


" a good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week."
Gen. George Patton.


WOD Tabata something else.

30 min on Concept II rower. 5740 meters.

20 sec/ 10 sec rest/ 8 sets
pushups
pullups
squats
situps

God bless it, that was a bitch. who in the hell thought that routine up, even I would not have gone that far.

As a bicyclist(among other pursuits), the winter months really sucks to the max. I go from riding 1-2 hrs per day to 1-2 hour per week depending on road and temperature conditions. Now it not as if I stop all exercise just because I can be outside riding, I just use alternate training and activities that will enhance my performance once spring arrives. I going to list and not an exhausted list either, of alternative exercises to keep me from going off my screw from the big change in work load.

I do mainly Crossfit routines with kettlebells. Also, I do a great deal of unilateral Resistance exercises to obtain maximum loading range to each muscle area. Most all exercises are compound with little or no isolation. I also use sand bags, large rubber tires, stones, resistance bands, rings, climbing ropes, etc and even shot puts to provide fitness training without getting stale. Sessions are kept to 30 min, or less. I work for me and it may work for you.


First, the best way to increase strength in an activity is to do that activity. I spend time spinning, or take my bike and turbo on the back porch when the roads are bad and spin for a time. At least you get some fresh air and you can listen to your own music. I also depending on my training, will take the bike on a straight road section, and do sprints. Now if the weather is favorable,which lately has not been , get out at least for a short ride.


To get a full body cross training I can use a Concept II rowing machine for some high end aerobic training. It can be a real heart breaker.....or cardiac arrester, which ever comes first.

Now to improve strength and correct some muscle imbalances, here are a few suggestions to increase strength and endurance for the next season.


Core: that's the buss word for the mid section of you stomach area, which inclues the LPHC or the 29 muscles of the limbo-pelvic-hip-complex. The following exercises will enhance the strength and stability of you "six pak area"

• Plan pushups, dips and pullups. If you can't do full pullups, you can use a gravaton or bands to assist. Pushups are performed knees off ground(no girlie man pushups) lots of reps and it will not build upper body bulk . Full core activation.



• Dumbbell single arm rowing with hand supported on bench. just a couple of heavy sets of 5 reps.



• Plank: Do 30sec to 2 min. hold of the both front and side versions. and finish up with a few "Superman's" movement dishonor of crunches.
  
  
• Ab roller: this you will find has been around for a long time and is very effective fitness tool that you can buy for less than 10 dollars to get a full body workout.



• Sit ups: but I prefer Janda type situps or hanging leg raises.



• Russian twist: standing or seated twisting for the obliques. You can use cable, resistance bands, kettlebells to get that transversal movement.
  

Legs, hips, back:

• Step up squats on a box that is knee height. use body wt first for some high reps, then add resistance with dumbbells. As your strength increases, use the one log squat by not letting support leg to the ground. Difficult but very effective unilateral effect on quads and hip flexors used in cycling.



• Wall squats for joint mobility: stand with toes to wall and squat down keep you face 1 inch from the wall to a full squat position. Not easy at first, but as you hip flexibility gets better, you will be able to squat properly.



• box jumping: start with a 12' high box for 10-20 jumps, then gradually move to 18, then 24" box. The exercise is very taxing on legs and cardio so go easy on progression. It pay big dividends on leg speed( fires those type II muscles) and power without building bulk. ( we don't don't need no stinking bulk for cycling)



• One leg deadlift of suitcase lifting: Performed on one leg to stretch and strengthen the hamstrings, which usually is gross unbalance to quad muscles. You can do the two leg version to start, but you want to progress to the more concentrated one leg version.



• Kettlebell or dumbbell swings: get for hip flexors and range of motion. I favor kettlebell but you can use a single dumbells. High rep will also have a cardio effect.



• Abductors and Abductors cable or resistance bands exercise: swing legs in both directions using a cable unit or rubber resistance bands. Go easy on these as those muscles are usually very tight and not that strong and most ignored. They will be needed for the next riding season.



• Leg press: use one leg at a time. I am not a fan of the leg press machine(I just love squatting) but if you position you feet in the right location and you don't hyperexetend your back, you can get a good leg workout. don't lock the knees for gods sake.



• walking lunges: walking lunge can be done with or without weight. Its a real quad killer done in high reps. When training in the past for ultra trail run I would do a quater or haft mile on the track to condition my leg for the trauma of trail running.



• Hyperextentions: for the spinal erectors for back stability. Avoid coming up too far and you don't need but one or two sets of 15 with no weight. Ham-glut rack would be better but few gyms have them available.



• calf raise: sets of 20 reps, and if you can do that then do the same with one leg. full extension and flexion is need to get the best out of this exercise. No you will not need to stretch after this.....its been done.


• Neck and wrist:
  


• wrist curls: for wrist strength as you spend a lot of time on your wrists when riding. High reps in all direction.



• There are neck machines in most gyms, but you are better off with a neck harness devise, using a very light weight. Don't do a lot of these as your neck will develop quickly and you turn your self in to a bull frog neck
  

What you don't need;

• You are not going to be a power lifter, so don't use heavy weight you can barely handle. Lifting slow and heavy will make you slow and heavy......real simple. So lift light and fast.




• Do all you exercise if possible standing: doing close kinetic exercise will enhance you core and stablity. Stay off bench's and seated exercise machines as you will be spending enough time on you butt riding!



• Say away from a lot of upper body weight taining exercises, like curls, overhead press, triceps presses. They will add bulk you don't need and are mostly cosmetic for a cyclist. If you are really in need in some upper body work, the push ups, dips, and pull ups is all you will ever need unless you want to be a bodybuilder( mirror looking, cosmetic muscle pumper and potential steriod boy) .



• stretching: sstretching can be hazardous to your health if not done correctly, or at the right time. Never stretch prior to or the beginning of training. If you are doing good resistance training, you may not even need to stretch. What should be practiced is joint mobility to retain range of motion, without hyper stretching muscles beyond normal range.



• The use of leg curl or leg extension machines should be use sparingly or not at all. They are isolation movements and if done to often or too much volume, will cause overuse injuries.



• If you are trying to increase you strength them volume is a killer. keep to low endurance cross training and resistance. Its hard to enhance type IIB muscle, when you are working type IA muscle.



• The old saying speed kills does not apply to strength training. going slow makes you slow. rapid ballistic exercise and sprint training is where it at for strength.



• If you are trying to loose weight because you over indulged during the holidays and the reduced riding, don't do a lot of mindless, sub maximal,long aerobic training to get the gut down. You will be doing a lot to long rides as the season starts so limit the distance. Get a good diet you can stick to and eat to train. I use the Palo diet method with works for me but you can try a number of diets plans that will provide you with a balance diet and not some flaky new diet that some one comes out with to sell books. this is the best way to adjust your body weight and body composition. If you want to rip off some weight, go after high intensity exercise, like sprinting, crossfit, or Kettlebell. (but then again that a personal preference)


• Do not throw up on the floor, use the pails provided.