Bought a workbench and weights...
Discussion
chris watton said:
I should explain how I use the bike - I have read quite a few articles relating to cardio-vascular exercise, and many seem to be of the opinion that a harder, more intensive session can be better than slow, snails pace session. With that in mind, I make sure the bike is in highest gear (the smallest cog so harder to pedal), and cycle quite fast until I cannot pedal any longer. I am sure someone fitter could do this for twice as long, at least.
If I put the bike into easier gears, you could end up peddling for hours!
I am not 100% sure if that's right or wrong, but it certainly gets the heart and blood pumping.
To state that you cannot put on muscle past a certain age is rubbish, though, which puts into question the validity of the rest of Fred Clogs' post.
Unless you know your bike is fitted correctly I wouldn't recommend doing this and would put too much pressure on your knees.If I put the bike into easier gears, you could end up peddling for hours!
I am not 100% sure if that's right or wrong, but it certainly gets the heart and blood pumping.
To state that you cannot put on muscle past a certain age is rubbish, though, which puts into question the validity of the rest of Fred Clogs' post.
Edited by chris watton on Tuesday 20th May 08:40
I'm a keen cyclist and try and stay off the heavy gears for the first hour of riding , unless I am specifically doing sprints/intervals and know I am warmed up
Cycling is great for interval training if done properly
TwistingMyMelon said:
Unless you know your bike is fitted correctly I wouldn't recommend doing this and would put too much pressure on your knees.
I'm a keen cyclist and try and stay off the heavy gears for the first hour of riding , unless I am specifically doing sprints/intervals and know I am warmed up
Cycling is great for interval training if done properly
The bike is a Moda Bolero road bike (which, until now, has been criminally underused), and the forks are secured to the rollers - all I have to concentrate on is peddling...I'm a keen cyclist and try and stay off the heavy gears for the first hour of riding , unless I am specifically doing sprints/intervals and know I am warmed up
Cycling is great for interval training if done properly
Edited by chris watton on Tuesday 20th May 12:51
chris watton said:
TwistingMyMelon said:
Unless you know your bike is fitted correctly I wouldn't recommend doing this and would put too much pressure on your knees.
I'm a keen cyclist and try and stay off the heavy gears for the first hour of riding , unless I am specifically doing sprints/intervals and know I am warmed up
Cycling is great for interval training if done properly
The bike is a Moda Bolero road bike (which, until now, has been criminally underused), and the forks are secured to the rollers - all I have to concentrate on is peddling...I'm a keen cyclist and try and stay off the heavy gears for the first hour of riding , unless I am specifically doing sprints/intervals and know I am warmed up
Cycling is great for interval training if done properly
Edited by chris watton on Tuesday 20th May 12:51
I still wouldn't recommend just pushing a hard gear on rollers unless it was part of a structured training programme
If you want a good simple cardio workout that will tone the legs/lose weight and increase fitness do 3/4 hour 1 hour proper cycling sessions a week, flat out for the hour and try and take in as many hills as possible.
TwistingMyMelon said:
Are you using the bike to tone, build muscle, lose weight or build cardio fitness, what are do you want to achieve overall?
I still wouldn't recommend just pushing a hard gear on rollers unless it was part of a structured training programme
If you want a good simple cardio workout that will tone the legs/lose weight and increase fitness do 3/4 hour 1 hour proper cycling sessions a week, flat out for the hour and try and take in as many hills as possible.
I bought the bike initially just to simply try and get fit. I work from home, but very long hours at times, including weekends, either CAD work on the PC or model making - not the most physical of jobs.I still wouldn't recommend just pushing a hard gear on rollers unless it was part of a structured training programme
If you want a good simple cardio workout that will tone the legs/lose weight and increase fitness do 3/4 hour 1 hour proper cycling sessions a week, flat out for the hour and try and take in as many hills as possible.
I quickly realised that we are not in the ideal location for trying to start cycling again (like the weights, this is something I did regularly when younger, doing 30 miles on Sundays). We are positioned smack bang in the middle of a large hill, and to get to the main road, the only way is up. I was shocked to realise just how unfit I was/am, as I could only make half way up the hill before becoming exhausted and unable to peddle! I allowed this to put me off, and I thought I had wasted £1k on the bike.
