Member Profile: Graham McArthur
Member Since: 2008
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31 Dec 2008 8:01 PM posted in Weight training
None, he uses drugs instead. Roadies generally don't need weight training, but they sure do a lot of strength development. The only time they may need weights is if they have an imbalance or for rehabilitation following injury. In 99% of tour riders the amount of climbing they do in racing and training takes care of their strength development.
Their weight training is very sport specific (as it should be) and is done on the bike using mountains and ergo.
30 Dec 2008 1:31 PM posted in Post limits
When I tried a long reply to a specific post the forum software rejected my post as being too long. Max of 4000 characters it said. My post was 3, 400 odd characters, but it was still rejected. I edited it to 3000 and it was not accepted either. I edited more and split it into two posts - not ideal.
30 Dec 2008 1:17 PM posted in Weight training
The forum wouldn't allow me to post the entire reply in one post so here is the rest of it...
Combining strength and endurance creates 'muscular endurance' - the ability to perform many repetitions against a given resistance for a prolonged period of time [this is essential for all cycling events!]. 'Power', the ability to perform an explosive movement in the shortest time possible, results from the integration of 'maximum strength' and 'speed'. The combination of 'endurance' and 'speed' is called 'speed endurance'.
Agility is often overlooked in cycling simply because we sit on a bike and don’t run around an oval or court, however it is an important component of cycling fitness and is the product of of a complex combination of speed, coordination, flexibility and power. When 'agility' and 'flexibility' combine the result is 'mobility', the ability, in cycling terms, to react quickly, with good timing and coordination - getting out of the saddle, initiation of the sprint, climbing hills, descending, cornering, feeding on the bike, taking turns correctly, adjusting on bike position to changing conditions, avoiding obsticles. To perform these at your peak, you need well developed 'mobility'. Back to the topic of strength.
Specific development of a 'biomotor ability' [strength, endurance, speed etc] must be methodical. A developed dominant ability directly or indirectly affects the other abilities. To what extent depends strictly on the resemblance between the methods employed and the specifics of the sport.
So - development of a dominant biomotor ability may have a positive or negative transfer to pedaling a bike. When an athlete develops strength, he may experience a positive transfer to speed and endurance, however, a strength training program designed only to develop maximum strength may negatively affect the development of aerobic endurance and speed. Similarly a program designed to develop aerobic endurance may negatively affect strength and speed.
Since strength is a crucial athletic ability for all sports including cycling, it always has to be trained with the other abilities/ components of the sport.
Most actions are more complex than what has been discussed above. Therefore strength in sports should be viewed as the mechanism required to perform skills and athletic actions. The reason for developing strength is not for the sake of being strong, the goal of strength development is to meet the specific requirements of a given sport, to develop specific strength or combinations of strength to increase athletic performance to the highest possible level.
30 Dec 2008 1:16 PM posted in Weight training
As I said previously, cycling is fundamentally a Strength Endurance sport. This means it requires a combination of strength and endurance. However, there are different types of strength and different types of endurance. Which combinations are required for peak performance depends on the cycling event.
Strength training for sports must be based on specific physiological requirements of the sport and must result in the development of either 'power endurance' or 'muscular endurance'. Also strength training must revolve around the needs of planning or periodization for that sport and employ training methods specific to a given training phase, with the goal of reaching peak performance at the time of major competition or a specific targeted event(s).
If you just train for 'maintenance' then you will never reach your peak or your best and will unlikely make any significant improvements.
Strength, speed and endurance are the important components for successful performance. The "dominant" ability/ component is the one from which the sport requires a higher contribution. For example in cycling the dominant ability in road, mountain bike and general track is aerobic endurance. Most sports, including cycling, require peak performance in at least two of the principal components. In fact some cycling events require extremely high performance in all components [team pursuit & road team time trial for examples]. The relationships among strength, speed and endurance create crucial physical athletic qualities. A better understanding of these relationships will help you understand power and muscular endurance and help you plan your sport/event specific strength training.
29 Dec 2008 11:07 PM posted in Weight training
Cycling is fundamentally a strength endurance sport. Improved strength will improve performance, however, cycling is also event specific and requirements for a particular event may be quite different than those for another. Whenever you wish to target a specific component of fitness, such as strength, you will need to identify which type(s) of strength is required which will be directly related to the physical requirements of the event.
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