Gym Membership and Supplemental Exercises

My 24 hr fitness membership is up for renewal this month and I'm inclined to not renew as I bike semi-frequently and do some stability ball and kettle bell training (along with some yoga/stretching) at home.

Do you guys do weight lifting for upper body, etc. at the gym or any other exercises?

 

Pull ups. Push ups. Surf. Standup Paddle.

 

I used to live 15 mins from Laguna Beach in Lake Forest area.

You lucky ducky. Sounds like a good supplemental exercise regimen.

I've been doing planks and variations thereof. I highly recommend, it's a great core workout.

 

i've been doing crossfit for a while now. Allows me to maintain fitness for all sorts of activities that include biking, snowboarding, basketball, running, yard work, and chasing my kids around. Even if i'm off the bike for quite a bit of time, i'm able to ride and not feel completely chewed and spit out by trails in OC.

 

Crossfit looks like a sick workout; not sure how safe that is in the long run. You're rushing lift reps. But I love to watch those Reebok crossfit games (go Annie Thorisdottir!) Anyways, good for you, provides motivation for me to keep fit outside of trails. I tried this head on floor hands clasped Yoga move and flipped over and almost broke my fingers. Smart move.

 

Thread moved to Health Forum.
There is going to be a quiz if you keep this up...

 

Crossfit seems to have the promise of being able to take strength training from the gym, and make it useful in a way that it applies to real world activities, but in the end it's basically trying to add cardio effect to an already strenuous body building regimen, which adds numerous risks which stem from exhaustion and overwork. Doing crossfit mostly just helps you get to do more challenging crossfit stuff, which is cool if you want to be a spectacle.

Aaron Gwin has his own specialized gym workouts for his profession. Doing anything else for "rounding out" other parts is a waste of his time, compared to whatever else he could be doing. The same goes for most professional athletes in other disciplines. The most proven method is doing what you normally do until comfortable, then stepping up to increased demands/challenges, and making the new harder intensity your new normal routine, and then continuing the pattern of taking the next step in intensity... as long as you have vision to keep seeing the next step and have the will to take that step... sometimes the steps aren't small or close, and require a blind leap of faith, or a bit of blind feeling around, but in this day and age where information is plentiful, it's ignorant to not arm yourself with knowledge gained from people who already went through all this trial and error.

A lot of biking is balance and stability related. Ballet dancing probably has more usefulness to mtn biking than crossfit. Don't expect to be able to do American Ninja Warrior doing any of this, without actually doing direct training for American Ninja Warrior. Kind of a pointless use of time to train to be fit in general... general fitness should just be a positive side-effect from doing something you love.

Basically, need to just man up and take the red pill and accept the ugly reality. Investing time and hard work is unavoidable, but you should direct all the work and time onto a path that takes a more efficient route towards realizing whatever goal it is you have. You need to build up your own collection of gear more specialized to that task, and I imagine for most here, that means nice bikes and some transportation to take it to freely accessible outdoor "gyms".

Start paying bikejames, and get yourself some kettlebells, TRX and whatever else he uses if you have belief in there being some shortcut method that may work for you, but I advise starting out at the beginner level like everyone else if you are a beginner. Push-ups, sit-ups, jogging, etc. will probably help you more than anything else if you're hopeless out-of-shape. Make 20 push-ups turn to 50, then 60, then 70; 30 situps to 60, then 80, then 100; 15-min jogs to 20, to 25, to 30, then 45... take steps. A push-up is basically a plank variation and you're doing it for 1.5 mins at a time. If you can do 70+ push-ups, then you probably would then need to hit some iron to continue stepping that up. In a biking sense, I'd say just go by "average speed" over a certain mileage/elevation, building up from 8 MPH over 10 miles, to 10 over 20, to 12 over 30, up until you hit pro levels at 16+ MPH over 50 miles if you want... or just have fun and let it come naturally, rather than trying to train it up.

 

the ballerina comment is funny but valid. i'd love to see bikers doing ballet with richard simmons.

I can't run. If both my knees weren't bad, I'd still be running trails: safer/cheaper.

I used to chest press 300 lbs until I hurt my right hand (bad form, no wraps, whatever). Haven't lifted much in months as a result and now I'm relatively skinny. Women notice.

I like my stability ball.

From what I recall, Lance Armstrong's trainer recommended doing resistance lower body training one leg at a time for biking specific. I like to grab a 35lb weight and step up and down on a chair. Lance actually did this with two dumb bells. He also grabbed a 45 lb plate and lunges to each side and back to middle. These two exercises always kill me even after 2-3 sets each.

