Leg day @ the gym and riding

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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racersir
Posts: 69
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 6:41 pm

by racersir

How do you guys deal with leg day at the gym and training on the bike? Leg day usually hits me hard for 2 to 3 days after the workout and it affects my performance while training on a bike and I also started running again so its becoming even more difficult to fit in leg day and train properly. Any thoughts or suggestions?

BikeAnon
Posts: 399
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 6:36 pm
Location: NY USA

by BikeAnon

What's your goal right now, in February?

Leg day will increase strength. Your running can increase cardio/pulmonary function.

The only thing you "need" riding for is:
- active recovery (not looking for gains)
- bike-specific gains

If your early February requires bike-specific gains, it's time to cut back on leg-day.

I'll bet a cycle of leg-days, running, and core work will benefit you more this February than seeking bike-specific gains (though I know nothing about you, your goals, and previous year's plans/results).

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racersir
Posts: 69
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 6:41 pm

by racersir

Thanks for the reply I have a Duathlon coming up so I guess I will wait a little for heavy leg day or try to do it with lighter weight now.

xena
Banned
Posts: 1149
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:49 pm

by xena

Best day to hit legs is after your ride "same day". Then it depends how you recover . For some the next day they are sore for others its the day after. Depending on what day just go for a easy spin on that day. If you train legs in between then its quite difficult to get the rest in.
Hit the Bike then the gym, rest, easy ride and then go at it again. If you are trying to build leg mass then hit the legs hard for a month, 2/3 heavy leg days a week and just ride minimal " turn legs over". See how that works out.
The best thing for riding a bike is riding a bike. The best thing for getting strong legs is hitting the gym squats etc . simple really.
I'm sure Tapeworm will have some good suggestions. He's knows his stuff .
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stoney
Posts: 474
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:26 am

by stoney

I hit legs on my hard interval days on the bike when I have recovery scheduled for the next day. Finish my hard intervals on the bike then do some lunges/squats. The next day I do some light spinning just to loosen the legs and hasten recovery.

racersir
Posts: 69
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 6:41 pm

by racersir

Thanks for the advice.

wojchiech
Posts: 405
Joined: Thu Feb 24, 2011 6:33 pm
Location: bay area, california

by wojchiech

Don't neglect off the bike recovery either. Compression wear, stretching, and massage (with rollers/sticks, etc) all do wonders for soreness.

zev
Posts: 51
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2016 11:11 pm

by zev

BikeAnon wrote:What's your goal right now, in February?

Leg day will increase strength. Your running can increase cardio/pulmonary function.

The only thing you "need" riding for is:
- active recovery (not looking for gains)
- bike-specific gains

If your early February requires bike-specific gains, it's time to cut back on leg-day.

I'll bet a cycle of leg-days, running, and core work will benefit you more this February than seeking bike-specific gains (though I know nothing about you, your goals, and previous year's plans/results).



X2

zev
Posts: 51
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2016 11:11 pm

by zev

I've found strength training always helps my deep leg power, and I need to get it back into the season!

11.4
Posts: 1095
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 4:33 am

by 11.4

Here's another perspective: You are doing weights because you want to work your legs at a level you can't necessarily achieve on the bike -- few reps, much higher work level. Your muscles train optimally when they are being required to perform at new levels -- you want to be lifting at close to your maximum to get the best improvement and power (especially without a lot of muscle hypertrophy and weight gain). So if you've already done a bike workout, you probably aren't going to be able to lift any longer at your maximum and the effectiveness of your weights session is compromised. I'd suggest dedicating a day to weights, even if it takes away a cycling day. If weights are an important part of your current training program (and they are entirely appropriate for many riders throughout the season, not just in winter), you need to do them right. There's a flood of new data showing that shorter harder workouts can be more effective at training you, and that lifting close to your maximal capacity is much more effective at building new power. Take advantage of that and give yourself room in your schedule to do your weights properly. That means both giving them a full day, but also not scheduling them right after a killer workout the day before and not scheduling a hard ride the day after. It can be a good warmup to ride ten easy miles or so on the way to the gym and the same on return to cool down, but don't try to double up serious weights and riding. How close you can do them both depends entirely on your own fitness, workout style, and needs. But doubling up weights with hard road workouts makes about as much sense as doing back to back killer road sessions.

boots2000
Posts: 1393
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:28 pm

by boots2000

This^^^^
I do my leg day after either a hard and/or long day.
I have easy rides or recovery rides scheduled after that so I can recover from both sessions.
Also, the hard and/or long ride prevents me from over doing it in the gym.
I do:
Squats
Deadlifts
Hack Squat
Leg Extensions
Calf Raises

Nothing is done to the max.

stoney wrote:I hit legs on my hard interval days on the bike when I have recovery scheduled for the next day. Finish my hard intervals on the bike then do some lunges/squats. The next day I do some light spinning just to loosen the legs and hasten recovery.

addictR1
Posts: 1878
Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:11 am

by addictR1

glad i found this post. by bike specific gains... can that be achieved on indoor trainer at the gym?

i'm not a sprinter per say.. but i love to climb, since i suck at it. so i've been doing leg press at the gym, kettle bells, planks, TRX to build up some muscle.

my gym has spin class on T & Th. so usually for M,W,F.. i mainly focus on quads, glutes and hamstring. and afterwards if my legs feels tight.. i jump on the indoor trainer and do some intervals of sprint, out of saddle climbs, etc.

so would that be bad for my leg gains to hit the indoor trainer after doing leg press and other leg workouts?

my goal is to increase my FTP and build up some legs for climbing.

11.4
Posts: 1095
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 4:33 am

by 11.4

addictR1 wrote:glad i found this post. by bike specific gains... can that be achieved on indoor trainer at the gym?

i'm not a sprinter per say.. but i love to climb, since i suck at it. so i've been doing leg press at the gym, kettle bells, planks, TRX to build up some muscle.

my gym has spin class on T & Th. so usually for M,W,F.. i mainly focus on quads, glutes and hamstring. and afterwards if my legs feels tight.. i jump on the indoor trainer and do some intervals of sprint, out of saddle climbs, etc.

so would that be bad for my leg gains to hit the indoor trainer after doing leg press and other leg workouts?

my goal is to increase my FTP and build up some legs for climbing.


There are two issues at work here. First, do your leg lifts when they are rested. Second, after you've done them, you need to give the legs an opportunity to adapt in response to the workout. That means that if you do a heavy weights workout and then go do a heavy trainer interval workout, the benefit of the weights workout is diminished as your legs try to respond to their new challenge. They are pretty dumb that way.

There is a much bigger issue regarding how your legs take strength from weight work and convert it into cycling speed. It doesn't happen automatically for most people, and takes good programming and a long enough program for it to be effective. But that's another story.

addictR1
Posts: 1878
Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:11 am

by addictR1

Ok today I did some out of saddle spins and sprints for warm up. Got my HR going... Then started doing leg press. After 45mins.. Leg was toast


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