Hey.
I am a road cyclist but I would like to gain muscles. My goals are to bulk up to 75-80 Kg and to get stronger, 2xBW Squat, 2.5 BW Deadlift.
I usually ride 15-20+hours a week and could train 4 days in the gym. My current stats:
BW: 70 Kg
Height: 178 cm
Squats: 100 kg 3x5
Deadlift: 110 kg 3x5
Bench: 65 kg 3x5
OHP: 45 kg 3x5
Which pl programs would you recommend? What program would fit me?
Thanks in advance
Are you interested in upper body strength and size? Would that be a negative for cycling? Would you still want upper body strength and size if it hurt your cycling a bit?
I am asking this, because if you don’t want upper body gainz, then an off the shelf program probably won’t fit without modification.
How much time can you devote to weights? Are you willing to cycle less to lift weights?
I tried to mountain bike a few times a week while powerlifting, and it was a lot harder to get gainz during that time.
Thanks for reply.
I would like to gain muscles upper and lower body. I don’t like the skinny look of endurance athletes. My goals are to bulk up to 75-80 Kg and to get stronger, 2xBW Squat, 2.5 BW Sumo.
I could train 4-6 days in the gym. Also I want to improve my explosiveness.
Which powerlifting or bodybuilding program would you recommend?
Can you do this:
and this:
At the same time? I don’t think I could. I’d be tired all the time, and I don’t think I’d progress on either very quickly if at all.
Do you train in the gym at all currently? I’d start with a 3 day program if you aren’t currently doing anything. Ease into it. Better to start easy and stick with it, then burn out.
You could try starting strength as a starting point. You won’t be able to run that very long (or at least not likely). Progress is fast with it, but most can’t keep that up very long. Many have good long term success with 531.
I may sound snarky, but it’s not my intention. I’ve tried multiple mountain bike sessions and powerlifting at the same time. It’s a lot to handle. Finding your volumes for each that allows progress on both is going to take a bit of experimenting. Getting strong isn’t easy when that’s all I am focused on. I am a lot stronger, but even if I were to add in 5 hours of hard training on the bike, I’d expect a dip in strength.
Seek out some info from dudes like Phil Daru, Charles Poliquin or Christain Thibadeu who train Athletes with weights, in addition to their sports.
There’s a lot of cool stuff like optimal number of squats and specific work/rest ratios you can use with weights to build strength, power and endurance so you’re not going backwards on the bike to go forward with the barbells.
Hey Chris. Hope you are doing well? I am a huge fan of your work.
I am a road cyclist but I would like to gain muscles. My goals are to bulk up to 75-80 Kg and to get stronger, 2xBW Squat, 2.5 BW Sumo.
I usually ride 15-20+hours a week and could train 4-6 days in the gym. My current stats:
BW: 70 Kg
Height: 178 cm
Squats: 100 kg 3x5
Deadlift: 110 kg 3x5
Bench: 65 kg 3x5
OHP: 45 kg 3x5
Which strength programs would you recommend? What of your programs would fit me?
Thanks in advance
Thanks for reply.
Where can I find good stuff from these coaches? Which of their programs would you recommend?
Thanks for reply.
I ran the ICF 5x5 and Candito linear program but can’t progress anymore. During the phase my legs felt so fatigued.
So, I am looking for a low intensity strength training program. I think 531 could be a good choice. What template should I do?
Thibaudeau has a sub-forum on TNation. You can ask him directly.
Phil Daru has a Ewe-Tube channel. Earlier this year he was training for triathlons. There may be some helpful information in here.
Charles Poliquin passed away last year, I’m having trouble finding much from him. Maybe someone with more info will see this and have some info.
Also check out Alex Viada’s stuff. If I remember correctly, he’s run marathons and also posted some really good powerlifting numbers. I’m with @mnben87 though – there’s no way I could ride 15-20 hours per week and also weight train 4-6 times per week. I couldn’t have even done that in my 20s unless I’d quit my job.
Thanks
I’m familiar with Alex Viadas stuff but I don’t like it. I’ve found the Designer Athlete Template by Mike Robertson in an old article. What do you think about these program? What do you think about block Periodization vs. Concurrent Training for athletes?
IMHO. Concurrent training is most useful for athletes who require highish components of speed/strength in their event. It forces them to maintain relevant speed/strength throughout the year. For example some block orientated programmes use high volumes of interval training for an extended period, eg sprinters training with periods of 10x200, or 600, 500, 400 300 etc etc. And only touching on pure sprinting once they get close to the start of the season. Result - poor sprinting technique, injuries and so on.
Block periods as the main method of programme design can work for endurance athletes, particularly when running longer distances >10M say. Where endurance, economy, glycogen/fat burning are critical. Where speed is relative rather than absolute and can be introduced later in the year.
I have found that if running anything from 100m to 10k you need to get close to race speed about twice per week. If running >10K it is more important to get comfortable with race distance/duration twice per week.
I guess the ideal is blocks of concurrent training where each block focuses on the most critical part of the concurrent picture.
This is written from a running perspective - others on this site can compare bike sprinting versus endurance riding and so on.
I have no idea how to combine endurance and strength as per Alex V. Too mutally exclusive for my liking. My suspicion is there a lot to be said for bodyweight programmes like the @ChongLordUno bloke on this site. Provides a good combination of strength and conditioning without the strength work battering your endurance. And keeps your coordination in shape.
Be interesting to see what he could lift, run 200m and 5k. Reckon a few weeks of specific training on these and we would see some useful numbers.