Hi folks, one of the things I love about TR is the ability to plug into and follow a really effective and well thought through plan that does all of the thinking for you. If you follow the plan and do the work you will get faster on the bike!
Following Coach Chad’s advice on the podcast, I have been trying to work on my all-round strength off the bike as well, particularly during the off-season.
I have been focusing on mainly bodyweight exercises with the addition of a pull-up bar, kettle bells and dumbbells.
I know there are literally hundreds of fitness apps, but I’m looking for recommendations of ones that allow you to follow a simple, but progressive program for circuit/bodyweight strength work.
The kind of thing where you can follow along on a program that takes all the guesswork out of it.
Surely I can’t be the only one who is looking for something like this. Anyone had any experiences of such an app that you can recommend?
@bbarrera I’m hooked on this dude! I find myself watching and re-watching his YT stuff; not just another ‘lifting bro’ but, as he puts it ‘Putting the science back in strength’. I haven’t committed to his full blown program but did pick up ‘6 Pack Abs’…haha.
I just started using an app called ‘Strong’ on iOS. It’s pretty easy to build sessions and what I like is that there are little ‘animations’ showing how to complete a rep. Real basic stuff but you have to already know kinda what exercise you want to do.
I’m using Strong for lifting in the gym, as you said its best if you have a plan.
I purchased AthleanX AX-1 program, it is a lot of bodyweight and kicking my ass. There are other programs you can purchase. Think of AX-1 as TR base training, you graduate to strength training using weights. Haven’t purchased the second plan, each plan with lifetime access costs about the same as a year of TR.
YouTube videos are great, he is a physical therapist and great at explaining biomechanics.
I’ve been using an app called Volt recently that I’m really liking. It allows you to pick your sport, as well as your “peak” and it periodizes the training to fit your needs. It has a UI component that allows you to enter the weight you are using, and then rank the difficulty so that it can recommend the correct weight for that exercise and other similar exercises.
While not completely a bodyweight program, it gives you the option to swap out a workout for another similar workout, so you can easily switch to a body-weight or free-weight option for most situations.
Seems pretty cool, and while I’ve only been using it a few weeks, I like that it takes the guesswork out of it completely.
I’ve been using You Are Your Own Gym for years but now that I only have an Android I’ll have to buy it again. I may take a look at these other options.
My favorite parts are the deep dives into the biomechanics. I’ll have to check out AX-1 again, now that I know someone that’s using it. Are you seeing gains with respect to strength, fat loss, etc.?
As for program. Running 5 3 1 at the moment. It’s going pretty well as I’m starting to get back to where I was strength wise before.
I don’t think it’s worth the money to pay for a program as far as strength training goes as there are a million decent programs out there for free. The same cannot be said for bike riding
It does start to incorporate more technical olympic lifts that can be tough without a proper coach critiquing your form, however, they have a list of recommended replacement workotus if you don’t feel comfortable with a certain type of lift.
That feature is especially useful if I’m working out in my more limited home gym because I can replace exercises requiring equipment that I don’t have for a different exercise that I’m able to do in my mini-gym.
I’m using the 5/3/1 program and the way it is structured seems to be helping me get over my aversion to going to the gym. You lift based on percentages of your one rep maximum (actually your 3 rep max), which is like the strength equivalent of your FTP, so it feels similar to TR. It is also based around 4 exercises, so if I’m time-crunched, I can go to the gym, hit those exercises, do some core work, and get out.
So far (about a month in) I am being more consistent about doing the program than any previous strength program I have tried, and I have seen some decent strength gains. The program is designed to make it very apparent when you get stronger, which is positive feedback that motivates me to stick with the program, and try to complete that last rep.
+1 on the Strong app. I use it to track my workouts, and I find it a decent resource when I am looking for additional exercises to try or am wondering what a particular piece of gym equipment is for.
Thanks. My offseason starts in a few weeks, and I’m going to take some time and eval several different strength training apps/programs. I’m interested in bodyweight plus a few pieces of equipment. That is, I’d be happy to invest a few hundred dollars in some free weights, kettle bells, etc. So far Volt is looking promising.
