not as strong as i thought

xgtdec

I just give up, if you had of asked me yesterday how strong my legs were, i would have said pretty strong in comparision to the average, i do my lower body workouts, i can do my 2 sets at 150kg and 170kg on a decline leg press, i go do spin class and resistance is not an issue, leg extensions..the works, no real fat to speak of and just a decent set of well muscled well toned legs....

Went out for a cycle yesterday and got some climbs in and dear god my legs failed me, just burnt out and gone with in minutes when on a decent incline....first i thought it was a cardio thing but i wasnt short of breath and generally felt pretty good all the way through, did 30 miles and 2 of the climbs killed my quads to the point of stopping, any advice?? inrease the muscle or just keep doing the climbs, lol..have i spent to long in the confines of the gym and not enough in the great outdoors

flashforward

Very hard to recreate real life conditions in the gym.
Work your outdoor cycles into your weekly routine and you'll find rapid increases in your strength/stamina when climbing.

TommyKnocker

xgtdec wrote: »

I just give up, if you had of asked me yesterday how strong my legs were, i would have said pretty strong in comparision to the average, i do my lower body workouts, i can do my 2 sets at 150kg and 170kg on a decline leg press, i go do spin class and resistance is not an issue, leg extensions..the works, no real fat to speak of and just a decent set of well muscled well toned legs....

Went out for a cycle yesterday and got some climbs in and dear god my legs failed me, just burnt out and gone with in minutes when on a decent incline....first i thought it was a cardio thing but i wasnt short of breath and generally felt pretty good all the way through, did 30 miles and 2 of the climbs killed my quads to the point of stopping, any advice?? inrease the muscle or just keep doing the climbs, lol..have i spent to long in the confines of the gym and not enough in the great outdoors

Relax, this does not mean that you lack strength. It just means that your legs are not used to hill climbs on a bike And don't fool yourself, you can crank the resistance up full on a spinning bike and it will still not prepare you for propper hill climbing on a real bike.

There is such think a specifity of training. If you want to be a good hurler, you don't train by running marathons. If you want to be a good darts palyer, you don't practice with a javlin.

None of the leg exercises you mentioned would give you much carry over into cycling up hills on a proper bike. You want to get proficient at hill climbing on a bike? Well then you will have to get out and climb as many hills as you can. The more you climb the better you will get and the easier it will feel.


M

rubadub

You only mention machines, are you doing deadlifts & squats, they should be top of your list. I have seen videos of Lance armstrong and that UK olympic lad doing training, both doing squats -and not in a smith machine!

brianthebard

agree about specifity you just have to get used to actual cycling. The leg press isn't training endurance, and you can get a false sense of confidence or strength from it. my max squat is 140kg but I can rep 195 on the leg press in the gym and could possibly have more if that wasn't the max weight. There are numerous reasons for this difference in weight moved but the point is the leg press is not a good indicator of anything other than leg press strength.

Also, I hope you were using the gears on your bike to the best advantage. You should be able to climb all but the steepest hills while still spinning your feet as if on flat ground, not stomping down on the pedals and wearing yourself out.

DL Saint

xgtdec wrote: »

I just give up, if you had of asked me yesterday how strong my legs were, i would have said pretty strong in comparision to the average, i do my lower body workouts, i can do my 2 sets at 150kg and 170kg on a decline leg press, i go do spin class and resistance is not an issue, leg extensions..the works, no real fat to speak of and just a decent set of well muscled well toned legs....

Went out for a cycle yesterday and got some climbs in and dear god my legs failed me, just burnt out and gone with in minutes when on a decent incline....first i thought it was a cardio thing but i wasnt short of breath and generally felt pretty good all the way through, did 30 miles and 2 of the climbs killed my quads to the point of stopping, any advice?? inrease the muscle or just keep doing the climbs, lol..have i spent to long in the confines of the gym and not enough in the great outdoors

Make sure you are changing the gears efficiently on the bike.
You wan't to be spinning your legs at quite a fast cadence (rate) to get up the hills.
If you find that your legs are moving slow then lower the gear!

Edit: sorry just realised Brianthebard said everything I just said!

smcclaw

How many KG you lift in the gym is closer to being a measure of absolute strength (especially if you're talking about 1RM) while cycling up an incline is all about power/weight ratio... that's why cyclists spends e1,000's on shedding a few grams off their bikes.

Hanley

Absolute strength means sh!t all if you're not used to cycling. I went for a cycle a couple of weekends ago and tackled this fcuker of a hill. The person I was with said they know no-one who's done it first time. I got up it, but that was only because the challenege was set. If it wasn't for that I woulda died a long way from the top.

When it comes down to it, even tho my squat strength is high, and my GPP was at it's highest, I hadn't cycled in like 2-3 years so my legs just didn't know what to be doing with themselves.

If you want to get better at cycling, cycle more.

xgtdec

Sorted, the poxy hill in question is for it on Wednesday

I also do my squats and dead lifts and i just mention those other exercises cause i thought they would be related, as in my quads burn on both. The gears indeed were being used bu at one stage it was into 1st and up out of the saddle......i'll stick with it and see how it goes, it was great being out in the rain cycling around....way betting than in the gym with headphone....lol..dawning of a new era!!!!! cheers lads!

