Does anyone know of a good workout routine for increasing raw strength for Downhillers while maintaining their endurance at the same time? Thanks.
When are you riding your bike only using one leg or arm at a time? Never!work on single leg movements: i.e. one legged leg presses, one legged extensions, etc. Also, try to explode on the concentric portion of the exercise and slow through the negative. Finish off with plyo work.
Which CF location are you working out at?I've been using a program called Crossfit for a little over a year and it is working really well for me. I go to a gym and work with a trainer in a small class a few times a week but they post up a free workout for you to follow every day on their webiste. The average workout will take about 20 minutes at a very high intensity (and it's very engaging which keeps me motivated) so I think for Downhill racing this a great program. For XC racing there is no subsitute for seat time but with that said, there is a special Crossfit endurance program for endurance athletes such as bike racers.
Regular crossfit
Endurance Crossfit
Santa Cruz, Crossfit HQ, where it all started. Well sort of...That location closed a few months ago and the SC CF is in a new location.Which CF location are you working out at?
CF can't be beat!
I'm with these guys, Crossfit is awesome, literally helps with all aspects of fitness.Santa Cruz, Crossfit HQ, where it all started. Well sort of...That location closed a few months ago and the SC CF is in a new location.
Word. Starting working out at the Seattle local. It's awesome and wonderfully hard.Which CF location are you working out at?
CF can't be beat!
You're completely missing the point. Read up on unilateral training.
(directed to Nagadarema)
i just recently started incorporating farmer's walks into my lifting program. i highly recommend them as a finisher to your workout.
just grab some heavy dumbells and walk with them, while keeping your back straight and head up. they do a great job of building up endurance in your forearms so you won't get so pumped after a day of downhilling. i'm mainly doing them as training for rock climbing.
Or even single overhead dumb bell lunges. Be sure to switch hands half way through.Try that but do walking lunges instead, better leg workout.
the farmer's walk isn't really meant to be a leg workout, it's for grip strength/endurance. with walking lunges you won't be able to use a high enough weight to really work your forearms, or at the very least i know i can't.Try that but do walking lunges instead, better leg workout.
That's actually wasting time for DH training. Isolation workouts is one of the worst things to do for DH training. You need to be conditioning your body as a whole.
I second that on bikejames he definitely knows what he is talking about when it comes to training for DH and 4x.
Listening to your body is the best training feedback available and puking is your bodys way of telling you that you have pushed it too far. Progress can be sustained over a much longer time if you stop short of actually being sick, of course dont be lazy when it comes to intervals, try to progress from the last session in small but consistent increments, but at the same time dont overdo it as overtraining has a detrimental effect on the body.Oh yeah, intervals on the trainer with a HR monitor. Intervals that are so hard that you couldn't do them on a real bike because you would fall over. They'll make you puke, but you'll also feel like you might rip your bars off of your DH bike.
I was only referring to isolation in my quote that's why I never said anything about unilateral... But actually Unilateral workouts are all about isolating one side of the body at a time and working specific muscle groups. Which in Downhill training is a waste of time. When do you just use 1-2 muscles on one side of your body in a race? Never. The whole point of training is to make yourself stronger at racing, you need to mimic movements you would actually do. That is why you do not want to isolate anything in a workout. Do exercises that work as many groups as you can. IE doing squats with while holding a shoulder press bar above you to work your shoulder out too (also helps balance).unilateral work and isolation work are two completely different things, he was refering to single legged presses, which is a multi joint excercise
leg extensions however are both useless as regards functional training, and a recipie for bad knees
you dont press down on the pedals with both feet at once, hence lunges, step ups ect do mimic pedaling, arguably more so than squats. The real benefit to unilateral work however is addressing muscle imbalances which everyone has to some degree, and since we push one leg at a time we want ideally to have both legs as strong as the other. Whenever you squat there is always a dominant leg doing more of the work than the other.I was only referring to isolation in my quote that's why I never said anything about unilateral... But actually Unilateral workouts are all about isolating one side of the body at a time and working specific muscle groups. Which in Downhill training is a waste of time. When do you just use 1-2 muscles on one side of your body in a race? Never. The whole point of training is to make yourself stronger at racing, you need to mimic movements you would actually do. That is why you do not want to isolate anything in a workout. Do exercises that work as many groups as you can. IE doing squats with while holding a shoulder press bar above you to work your shoulder out too (also helps balance).
you dont press down on the pedals with both feet at once, hence lunges, step ups ect do mimic pedaling, arguably more so than squats. The real benefit to unilateral work however is addressing muscle imbalances which everyone has to some degree, and since we push one leg at a time we want ideally to have both legs as strong as the other. Whenever you squat there is always a dominant leg doing more of the work than the other.
not that i am against barbell work, in fact i see barbell lifts such as the squat, deadlift, benchpress, row ect as well as dips as the cornerstone of a succesful training regieme, but unilateral work compliments the above and should not be dismissed as a waste of time.
i completely agree with your list of useless excercises! most of that stuff is garbage bodybuilding mags churn out.
thats a good point about the prone position, when i first started i got 'leg pump' my quads would ache and cramp up halfway down a run.Yeah...you don't pedal with both simultaneously. But when your in the "prone" position on your bike which is usually about half a race most your weight is on your rear (dominate leg). Also a much better excerise is one legged box squats rather than wasting time on a leg press. I never said lunges or step ups were bad, they are both in my workout actually.
your missin the point. if you do one legged it builds core stregth at the same time since its all balance. you can do curls with dumbbells with one foot in the air too. i remember i was doin this at the gym and people would look at me like i was crazy untill i told them it was working my core at the same time.When are you riding your bike only using one leg or arm at a time? Never!
Definitely right on that exercise, those are good. But what you quoted and what he was talking about was isolation workouts and doing curls on one leg is not in that category.your missin the point. if you do one legged it builds core stregth at the same time since its all balance. you can do curls with dumbbells with one foot in the air too. i remember i was doin this at the gym and people would look at me like i was crazy untill i told them it was working my core at the same time.
Deadlifts are one of the best exercises you can do, works almost your whole body, saves alot of time also. Throw planks in as well for core. If you have a training buddy this is a good one (sounds silly but we use it in rugby) use one of the large balance balls, and try to wrestle it from each other while standing up. Your balance and strength are well worked.interval training, just riding a road bike won't really do much to help you out. learn to love deadlifts, squats, and power cleans.
Those are all true, unless you're someone who actually likes to ride the bike instead of having the bike ride you. Not a chance in hell you can throw the bike around where YOU want it to go without having excellent core, back and trap strength. If anything, I would almost say those are the top 3 weight exercises from a DH standpoint. You can build up your pedaling with cardio, but to make yourself stronger with an objective of being faster, you have to be able to move the bike around with more control and for longer.5) Compound exercises help build functional strength. Leave curls and shrugs for body builders
6) Designated "core" exercises are lame unless you have a specific weakness that isn't corrected elsewhere. Squats, lunges, etc will work for everyone else.