With that in mind, I bought some rollers, to try and get used to the bike and practise in safety (the road that the hill is on is always very busy, and I am very inexperienced, I figured it would only be a matter of time that I make a silly mistake and smashed into...
Because of the size of a project I had to work on, the rollers were stored away, and I slipped into not doing anything for the next 12 months. I don't know what motivated me to buy the bench and weights, perhaps it was a feeling of getting older and trying again (properly this time), before it really is too late.
Right now, taking it one step at a time, all I want is to be more fit than I currently am. Once I (hopefully) become more fit and supple, I have little doubt that I shall enjoy the training (and perhaps cycling) a lot more.
So, my main goals are ultimately to be physically (if mot mentally) fit, lean and have at least a modicum of muscle tone. I now have all the equipment I need for this - I just need to stick at it this time...
chris watton said:
Perhaps I should have gone a little easier on the squats yesterday - am walking around as if crippled this morning - even walking down the stairs was a chore! 
Exactly the same boat here today. Worth it, but I'm hobbling around like I've sharted myself and getting into the car took 3 goes Stu R said:
chris watton said:
Perhaps I should have gone a little easier on the squats yesterday - am walking around as if crippled this morning - even walking down the stairs was a chore!
Exactly the same boat here today. Worth it, but I'm hobbling around like I've sharted myself and getting into the car took 3 goes Going up the stairs isn't so bad, it's coming down them that's the killer!
Am hoping when I do them again tomorrow, it will have a 'hair of the dog' effect....
goldblum said:
chris watton said:
Going up the stairs isn't so bad, it's coming down them that's the killer!
Am hoping when I do them again tomorrow, it will have a 'hair of the dog' effect....
It won't. It will hurt, you will be weak and you will wish you hadn't bothered. Cheers..Well, they do say, no pain.....
OK, first week complete, and without injury or death, which is quite a bonus!
On Wednesday, I realised I hadn't recovered enough to do squats again, so I did leg extensions and leg curls instead (my god, the leg curls are effective!)
Today, I reverted back to squats, was able to use a little more weight and did more reps than Monday. They don't feel half as bad (my legs) now than they did Monday night!
I start off using the bike rollers and then 2 sets of 12 sit ups - sound's pathetic I know, but I have to get used to them all over again.
Although extremely difficult at times, and hard work, especially the later reps of each exercise, afterwards, I do feel great - knackered, but great.
On Wednesday, I realised I hadn't recovered enough to do squats again, so I did leg extensions and leg curls instead (my god, the leg curls are effective!)
Today, I reverted back to squats, was able to use a little more weight and did more reps than Monday. They don't feel half as bad (my legs) now than they did Monday night!
I start off using the bike rollers and then 2 sets of 12 sit ups - sound's pathetic I know, but I have to get used to them all over again.
Although extremely difficult at times, and hard work, especially the later reps of each exercise, afterwards, I do feel great - knackered, but great.
Stu R said:
Good work, keep slogging away - you'll be surprised how fast your body starts changing if my experience is anything to go by (noob gains are great 
), and how addictive it gets.
Thank you ), and how addictive it gets. 
Shoulders ache this morning.. lol
I realise that I will need to buy some squat stands, as using the supports on the workbench is OK for now, it won't be for long. Also, I think I made a mistake in buying the bench I did - the bar rack is too wide and holds the bar pretty much exactly in the centre of the textured grips on my bar - exactly where you want to put your hands when bench pressing - so I have to adjust the grip when lifting the bar off the supports and again when finished. With much heavier weights, I can see this being a big problem...
My wife told me my shoulders are very bruised this morning, lol.
OK, I ordered some squat stands (York) and some more weights (4x7.5kg - so I have 120kg altogether). trying to use the workbench stands for squats was getting a little too dangerous...
Although I have only done 4 workouts so far, a by product of this is I now enjoy riding my bike, and enjoy seeing how much further I can get up that darn hill on my workout rest days!
Although I have only done 4 workouts so far, a by product of this is I now enjoy riding my bike, and enjoy seeing how much further I can get up that darn hill on my workout rest days!
Just completed my third month, and am loving it!