DL Saint

I used to cycle in a club and do alot of hill climbs and I have found my leg strength for squats, hack-squats etc. was very high when I got into weight training!

squod

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ac9H02rYEk

Some of these persuit dudes are hooooge!

flywheel

B-Builder wrote: »

And don't fool yourself, you can crank the resistance up full on a spinning bike and it will still not prepare you for proper hill climbing on a real bike.

what do you base that conclusion on?

flywheel

xgtdec wrote: »

did 30 miles and 2 of the climbs killed my quads to the point of stopping, any advice??

make sure your bike set-up is perfect for you... use technique: learn about pedal stroke, how to breath efficiently (belly/diaphragmatic breathing) and find a posture that does not cause fatigue... it does sound like you may be mashing as mentioned above, try build up a circular/oval pedal stroke (see links at end)

as for the Spinning, if you are being taught Spinning(R) by a qualified instructor building profiles based on the various types of classes, then they can definitely help you prepare... you should find the Strength Energy Zone Classes [PDF] will help you prepare for climbs... Endurance Energy Zone Classes [PDF] can help deliver good pedal stroke drills and technique if taught during the class... however, if you are being taught random classes or "aerobics on the bike" then that kind of indoor cycling isn't going to offer any cycling specific skills / training for you

as pointed out by other posters you need to get out on the road to deal with what the road brings your way... in a Spin class if a climb get's too tough you can cut it short, mother nature doesn't allow that on her hills but a Spin class with a proper profile and deliver by an Instructor who knows their stuff can be of assistance

one other thing... like you did with weights, you progressed up with the the resistance you could lift allowing the body to adapt and get stronger, do the same for the hills, if you find that hill way too tough at that grade (incline) / distance, then find one that isn't as high / long and build up from there

here's a bit of reading for you from the bookmarks:

Pedal Stroke Technique:

http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/training-fitness/perfect-pedal-stroke

http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/05/efficiency-of-pedal-stroke-ankling/

http://www.perfectcondition.ltd.uk/Articles/Pedalling/index.htm

Breathing:

http://www.cptips.com/respmus.htm

http://www.bicyclingbliss.com/chapter4.html

Posture:

http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2007/09/road-bike-posture.html

all the best,
enjoy the ride!

TommyKnocker

flywheel wrote: »

what do you base that conclusion on?

Hi flywheel

I base my conclusion on the fact that in my younger days I was an amateur racing cyclist and I stll do some cycling to this day, though not racing. Also when I joined my gym I spent maybe 9-10 months doing spin classes and for me there was no way that jacking up the resistance on the spin bike in anyway resembles real hill climbing on a bike. I find hill climbing on a bike outdoors a much different experience.

Now I have heard about how most spin classes conducted in gyms are not teaching Spinning as it should be taught and from what I have read I would say that the classes I did were not as spin classes should be as outlined in your post with the links. So maybe if I ever have the oppertunity to spin with a propper instructor I will have a different opinion. But even down to the how a spin bike and a road bike "feel" I think there is a world of difference.

Also how many Tour de France hill climbing specialists do you think train for the mountain stages on a spin bike? And why is that do you think?

Best Regards,

M

xgtdec

Indeed on my first decent cycle i had 2 standouts, number one was th speed that a race bike is capable of, even with me on top , one downhill stretch and i was hitting near to 70kph...and ill admit to being a bit of a baby and being quite nervous at that....the whole "if i was to come off now" thought process, thankfully i didnt, and hopefully never will

And number 2 was that i had done a decent amount of spinning, say 3 spin classes a week, and there is no comparing the diffence..at all, but one thing is will say on the spin side of things is that, in my gym anyways i imagine that once you break a sweat the class is considered a success as i dont think the instrctors are like qualified spin people, more like fit people whose duties include giving spin classes

And unfortunately my new biking extra padded shorts did nothing for me at all, i still split myself in half on my new bike, guess ill have to get the bodyglide out

flywheel

B-Builder wrote: »

Now I have heard about how most spin classes conducted in gyms are not teaching Spinning as it should be taught and from what I have read I would say that the classes I did were not as spin classes should be as outlined in your post with the links. So maybe if I ever have the oppertunity to spin with a propper instructor I will have a different opinion. But even down to the how a spin bike and a road bike "feel" I think there is a world of difference.

Also how many Tour de France hill climbing specialists do you think train for the mountain stages on a spin bike? And why is that do you think?

maybe have a read of the late Edmund Burke's (Coach for the U.S. Olympic Cycling Teams) article 'Spinning Programme Science' PDF

yeah I hear you, it is unfortunate Spinning(R) get's identified with all indoor / studio cycling 'presentations'... the (orignal) Spinning(R) programme grew from a cycle specific origin... also some indoor / studio bikes are low quality and give an unrealistic ride whereas a Spinner or specialist bike that can give more cycle specific feedback like Power Output in Watts CycleOps; these engineered bikes can provide a more / closer 'realistic' ride and appropriate resistance (maintenance is also an important factor)...

most of the Spinning Master Instructors are cyclists and many in competition winning or placing highly at events (e.g. Ironman etc)... of course they get out on their 'real' bikes... but Spinning provides elements of their training... other's live in areas where road biking is out of the question for periods of the year so Spinning can offer a cycling specific option to banging out a lonely time on the turbo trainer... this is one of the best eBooks about cycling specific training in Indoor Cycling: Keep It Real by Jennifer Sage, and should be read by anyone who want's to train in a cycle specific way or who teaches Indoor Cycling classes to learn what the original concept of this activity was about... a good example in fact as Jennifer Sage (info) lives in Colorado and has many cyclists in her classes who Spin during the off season (when you can't cycle outside!)... anyone teaching classes should check out the Indoor Cycle Instructor site, a great resource to develop your classes and knowledge