Weightlifting question

[wheelbuilder]

Two months ago I started doing upper body and core workouts every other day. Have not skipped a day and am being as diligent about it as I can while having time constraints. Just easy stuff in the house......low weight high rep arms chest and shoulders. Plus sit-ups/crunches etc. I am seeing noticeable results and in general, feel very good. I feel like my overall fitness and feeling of "well being" has greatly improved as opposed to cycling only. I ride three days a week.......about 7-9 hours weekly, with one shortish 30 mile climbing day, one 50-65 mixed terrain day, and one very fast race simulation type club ride that is 34 miles. I have noticed that since beginning the other exercise regimen my ability to "surge/recover" in the group ride is waning. My average speed is dropping over the last five weeks, and I feel less able to deal with hard accelerations and sustained high effort. I dont ride with Power, only heart rate and nothing has changed there. Anyone have an idea as to what could be going on? Could my body be not responding well to the additional workouts? Will I adapt and return to cycling normality? Or is it not related at all and is something else entirely? I don't feel overtrained and did this exact cycling schedule all last year with no real fitness loss save for a few bad days. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[glam2deaf]

I would say not to stress it. The cycling will bounce back, it's hard to tell without power, but you're likely just adapting. From my personal experience as fit and strong as I thought I was, stating a gym routine was a big knock and I am just using it 3 times a week, though I am on the bike ~15+ hours. It did come right though. You're right on the general well being feeling much better, and a lot of my power climbing has improved.

[kytyree]

Try cutting back on the non-cycling stuff and see if you start feeling better. If you feel better overall I wouldn't cut it out completely and it is good to do some other stuff. But look at the timing of those workouts, give yourself time to recover and be prepared for important rides or cycling workouts.

I'd try doing what you feel is the bare minimum of weights and situps/crunches that you need to do for your health and well being, and look at the timing of those workouts in relation to important rides. Without knowing anything about how much you're doing each workout, every other day is pretty frequently in addtion to 7-9 hours of riding. If your goal is just overall well being and being able to ride well you can accomplish a lot in twice a week, sometimes less if it is an important riding week.

A lot of situp variations use the lower body quite a bit too...

If like me you live somewhere with a strong winter, that can be a good time to do more of the gym type stuff and then cut back once you have the weather to focus more on riding.

[wheelbuilder]

Thanks very much guys! Will heed advice and cut back a bit on weights. Every other day is not necessary. I have a personality like that though.

[robertbb]

Your caloric expenditure and need for protein to recover has increased significantly. Make sure nutrition and hydration are adjusted to compensate for the extra recovery required. And your need for quality sleep has increased as well, so keep tabs on that as best you can.

[Orbital]

At 41 years old I feel I do too much in the summers. I play for 2 hockey teams in summer leagues and ride as much as I can. I’m usually pretty burned out by end of August. Last summer I commuted every day from June to August. It was too much. I just couldn’t recover.

[liam7020]

Twice a week for the weights is probably enough, maybe even once a week as a maintenance dose if you're in the racing season. And never ever do sit-ups or crunches if you value your lower back (as I found out...)!

[eforce123]

I would also add that if you put on any additional muscle mass your heart has to pump blood to those muscles that use to not require as much blood flow. also, the number of calories you take in will need to be adjusted for the additional muscle mass. the general rule of thumb I use is for every 1lb of muscle its an additional 50 calories to sustain that new muscle. However, did you actually gain a 1lbs of muscle and not any additional fat is hard to determine?

[Imaking20]

Have you taken a rest week since you started the weight routine? If you were feeling better and then hit a wall, I think it's more likely fatigue as your body is getting used to the higher level of stress.

Take a week off. No weights - maybe a couple very easy rides if you like. Your body will probably thank you

[wheelbuilder]

Thanks all........I am grateful for the super helpful responses. I don't do recovery very well and am one of those that is foolishly convinced that the more I increase the workload the fitter I will get. It's always been this way for me, and I can't help but think what a better athlete I could have been if I had considered all the ideas above throughout my athletic endeavors.

[eforce123]

I know we always want to train train and train. This is my first year (still not a year) doing cycling or any endurance sport but coming from bodybuilding I have learned to listen to my body as I age. I often feel best on a ride when I took the day before off or even two days. I know my body and cardio system is still not used to this endurance stuff but learning is always fun

[AJS914]

I was just going over Joe Friel's book, The Cyclists Training Bible, and goes through what weightlifting to do and when to do it in the season. He seems to be a big proponent of weight lifting especially for older cyclists.

[mattr]

He seems to be a big proponent of weight lifting especially for older cyclists.

I'm part way into starting a low level comeback in my mid 40's. And weights will definitely have to form part of my training, i can feel that my joints are far less resilient and/or able to take force than they were 15 years ago when i stopped racing. The extra motion and specificity of weights should help with that.
Especially once the winter hits.......... might even help me shed a few kilos.

Thankfully my employer will stump up the 250sek a month gym membership, so even if it's only one session a week, i'm still not paying for it.

[AJS914]

I'm sort of in the same position. I raced in my late 20s and I'm 52 now. I started riding a couple thousand miles a year again in 2013, rode 500 miles in 2016 due to sciatica and muscle imbalance. I fixed that and have been up to 3000 miles per year in 2017 and will get close to 4000 in 2017. I did weights and swimming 3X per week all last winter and it helped tremendously.

[mattr]

Just noticed the OP is doing 6 or 7 sessions a week

You'll need a couple of years to work up to that, no job to go to and probably 12 hours complete rest a day. i.e. flat on your back either asleep or doing nothing but reading/surfing.

4 or 5 sessions (including one "active recovery") would be more than enough for someone with a proper job to go to.