 

Holy crap that's a huge step up... I can see why he's cheating with poor form, jumping off the rear foot and using his back, arms, and even his neck to lift so his stepping leg can even get a chance to do the lifting.

 

So when I do it, I do it on a chair as it's hard enough. That step object is higher than a chair and makes the exercise much more difficult and could potentially cause injuries, etc.

 

I do lots of weight training, both at the gym (24 hr fitness) and at home (powerblock dumbells-best money ive ever spent). Also run occasionally. Ive been into weight training on and off since i was a teen. A few years back when I was more obsessed with riding I realized, I havent set foot in the gym in years, maybe I should cancel? Im glad I didnt, first of all I joined 20 years ago and still just pay a measly 15$/month. Second, its good to crosstrain, now Ive been enjoying weight training again; done correctly its good for addressing muscle imbalances and posture problems; as well as keeping your muscle mass and bone density intact as you age. . Verdugist, sorry to hear about your bench press injury, fact is the barbell bench press can be a dangerous exercise-its not a natural motion path for your arms/wrist/shoulder-and it doesnt even develop the pecs so great. Dumbell press/flyes with neutral grip (done from the floor so you dont stretch the shoulder back too far) is completely safe and targets the pecs much better, I never barbell benchpress. My opinion, dont give up the weights! Is your hand ok now?

 

Hi Sir Crashalot. btw, you have the 2nd best name on the forum after mine!

thanks for the info/concern. It was actually the wide chest press (3 plates per side). That was the machine that I sustained the injury on. That machine and the ISO row (3 plates per side) were my two favorites but I did a lot of various upper body lifting prior to May 2015 and after that I switched to biking exclusively. There was a really fit 55 yr old guy at my gym who told me that getting stronger will help with crashes, seems to make sense as my last crash I landed on my right shoulder and then back. That guy would do upside down pullups, nobody else I've seen do this yet.

if your workplace offers a gym, use it during lunch (I did this for 5 years). Otherwise, it's a hassle and I have to drive/shower and then I'd rather ride a bike it's more fun.

Now, I have a hard time completing 20 reps of a 25lb or 35lb kettlebell with two hands laying down on the floor (tricep extensions). It's a strange experience losing that much strength. Oh, and I'm not even sure if my right wrist is ok b/c 8-9 months after the injury, it still hurts to do pushups! A hand surgeon dx'd me with TFCC injury back then. Still not sure but x-rays showed no broken bones.

I've ultimately done more damage at the gym running and lifting than I have so far with biking. But you can die biking, not running/lifting.

My situation is similar to Pres. George W Bush (the younger one). He and I used to run a lot, he was rated top 5% in health in his age group by Surgeon General. He had knee issues, two PKRs and started biking a few years ago. Same here but I had a meniscectomy on left knee and right knee is getting worse. But my doctor told me I can bike or swim.

 

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/15-minute-yoga-routine-build-core-strength-2016.html

 

Apres. Shat shnorhagalutyun. I think I've seen that one before because that chick is hot. I'll work on those tonite because my lower back is acting up again and those guys will make fun of me Thursday nite nite ride.

btw, why are all the yoga chicks hot?

 

Uhhh. Cuzz they do . . . .Yoga?

That girl has some serious core strength! Very skilled and disciplined...

 

Oops, my bad I just assumed it was barbell. Hammerstrength machine then, yes? I like the incline press one.
I actually go to the actual gym just once a week, twice at the most. It is a bit of a PITA to drive from laguna to aliso. (laguna gyms are $$$ and crappy). Rest is done at home with DB's. But there are a few things at the gym hard to do at home. Sory to hear about your wrsit, hope that gets better! if riding doesnt hurt it ride ride ride!
I have almost killed myself while riding, twice...but taking stupid risks i dont take anymore.
I still love riding!

 

After baby, my wife lost 70+ lbs in ~3 months (200+ down to 128 maintaining for months); I have a new level of respect for her "will to persevere and achieve a goal". Dieting and 2 sessions of elliptical every day. Boring.

I've noticed these yoga women are not only hot but also very relaxed and toned, which is hot as well.

 

Acutally I wanted to start a gym that has a retractable roof and open bar and loud rock music. Equinox they say is expensive like $150/month, this would be $200/month. Would it fly?

I hate that damn fans + A/C in those gyms...

My dream recorder invention/idea everybody dismissed in 1999 but now it's becoming reality:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...aves-viewers-snapshots-subconscious-mind.html