Strength training

[smoggie]

Afternoon all!

I'm laid up with a calf and ankle injury at the moment so spending the time thinking about the future.
I want to intoduce some strength training into my daily routine - For the past year or so it's been all about the bike.

I'm nearly 60 and don't really want a full on Body Building routine - rather a "holding on to what I've got" and power for the bike. I want simple exercises that I can do at home on a weight bench with Dumbells/Barbells.

My plan is 3 days of cycling - probably in the region of 20 - 30 miles per session and 3 days of strength training.

Does anybody else do something similar?
Do you do a split routine - 1. Legs 2. Back/Triceps/ 3. Chest/Biceps?
What exercises do you do?
How long per session?

I do have some experience of working out in the gym but it was a while back and I was a bit younger

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Randomnerd]

When getting back into fitness I have often used Scooby on Youtube. He is retired now, but there are around a thousand videos on his channel. Some great starter 20 mins full workouts, which you will get a lot out of.
I've a set of Powerblocks and an incline decline bench for workouts, and, when not working, do 20 mins whole body every other day. Really all to keep as strong a heart and core as possible.

 

[CXRAndy]

KISS

Keep it stupid simple

Squats, deadlifts, bench press, biceps curls and dips for triceps.

 

[stephec]

KISS

Keep it stupid simple

Squats, deadlifts, bench press, biceps curls and dips for triceps.

Assuming you've got access to a gym or free weights then this will do it.

Although I never did specific arm exercises so I'd chuck in some kind of rowing, bent over dumbells or barbell, for the back, or pull ups instead of curls.

 

[Oldhippy]

I just ride my bike as transport regularly, I don't eat anything special, no exercise except my bike and general walking about and 58 now.

 

[fossyant]

We are supposed to do some weight training as we age for bone density. I'll keep riding, drinking milk, and smashing the MTB as well. Now, that's a full body work out.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Tricep dips you can do on a bench in a park. for biceps you can lean back off a suitable size and height tree branch and pull up body weight. To the squats I’d also add planks or press-ups or both. If trim trail nearby they are quite good for functional strength and rarely in use.

 

[Daninplymouth]

Training 2or3 times a week id just do an upper lower split or full body routines. With these you do less weights but are hitting the muscles more frequently so would give you greater benefits than doing individual muscle groups.
myself now I just do a full upper body routine 2-3 times a week. I have slacked of squats and deadlifts as the recovery time was killing my cycling and I didn’t want to risk an injury for work as I’m on my feet carrying stuff all day

 

[rivers]

I do 3 days of core training (usually a pilates session with my wife, then 2 days of core/hip/glute routine which also incorporates pilates) and 2 days kettlebells. Plus ride 5 days/week (mix of commute, training sessions and fun/long rides or races). It sounds like a lot, but my strength sessions are only about 30 minutes long.

 

[smoggie]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I'm going to focus on a simple 3 day split: Chest,Triceps.....Back/Biceps (Push and Pull) and then a leg day that doesn't kill me for the bike. Going back to the office might disrupt these plans but, let's see.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Good luck. I'd say creataing a routine and sticking to it is more important than the actual details of the routine. I do two one hour sessions of weights, and bodyweight exercises per week, with my wife. Because there are two of us doing it, if one feels they can't be arsed the other will encourage them. It's probably suboptimal but it's a zillion times better than a perfectly tuned routine that you never do

 

[ChrisEyles]

I quite like calisthenics type strength training as you don't need any kit for it and can do it anywhere. Basically lots of variants on press-ups, sit-ups and squats. There are some good home workout apps around to give you some inspiration, you can pick and choose the bits that work for you.

Did a couple of my wife's pilates DVDs once, but they were too brutal for me, and the 20something skinny little slip demonstrating made me feel inadequate

 

[rockyroller]

fwiw - I've added some simple but effective yoga poses/stretches that are safe for the back. I find they offer benefits that help me feel better prior to any weight training

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Good luck. I'd say creataing a routine and sticking to it is more important than the actual details of the routine. I do two one hour sessions of weights, and bodyweight exercises per week, with my wife. Because there are two of us doing it, if one feels they can't be arsed the other will encourage them. It's probably suboptimal but it's a zillion times better than a perfectly tuned routine that you never do

Pretty much the same here.

Nearly 65 now and as I got into my 60's I noticed my strength (particularly arms and upper body) was declining quite markedly.

Google indicates that for males you lose around 10% of muscle mass for each decade that passes from age 40. Scarey.

Played around with the gym etc and then last year bit the bullet and built a small gym in a spare room under the house.

Treadmill (dull), turbo trainer (several orders of magnitude duller) and a multi-gym which I really like using.

Multi-gym is a Bowflex Extreme 2 which is much easier on older joints than my more conventional Power Station that I had some time back.

We both do a couple of sessions a week together and it's really fun as we have a Bluetooth speaker down there and we put some banging tracks on and before you know it the session is over (1.5 hours).

Feeling a whole lot fitter these days.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The embarrassing thing is that my wife can generally shoulder press more than me. I put it down to my having much longer arms and therefore mechanical advantage ... I have to move the weight further ... blah blah ... obviously it's easier for her. Nothing at all to do with my weedy arms and shoulders. Fortunately we don't have chin-up bars at home so she can't show off on those - she's ridiculously good at it.