My learning from last year is to do 5x5 3/w now through Christmas, then when I switch to season training proper drop to 1/w at a self selected maintenance load
I start base on Wednesday this week and considering once a week 3x5 alongside it. And to keep this up for 12 weeks of base and drop it when start build.
Seriously give Scientific Triathlonās 19 week plan a look. There are other cycling specific plans out there, itās not the only one.
Hmmm.
Iāve just gone to 5x5 3 times a week from 3x5 throughout the year (albeit inconsistently). Pleased with the progression so far and has me motivated for more. Iām planning on continuing this with some low intensity bike, run and swim until my plan proper starts as which I plan on scaling back to 3x5 3 times a week during base proper and then cutting back further once build starts.
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Iāve started up weight training again after a break because of the pandemic. Iām taking it easy - Iām 69 and need to act my age ;-). Iāve also dropped the volume/intensity of my bike workouts for this month and plan to continue to do that for December and January. My CTL is 83 now and I want to bring it down to around 70. My coach strongly advised me to not let it drop below 60.
One of my limiters is my lower back, i.e. I did a few light deadlifts and my back was not happy about it.
The problem isnāt my lower back, though. Itās my glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings, etc, i.e. all the muscles that help stabilize my back and pelvis. If they arenāt activated or are too tight, you canāt do a deadlift or a squat properly.
I found this great resource on YouTube, Precision Movement by Eric Wong, to help me with that. The channel has a lot of simple exercises designed to activate those muscles and restore full range of motion. Thereās an app to go with it, of course, and Iām using it daily but the YouTube channel has tons of routines. They are not particularly strenuous but they are effective and sensible.
Just thought Iād share this resource in case someone else might find it useful.
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With shitty shoulder external rotation and generally crap posture, and not very developed traps, numerous attempts of trying to get proper barbell back squat form resulted in rotator cuff , tennis elbow, and neck issues. This year I bought a safety squat bar. Way happier shoulders and upper back now.
hi I thank that is okay!
Because consensus is make strength training after endurance training.
And note endurance training need 3-6hr let AMPK is low.
If after endurance training I take over than 7hr rest time (sleep), AMPK should be low!
But strength training in the afternoon is good, because your mTOR is elevated for 12-24 hours after strength session!
There is my personal bias, just for reference, thanks.
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Barbell maintenance - I think Iām starting to see some rust on the knurling.
What to do?
My bar is cerekote because Iām lazyā¦
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Three N One oil on where you grip the bar, knurled or not, not a chance
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Iām looking for the simples, quickest, least number of strength training exercises I can do. Iām mostly looking for functionality and strength for now.
I was thinking of doing, as a start:
Day A:
Dumbbell farmerās walk: 5 āsetsā of 3 minutes. If I fail a set, the workout is over. If I complete all 5 āsetsā, I bump the weight for the next farmerās walk.
Day B:
Barbell bench press: 5 sets of 10 reps. If I fail a set, the workout is over. If I complete all 5 sets, I bump the weight for the next bb press day.
With rest between day A and day B and just alternating between them.
Iām not looking for the best workout, not even a great one - just a reasonable one
that is simple, that I can understand and follow with little time.
Iām avoiding squats and deadlifts on purpose because those movements are a bit too complex for me right now and I donāt want to risk injury from poor form.
I assume the lower body is at least slightly covered by the aerobic indoor training, even though obviously not as well as it would, and the part most missing (almost entirely?) would be the back?
What do you think? Any really trivial modification or addition to cover most muscle groups without adding more than one other different workout?
I wouldnāt completely write off any squatting or deadlifting movement. They are super beneficial for whole body strength. Even a goblet, bodyweight, or box squat would be a good starting point with low risk of injury. And there are many ways to scale a deadlift to make it āsaferā. You can film yourself to make sure you are doing it correctly or have someone watch you (you can have them compare you to a video of good form if you donāt have access to someone who knows good form).
It sounds like you might have dumbbells or kettlebells in which case you can do suitcase deadlifts (hold one in each hand at your side and then pick them up and put them down). Because the weight is at your side and not out in front it is much easier to hold a straight back as the weight isnāt pulling you forward.
While I donāt think there is anything wrong with the plan you outlined, and it is certainly better than nothing, I think the dangerousness of squatting and deadlifting are a bit overblown. If you make an effort to keep the weight manageable and keep an eye on form then I think most people without existing injuries or mobility limitations should be good.
But one thing I would add to that plan is rows (like in the image below) for your back and some core work like planks or v-ups.
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hmmmmā¦with the workout you are currently doing, you arenāt really hitting the largest muscles in your body. The Farmerās Walk is great for forearms. grip strength and traps (along with general conditioning), but doesnāt do much for the rest of your body. Meanwhile the bench press hits your chest, plus your shoulders and triceps secondarily.