I bought a Preacher curl bench (or the torture rack, as I now call it..) and more weights (300kg worth) and now have settled into a routine that works for me.
I changed my protein shake to the lean definition powder, using water instead of milk after the first month, and that's made a hell of a difference. I have two shakes a day and one meal (usually soup and wholemeal bread). I should have weighed myself at the beginning, but the loss is quite noticeable now, after only this short time.
For my workout, I start with squats (Need a stand with spotters, really..), followed by 4 x sets of bench press, 3 x sets of chest fly's, 4/5 x sets of preacher curls, 4 x sets of triceps extensions, 3 x sets of bent over rowing and, if I have any strength left, 3 x sets of either military press or upright rows.
Then I do 3 x sets of leg curls, and the same again for leg extensions, followed by some ab exercises.
I start and finish each workout with some cardio on the bike rollers, 10 minutes before, to warm up and 10/20 minutes after.
Not sure how to proceed, should I do another three months doing what I have been doing, or start training 4 times a week, for example, Monday and Thursday, legs, chest and back, and Tuesday and Friday arms and shoulders, so I can get more exercises for the same muscle groups?
To say that I feel better, both physically, even mentally, would be an understatement. So glad I made that purchase three months ago, on a whim!
I bought a Preacher curl bench (or the torture rack, as I now call it..) and more weights (300kg worth) and now have settled into a routine that works for me.
I changed my protein shake to the lean definition powder, using water instead of milk after the first month, and that's made a hell of a difference. I have two shakes a day and one meal (usually soup and wholemeal bread). I should have weighed myself at the beginning, but the loss is quite noticeable now, after only this short time.
For my workout, I start with squats (Need a stand with spotters, really..), followed by 4 x sets of bench press, 3 x sets of chest fly's, 4/5 x sets of preacher curls, 4 x sets of triceps extensions, 3 x sets of bent over rowing and, if I have any strength left, 3 x sets of either military press or upright rows.
Then I do 3 x sets of leg curls, and the same again for leg extensions, followed by some ab exercises.
I start and finish each workout with some cardio on the bike rollers, 10 minutes before, to warm up and 10/20 minutes after.
Not sure how to proceed, should I do another three months doing what I have been doing, or start training 4 times a week, for example, Monday and Thursday, legs, chest and back, and Tuesday and Friday arms and shoulders, so I can get more exercises for the same muscle groups?
To say that I feel better, both physically, even mentally, would be an understatement. So glad I made that purchase three months ago, on a whim!
_bryan_ said:
Definitely move to a 4 day split and make it as simple as possible, less is more and all that.
What you're doing at the moment is hitting pretty much every muscle group, every workout, which isn't good for recovery.
Thanks for that Bryan.What you're doing at the moment is hitting pretty much every muscle group, every workout, which isn't good for recovery.
At first, it wasn't so bad as I took it easy as I eased myself into it and focused on technique and using lighter weights - but now I am using heavier weights, I find that sometimes, I haven't fully recovered when I do my next workout (but it's not so bad - usually shoulders/chest area)
I take a few supplements with the protein shakes, cod liver oil capsules, B-15, kelp tablets, CLA capsules and 'decabolic creatine' (which is mixed in with the shake) Not sure how effective some of that lot is, though...
_bryan_ said:
Definitely move to a 4 day split and make it as simple as possible, less is more and all that.
What you're doing at the moment is hitting pretty much every muscle group, every workout, which isn't good for recovery.
Just finished my first week with the new routine - much better!What you're doing at the moment is hitting pretty much every muscle group, every workout, which isn't good for recovery.
Monday and Thursday I do:
Bench Press x 4 sets
Bench Flys x 4 sets
Bent over Rows (dumbbell) x 4 sets
Squats x 3 sets
Leg curls x 3 sets
leg extensions x 3 sets
Tuesday and Friday:
Military press x 4 sets
Upright rows x 4 sets
preacher curls x 4 sets
Dumbbell curls x 4 sets
Triceps extensions x 4 sets
Dumbbell lateral raises x 4 sets
Before and after each session I warm up on bike rollers, and finish each session with ad exercises.
I am pooped now.....
Is that a better routine?
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