How.To.Ride.Faster

[huskerdont]

@accordioneur 145243 wrote:

Do any of you do specific strengthening exercises targeted towards cycling? I stopped going to the gym about a year ago due to a change in commute and have found that without the leg presses and such, my riding strength has diminished.

I used to do leg presses but stopped when the knees started to trouble me; I have not noticed a difference since. I still do an assortment of curls, pushups, pullups, situps/crunches, bench presses, and various leg exercises learned from physical therapy. Since I don’t need to have a rail-thin Andy Schleck body, I don’t mind having some arm, shoulder, and torso strength to assist with cycling.

One other thing I do is practice falling. I think most people call this “mountain biking.”

[jrenaut]

I’ve become a much better rider since I got my fixed gear and the longtail. It’s definitely more variety, with a focus on spinning faster. As people have mentioned, bikes are generally efficient. A fixed gear gives up some of that efficiency because of the no shifting thing. And a longtail with 100+ pounds of kid/cargo maybe still meet the definition of “efficient” but tell that to me when I’m dragging up a hill.

I think a general rule of exercise is that you can’t repeat EXACTLY the same thing and expect to continue to get better at it forever. You need some variety. So maybe pick some stretches to get into a lower gear than you might otherwise and spin a little faster, or a higher gear and push harder. Put bricks in your panniers and do hill repeats.

And exercise, especially core-focused, will definitely help. A stronger core helps with nearly everything.

[bentbike33]

@accordioneur 145243 wrote:

There has been some mention in general terms of building core strength. Do any of you do specific strengthening exercises targeted towards cycling?

I do something I think might be called “windshield wipers,” although I invented it for myself rather than getting it from any instruction back when I did mountain biking and wanted to build core strength for extreme hill climbs. Lay on your back, bend at the waist so your legs are at about 90 degrees. Keeping your knees as straight as possible, lift your feet from one side to the other while keeping your shoulder blades flat on the floor and allowing your hips to roll following your feet. Repeat as many times as you can. Very good for the lower core, although women with wide hips relative to their waist might find it too stressful on their lower back.

[lordofthemark]

Okay, okay, I will try some core exercises. An OCCASIONAL plank, sounds like something I can wrap my head around. Running? No. I will of course continue to take walks and hikes with QOTM.

I think will go for tires first, and not delay till I am fitter. I have already started riding with stronger riders, as of this morning

[accordioneur]

A couple of days per week I run, which gives me a chance to grumble about cyclists. When I ride, I grumble about runners. Alternating between running and riding never seems to make me any faster at either, but my grumbling muscles are fully cross-trained!

[vern]

I did a sit-up.

[dkel]

@vern 145268 wrote:

I did a sit-up.

I did a pull-up once about six months ago, but I think it was a fluke.

[GovernorSilver]

@accordioneur 145243 wrote:

There has been some mention in general terms of building core strength. Do any of you do specific strengthening exercises targeted towards cycling?

I do strength training exercises, but not specifically for cycling. However, there seems to be quite a bit of overlap between the exercises I practice and the exercises recommended for improving cycling power on various websites (Bicycling.com, the Map My Ride site, etc). Squats for example are consistently recommended and I practice the pistol squat. I do them because I have old low-back/hip injury and pistol squats seem to help relieve aches/pains associated with that injury. It’s one of the best bodyweight exercises for the hips, and it also works just about all the muscles in the legs, and of course the glutes.

Another type of exercise they consistently recommend is core strengthening, but they differ on specific exercises. For my own core training, I’m working on the L-Sit progression, which starts with preparatory exercises for the Tuck Hold, then progresses from the Tuck Hold towards the full L-Sit. The load on the abs increases of course as one moves forward in this progression. Parallettes are ideal equipment for working on the L-Sit, as working on bare floor is more difficult due to the greater load on the hands and wrists. I found an exercise station along Potomac Ave. Trail that is ideal for parallette-based training but it may not be convenient for everyone to get to. I have a nice set of wooden parallettes at home but I’ve heard of folks using parallettes that they made out of PVC pipe. In the past, I’ve practiced other parallette exercises, under a program called “Parallettes One”, that I felt hit my core too, but I’m currently focused on achieving an L-Sit. I need to be able to do it, in order to move on to the next difficulty level in parallette or ring training.

There’s a lot less agreement among the various websites about what upper body exercises to do, or whether to do them at all, for improving cycling power. I’ve seen several articles omit them entirely, while a couple recommend some sort of pulling exercise, and one just says go ahead and do one pushing and one pulling exercise. Between my rings and parallettes, I’ve got all my upper body strength needs covered.

[scorchedearth]

@accordioneur 145243 wrote:

There has been some mention in general terms of building core strength. Do any of you do specific strengthening exercises targeted towards cycling?

My routine in the weight room does not have cycling in mind. It consists of bench press (incline and flat), flies (incline and flat), various rows, lateral pulldowns, deadlifts, dumbbell and barbell curls, tricep extensions, dips, and pullups. My warmup and cooldown usually involve jumping rope or a quick jog on the treadmill.

For abs, I do a mix of straight leg situps, leg raises, bicycle crunches, planks, mountain climbers, and some others.

I find that the cross training benefits my road riding however the greatest difference I feel is when I get out on my mountain bike.

[hozn]

@accordioneur 145243 wrote:

There has been some mention in general terms of building core strength. Do any of you do specific strengthening exercises targeted towards cycling? I stopped going to the gym about a year ago due to a change in commute and have found that without the leg presses and such, my riding strength has diminished.

I was referred to this book for core exercises and it is has been fantastic. Granted, I really just do the same couple different options on repeat. And I don’t repeat them as often as I should, but I made a commitment to start doing some core training as I was having back pain. These exercises helped greatly with that and made a more aggressive position comfortable for all-day rides.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12360[/ATTACH]

https://www.velopress.com/books/tom-danielsons-core-advantage/

[DismalScientist]

I limit my weight training to twelve ounce curls.

[jrenaut]

@DismalScientist 145298 wrote:

I limit my weight training to twelve ounce curls.

You should really vary your training regimen with some 16 ounce curls. Maybe even some 9 ounce curls if the alcohol content is high enough.

[Steve O]

@jrenaut 145299 wrote:

You should really vary your training regimen with some 16 ounce curls. Maybe even some 9 ounce curls if the alcohol content is high enough.

And both arms, don’t forget.

[wheelswings]

Finally took a look at this thread. I’m not fast, but my attitude is generally, “it is what it is” so I don’t worry about speed.

But I wanted to mention that a simple adjustment increased my pace considerably, just a few months ago: a bigger chain ring. I didn’t even know what a chain ring was, but Edoardo at Phoenix noticed I was doing everything in my highest gear. He swapped out my ring and it made a world of difference. You can push harder on a bigger ring so you go faster. I don’t know what size I have (or what size you have!), but I love the new ring. I think one day I’d like an even bigger one.

In terms of going fast, I’ve noticed that sometimes I get QOMs in construction zones. That’s because the construction workers cheer me up the hill, and it feels good to hear their supportive words and encouragement. This may be different for guys. But the broader point is that positive social situations can be good for your riding.

My other suggestion is the obvious one, to stand on your pedals.

Happy riding. Be safe. w&w

[Steve O]

@wheels&wings 145313 wrote:

I’m not fast,

In terms of going fast, I’ve noticed that sometimes I get QOMs

I believe those are contradictory statements.

[Author]

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