Leg conditioning , paying off !!

[ozboz]

Hiya , I was struggling to do climbs , other than very short ones , I would plan a route around them to make the ride more pleasurable , so I took to doing some legwork in the gym , along with pushing the bike in higher gears for a sustainable period , in a very short time it has made climbing so much easier ! Yesterday I climbed up a two mile long gradient fairly steep at times , about 3/4 of the way to the top I dropped onto the lower chainring , , heart pumping and pretty much in the saddle all the way ! Felt like doing a ' Rocky ' when I got there !
Gym work is a bit boring , but an evil to be confronted ! , fortunately for me Ms 'boz is a full on fitness trainer , so no cost for me to use facilities , I did a 40 miler on Thursday , after the ride I went into The Centre and had a nice steam , excellent way to end a good ride around , so I'm off to gym now , then back for the Rugby , will miss England tom'w , I'll be on route to Newcastle -u Lyne , bugger !

 

[Citius]

So riding harder has improved your fitness..?

 

[fossyant]

It all helps.

I will be hitting the gym more as my riding will now be significantly less as I won't be cycle commuting any more, so I'll mix gym, cycling and swimming rather than just cycling.

 

[RoubaixCube]

I might get me a turbo

 

[fossyant]

I might get me a turbo

Halfords have had some good deals. I picked up an Elite Mag Turbo for £40 with BC discount in January

 

[RoubaixCube]

Halfords have had some good deals. I picked up an Elite Mag Turbo for £40 with BC discount in January

I saw that on Wednesday when i popped to my local halfords. I think it was between £50-60. Dont know if their any good though.

Um currently not registered with BC

 

[ozboz]

So riding harder has improved your fitness..?

Yep ! Combined with gym work ,
Just finished in gym , concentrated on legs and core muscles , I'll have to join a gym on temp basis after Newcastle job I'm off to Paisley then Aberdeen , so no riding for a couple of months , I want to be ready for the warmer months

 

[fossyant]

Gym won't replace cycling, but it's a good complement.

The Elite Turbo is worth the money as you are looking at £100 minimum for a basic one usually.

 

[vickster]

I saw that on Wednesday when i popped to my local halfords. I think it was between £50-60. Dont know if their any good though.

Um currently not registered with BC

If you commute in London some sort of legal and third party indemnity cover is definitely worth looking at

BC, LCC, CRC, Wiggle etc

 

[RoubaixCube]

If you commute in London some sort of legal and third party indemnity cover is definitely worth looking at

BC, LCC, CRC, Wiggle etc

I'll look into it later on tonight

 

[vickster]

They all have quite different political stances around cycling activism (other than Wiggle) so if that sort of thing bothers you, read into it

I expect the levels of cover are similar, they will use different solicitors etc however

 

[cyberknight]

Halfords have had some good deals. I picked up an Elite Mag Turbo for £40 with BC discount in January

I bought the same one with the wheel block and bottle, with BC discount its a bargain i plan to have a ride later as tomorrow is a no go , or its a go to ...............

 

[ayceejay]

As Fossy says gym work as supplement to riding although some insist that you only need to ride your bike. One advantage of the gym is the ability to concentrate on specific muscle groups which is effective especially if you recognize a weakness. In this case weight loss would also prove advantageous.

 

[Citius]

Yep ! Combined with gym work ,
Just finished in gym , concentrated on legs and core muscles , I'll have to join a gym on temp basis after Newcastle job I'm off to Paisley then Aberdeen , so no riding for a couple of months , I want to be ready for the warmer months

Depending on your previous level of fitness, gym work for cycling purposes ranges from 'useful' to 'useless'. If you have come from a very low level of fitness, then almost any type of exercise will result in a fitness improvement. Focusing on leg work in the gym, such as weights, presses, etc is unlikely to give you any benefit from a cycling perspective, to be honest..

 

[ozboz]

As a T2 diabetic I do have some problems , muscle loss has been the major one , calves and hamstrings in the main , what I have found is that a well structured gym plan the areas that I have targeted improved way quicker than cycling alone , I also do some upper body work , my Surley has drop handle bars so initially I found that the position riding this was taking its toll on my arms and back after a couple of hour riding , when I get back from my travels , I am getting a road bike , it's. 70's Carlton , so I'll be keen to get on some serious 100 miler jobs , also vintage I am hoping to have up and running , to keep it looking right will be a single speed , so will def need good PtWR for that ,