Im gonna try both of these trial periods but was curious what all you guys think of these both.
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You might find this post helpful. Wukarfit, Socalbikept, Dialed health...?
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I discovered the ready state low back pain module and would like to try it but the app gets such terrible reviews.
What a shame if you are expected to use a laptop for the program? Maybe the site is optimized to use on a browser on your phone?
I tried Dialed but just found it to be too âmuchâ. I emailed to try to get guidance on how to fit his stuff into my weekly riding. He did email back asking some follow up questions, but when I replied, I never heard from him again.
Ultimately, I felt like his plans are great if you want to train like him to get to reach some kind of elite goal like 5 watts/kg or you need the strength to max out gains and get podiums at races, but if youâre just a guy/gal that likes to ride your bike and be the fittest you can be, his stuff just seems too much.
Just my $.02.
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I havenât signed up yet, but I had the same concern and asked him a similar question. He also offered to help me with planning around my schedule. I would be persistent and ask again. Iâm sure heâs a very busy guy.
Yeah, in fairness to him this wasnât too far after his twins were born but for me, once I did his squat assessment and subsequent mobility drills, I knew his stuff wasnât for me. I was totally wasted and I hadnât even done a real workout. Everything started at a level that was too advanced for me and it didnât seem like I was his target audience or had the right equipment to even get all the way through a full plan.
Iâve been drawn more to systems like Simple and Sinister where the objective is you âpracticeâ rather than âworkoutâ and you âleave something in the tankâ rather than âleave it all on the mattâ.
Iâm sure Iâm not making gains like I would with a Dialed plan, but Iâm crazy consistent and really like how this has no âendâ. In the long run, thatâs more what I need. I went from dreading where to fit strength in to having to stop myself from doing more just because itâs fun.
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Iâve been using the Ready State for about a month and am a big fan so far. The focus on true mobility vs. stretching has really made in impact in a short time. The downside is that outside of a few modules, there really isnât a progression and the sport specific modules are quite limited. This leaves you on your own for what you want to attack. This can be good or bad. You can get too focused on one part of your body and ignore others, but it also forces you to pay attention to your body and give it what it needs.
Overall, I recommend it, but definitely take the free trial to see if it suits your personality (more free form vs. structured follow the dots programming.)
Hey tell me more about how youâre doing with S&S, i am liking the look of it to support my triathlon training. Cheers.
So far, I really like it and itâs been easy to fit into riding 6 days a week because of TrainNow. If Iâm feeling like strength was too much, I can TrainNow down a level or just do endurance but I really havenât found the need for that much.
What I like is that the S&S program has a lot of core alignment with TrainerRoad. Everything in TR can be broken down into Endurnace, Climbing or Attacking. With S&S, I have three bells. The recommended weight for a male, one side down to use as the warm up, and a super light bell to use when learning something new or really trying to work on form. Coach Chad has used the term muscular endurance enough that when the same idea came up in the S&S book, I was like, âIâm home!â.
The whole point to S&S isnât to build muscle, but itâs to practice with a âminimum effective doseâ so youâre strong for long, not strong once. There is no âmax weightâ or âloading cycleâ. Itâs, grab the bell, warm up, do the swings, do the get ups, stretch, do it all again tomorrow. (Though, Iâm bad about the stretching!)
The only real deviation I make from the plan is I donât do it everyday. Pavel even says this though. If you train hard at a sport, you might only do two or three days a week. For me, I do three days only. Three hard days on the bike in the morning, then three strength days the same evenings. Hard days hard, easy days easy.
I also really like that he talks about when to call it and when to move up in weight. It all comes down to form. Yes, there are max reps you should hit, but itâs all about owning that weight. He even refers to the timed version of the routine as a testâŚkinda like an FTP test and itâs never, just grab a heavier bell. You start in the third set with a new weight so youâre always starting from a point of familiarityâŚkinda like some TR workouts.
Overall, I really like the program and find that for someone that wants to activate a lot of the body at once with minimal equipment AND doesnât come from a lifting background, itâs great. If youâre a gym rat already, youâd probably hate it. 
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Are you referring to Simple and Sinister the kettlebell workout? I hadnât heard of it so I looked it up and if you are able to complete that workout then you should be able to do the Dialed Health plans with âsomething in the tankâ.
Depending on how long youâve been doing this workout, the fatigue from the DH plans mightâve able to be boiled down to just a change of stimulus and not that you canât handle it.
Iâm not sure how long you tried out the plans but i usually find the first week a bit rough getting through new movements but that it gets easier as I practice them.
I think the DH plans are âbetterâ than the S&S plans but obviously consistency > perfect every time.
If you are looking for more of a daily practice, general strength and mobility combination, you could also look at GMB Elements.
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I have been using DH and I just follow the plan and workout two days a week. Derek is a biker so the plans are written to be on the bike lots i never feel spent on the bike. Maybe the first few workouts but not after that. I have been feeling stronger on the bike and like the options of workouts.
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Iâm sure youâre right. Weâre getting a ways away from the OPâs original question, but I will explain my thinking a bit more.
I came to cycling with almost no cycling background. (Like my last bike was the one I road to elementry school!) TrainerRoad not only made me more fit, but the coaching during the workouts explained why I was doing the workout I was doing, and also how to get the most from it.
With strength training I was starting even farther in the hole. Every strength program does the same thingâŚdo âxâ reps of âyâ sets. This really has nothing to do with Dialed or anyone else. Thatâs just how they are done. Sets and reps. Things can get more complicated when you have circuits and supersets, but itâs still all the same because each exercise is working on a specific muscle or small group. This is why, week to week or even workout to workout the exercises change. Youâve got to keep going through different ways to stimulate the muscles to see growth.
S&S is a very different approach. Itâs a 190 page book and there are only 5 exercises and two stretches. The vast majority of the book is explaining when to call it a day, when to increase the weight, how to know youâre ready to start the next set, etc. Very similar to workout text in TR workouts. âFeel good? Bump up the intensity, but only 1 or 2%â. âStruggling after that last set? Knock the intensity down 5% or so to get back on track.â The words arenât the same, but the majority of the S&S book is kinda like that.
For me, S&S is something I can easily incorporate into normal cycling training because itâs a known routine. I didnât have to get any guidance, it was any easy fit with the âhard days hard, easy days easyâ way of thinking. With any other plan, there are constant changes and time needed to learn a new exercise just distracts from getting a workout doneâŚand since I was soooooo green coming into the world of strength, by the time Iâd get the hang of something, the plan would update and now that movement was replaced with something else. Iâm sure, after a few weeks, and a few rotations through, it would all be easier, but with S&S that learning curve is WAY faster.
Like I said above, if youâre someone that wants a way to get strength worked into the training youâre already doing, S&S is pretty easy to incorporate even if youâve never done strength work before. But, if youâve got any kind of lifting backgroundâŚyouâll probably hate it or get bored easily. Pavel even says, the guys that donât stick with the program are the ones that start adding stuff in rather than focus on owning the two basic movements.
Overall, for me, itâs was having it in black and white that I didnât have to finish to still have a workout in that make me a S&S convert. When the form fails, the workout is over. Live to swing another day. With most other strength plans, Iâd be out there still because I gotta get the sets and reps in. It really all comes down to where youâre starting from.
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Thanks thatâs really useful info. Iâm a bit of a gym guy but with triathlon and 2 kids under 3 I need minimum effective dose for strength.
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