If you are worried about squatting form, try the goblet squat. By putting the weight up under your chin, the weight automatically pushes your body back and into a good squatting position. Additionally, because you are holding the weight in your hands and under your chin, it does not load your spine if you have any lower back problems.
For your back, there is nothing better than a good ole pull up, if you have access to a pull up bar. If not, or if strength is a limiter, lat pull down is another good exercise. Additionally if you have access to a bench that inclines, you can do either dumbbell or barbell rows with your chest lying on the bench. This allows you to focus on the back muscles, while also maintaining really good form.
If I was you, I would try throwing in a goblet squat on your A day to get used to squatting technique, and throw in a back exercise on the B day.
I also wouldnāt stick to stopping the workout if say you hit 9 reps on the 4 set. You still will derive a lot of benefit from doing that 5th set if you are only doing 8 reps. If you limit yourself do doing weights that you can only do 10 times for all 5 sets, the first 2 or 3 sets are probably not hard enough, and you are apt to plateau.
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Hello everyone, I have quick question for you I am at the sixth week (the rest week) of ssb high volume. I am also trying to do some strength training. So this week should I do strenght training or skip it?
Right, which means I still do all the sets to failure but only up the weight once I donāt fail them?
For now I think the plan, then, is A: pull up and farmerās walk, B: just bench press
This applies to @mwglow15ās reply as well - Iāve tried squatting and deadlifting with no load, and even with someone who knows the form and used to squat a few plates watching me and giving advice, I could feel my articulations beingā¦ weird, almost painful. Iām not afraid of a lot of things in exercise, soreness is great, but articulations acting up make me nope out really quickly.
This is the main reason Iām avoiding those two (obviously great and staple) movements so far.
I feel like as I progress on some easier lifts and also as I progress on weight loss I would probably be a bit less scared about themā¦
Yes, so you would keep doing the exercise for the 5 sets, but would hit as many reps as you could if it was below the 10 reps. Once you hit 10 or more reps for all 5 sets, then bump the weight.
Is there a particular area of your body that feels off when trying to squat? I ask because there are a variety of other movements you can do (depending on your access to equipment) that would still allow you to hit your legs. For instance, people with lower back problems who still want to hit their legs can do the 45 degree hack squat machine, where they arenāt loading the spine.
Itās really just the knees Iām worried aboutā¦ itās not pain, to be clear. Just a weird feeling, and a popping sound sometimes. It might be just me being a bit too scaredā¦ 
I say almost painful in an earlier post, but it never was actual pain, if that makes senseā¦
A bit of a setback. I can start to feel some dull soreness in my knees, specifically on the top ridge of both knee capsā¦perhaps some quadriceps tendonitis is setting in. Iām almost certain itās either due to over-use or poor squat form. Iāve been programming barbell back squats and dumbbell split squats into my plan. Which has me doing 3 sessions per week, 6 sets per session, 10 reps per set. Perhaps too much volume. (something Iām good at)
Iāve tried really hard to dial in my form on the back squats, but it seems like Iām utilizing my quads/knees too much, despite my best efforts to really engage the hips/glutes. Iāve watched numerous form videos (Rippetoe, Squat University) and have been analyzing my own form on camera. Still though, something isnāt clicking.
Iām hoping that I can find some knee-friendly lower body exercises that still target quads as I hate to give up the gains and want to continue strengthening those cycling-specific muscles. Perhaps more work is needed on the stabilizing muscles like the adductors and abductors.
F*&K
It sounds like a good approach to me! Carries are a tremendous exercice and work so much more than your grip. I would personally ditch the bench press because of all the external support from the bench itself. I much prefer overhead presses or push up variations because you are forced to bring your own support, especially in a context where you would perform only a couple exercises.
As for the workouts, Iāve had a lot of fun in the past working with 50/20 or the āHave it allā routine (I was using deadlift and overhead press). You basically pick one compound exercise and the goal is to do 50 reps in 20 minutes. You pick a weight that will initially allow you to do approximately 35 reps in 20 minutes, and you work your way up to 50. At that point, you increase the weight to bring it back down to 35. Itās super effective and time-efficient, but also demanding, Iām not sure how it would stack up on top of cycling workouts. I feel like this could be a good idea to try given how you intend to approach weight lifting. If you do, remember to eat everything in sight!
Do you counter balance your squats with posterior chain exercises? I personally find I can prevent/fix a lot of knee discomforts by throwing in more deadlifts or KB swings in my sessions.
One way to engage the glutes that I find useful is by āscrewingā your feet into the ground, by creating external rotation. Because of the friction against the floor, your feet wonāt be moving, but you will notice your knees pointing slightly out and your glutes naturally engaging. Then I like to think of the movement as first sending your hips back, not down. The weight will then naturally be in your heels and you can use the pressure in your feet to gauge the movement. The pressure should stay mostly in the back of your feet throughout.
With all of that said, I find the goblet squat to be particularly forgiving and would probably allow you to hold onto some of your gains with little risk.