Winter training - core stability exercises

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fido

Veteran
Location
Reading, Berks.
I would get a good fitness instructor to conjure up a core strength/stability prog. that mimics specifically the movement(s) of cycling.
 
OP
OP
Bill Gates

Bill Gates

Guest
Location
West Sussex
Soon be shifting from 2 x gym training a week to only 1. I'm finding that full recovery from gym training for me now takes 3 days (to match or increase reps), and cycling the day after is affected adversely. On the other hand incredibly at 60, my strength is as good if not better than ever.

Time on the bike is around 4 hours a week and want to double that in the weeks leading up to christmas so can't afford to spend more than 1 x gym a week.
 

montage

God Almighty
Location
Bethlehem
Dorsal raises - hit the lower back
Crunches - hit the abs
Twisted crunches - hit the obliques
Leg raises - lower back + lower abs
Plank - all core muscles
Side Planks- concentrate on the obliques more but still hit the rest of the core muscles


These target the core specifically, but many excersises use the core muscles, press ups, squats, dead lifts, bench lifts etc
 

classic33

Leg End Member
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/k...e-bike-Strength-training-for-winter-cycling-0

I thought it might be timely, to reopen the debate on weight training and gym work, for cycling and thanks to Shaun introducing a history button I came across this thread from 2009.

and this from a previous hour record holder Jens Voight.
https://blog.fitbit.com/strength-training-for-cyclists/
Monday gone. 6 days ago, is hardly history.
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/k...e-bike-Strength-training-for-winter-cycling-0

Off-the-bike conditioning work will make you faster on the bike but it will also deliver a host of other benefits. It will slow and even reverse the loss of muscle mass associated with ageing, improving strength, health and facilitating weight control. It will improve bone health, specifically bone density, which is an issue even for Grand Tour riders. Finally, by being more robust and resilient, you will be less likely to injure yourself lifting the kids out of the car, carrying shopping or working in the garden. Less time laid up with an injury means more time out on your bike.

I seem to remember a cycling coach from way back who was dead against doing anything other than riding your bike for training. He was at odds with the established beliefs. I think his name was **Alan Simmons or something similar. We crossed swords a number of times on a forum called Bike Radar from which I got banned. ^_^
my problem with him was that he and his cronies did a nice line in power meters so his business depended very much on his credibilty. Who knows maybe he is right all along. One of the riders I admired greatly was Fabian Cancellera and he concentrated on core strength exercises off the bike. The reason for the paragraph quoted above is that there is a bigger picture for cyclists, in particular like me and the OP who are in our seventies when things like testosterone levels and bone density become more important than any performance issues which have long since ceased to be important.

Edit ** Ric Stern Chris Carmichael and Alex Simmons. Just looked up online and they are very successful coaches I crossed swords with some time ago. I can understand their philosophy re muscles endurance for the legs, but I never questioned that. It is the stresses and strains on the body (and the bike) from riding up climbs or sprints where upper body strength gives the driving force of the legs a solid base from which to work and control the bike.
 
OP
OP
Bill Gates

Bill Gates

Guest
Location
West Sussex
Edited 08:38 Tuesday. 365 day editing ability, not 10 years.
Look I said that the thread was from 2009, and it is. What are you going on about? How else can you bring a thread back unless you reply to it. The post itself did have a link included that was itself posted on another thread, but this is a subject in its own right rather than as an aside in a different thread that wasn't even in the training section.
Anyway so what? It doesn't diminish the thread at all. You're just splitting hairs
 

Nebulous

Guru
Location
Aberdeen
There is a loss of muscle mass as people get older, and there’s certainly an argument that all men over 40 should be doing some strength training. I’ve never bothered, but I’ve had some niggles this year and have just begun some body weight training. I’m doing squats, press ups and stretches. I gave up my gym membership two years ago when I bought a turbo and would be reluctant to start one again, hence the home efforts.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
There is a loss of muscle mass as people get older, and there’s certainly an argument that all men over 40 should be doing some strength training. I’ve never bothered, but I’ve had some niggles this year and have just begun some body weight training. I’m doing squats, press ups and stretches. I gave up my gym membership two years ago when I bought a turbo and would be reluctant to start one again, hence the home efforts.
Why only men?
Surely it would be beneficial for women too especially given our greater propensity for osteoporosis post menopause?
 

Nebulous

Guru
Location
Aberdeen
Why only men?
Surely it would be beneficial for women too especially given our greater propensity for osteoporosis post menopause?

Sorry - I didn't mean to exclude women. We have a family history of osteoporosis, in both men and women, and it has had a huge impact on some of my own relatives lives.

I was going to say I don't know anything about women, but that doesn't sound right either, and is maybe something I should leave others to judge. What I mean is most if not all of my reading on the subject has been about men, with researchers particularly interested in the role testosterone plays in this.

A quick google search throws up this:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/preserve-your-muscle-mass (Ironically an article about men with the research done at a hospital billed as a woman's hospital.)

And this from the NHS a study on men, where they ponder idly about whether the results might also apply to women:

https://www.nhs.uk/news/older-people/could-age-related-muscle-weakening-be-prevented/

So strength exercises may be equally important to women, the chances are they are, but I don't know. I do know they are important for men however.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Sorry - I didn't mean to exclude women. We have a family history of osteoporosis, in both men and women, and it has had a huge impact on some of my own relatives lives.

I was going to say I don't know anything about women, but that doesn't sound right either, and is maybe something I should leave others to judge. What I mean is most if not all of my reading on the subject has been about men, with researchers particularly interested in the role testosterone plays in this.

A quick google search throws up this:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/preserve-your-muscle-mass (Ironically an article about men with the research done at a hospital billed as a woman's hospital.)

And this from the NHS a study on men, where they ponder idly about whether the results might also apply to women:

https://www.nhs.uk/news/older-people/could-age-related-muscle-weakening-be-prevented/

So strength exercises may be equally important to women, the chances are they are, but I don't know. I do know they are important for men however.
Looks like loss of oestrogen in menopause also impacts strength in women
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....ses-muscle-loss-in-women-after-menopause.aspx

https://www.livestrong.com/article/552788-muscle-loss-in-women-over-50/
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
I do body weight exercises to complement the cycling. We have a trim trail in local park so it’s usually about four miles and mix of strength exercises at the stations. Twice a week plus try to swim once a week as well this time of year. Then down to once a week when I’m busier filling the days with cycling.
 
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