I want to pump up, how can I start?

[fixedgeargirl]

Oh, lovely TE ladies, please lend me your insight on weight routines and gym machines.

I've been living in the snowless city for over a year now and realizing how much upper body strength I've lost not doing my usual hiking, snowshoeing and skate skiing. We belong to the Y, mostly for the pool, and I want to be taking advantage of the other equipment to gain some strength.

I have only used weights for a one semester class in high school (we won't talk about how long ago that was ), and have no familiarity with the machines or routines. I could afford to pay their trainer for maybe one session, and the Y does offer a free one hour orientation. So, I'm look for your ideas for books/other resources for a rank beginner to peruse to try to build a routine that will support my cycling.

Thanks, ladies !!!

[ladyfish]

If you take them up on the free hour, you can get the trainer to show you how to use the equipment. As you are doing that, you can get them to recommend specific training for what you wish to accomplish. I think you'll be ready to do some work on your own once you are familiar with the machines.

Make sure they also show you the free-weights. I've used both, and I believe (personal opinion here) that free-weights are very important. For myself, I will try and move up in weights more often with the free-weights than with the machines. It's a personal thing, but I get too comfortable with the machines.

So get out there and get started! Get a good routine that targets ALL muscle groups. Once you've worked some on your own, then decide if you want to spend the money for more personal training. You may find you are doing fine without it. You may find you need the extra help.

Good luck. If they offer a Body Pump or Rep Reebock class, give it a try. It's a weight class set to music and is fun and works the muscles well.

Cathy

[Bike Goddess]

I have been doing weights for the past year and some months. I started with free weights. However, this year, I am doing machines. My trainer is also an excellent cyclist (former racer)so after a year with the free weights, she started me on the machines.

If you tell a trainer what you want, they should be able to find a compatible program to fit your needs. The key is to be persistent with your workouts. Also, you may not need to do heavy lifting- I doubt you want to look like a "bodybuilder"! So lighter weights and more reps to fatigue muscles may be the key to a stronger, more resilient upper body. Don't forget to do ab exercises too. Very important for cycling!!!!

Good luck! I strongly believe in weight lifting for cycling!

[LBTC]

Yup, weights are a great way to train for cycling! Use all the muscles, make sure you're using the right balance of weights (ie. - the bicep and tricep muscles should be trained using the same weight)... and don't be too afraid to push some big weights some times. The key to weights, like with many things, to get the best results you need to do different styles of lifting throughout the seasons. A bit heavier weight will increase muscle mass which burns calories faster and makes your cardio work more beneficial. Really heavy weights with few reps and few sets will increase your power (really important for sprinting, or sudden steep climbs like in mountain biking), lighter weights with many many reps will increase muscle endurance, also very important in cycling. Learn the basics, keep your routine roughly the same for 6-8 weeks, only increasing the weights as you need to, then change up the routine with either a different focus (as I mentioned above) or using different exercises for the muscle groups. I also prefer free weights, and also like to integrate exercises like pushups, too. Machines will help you isolate a particular muscle very effectively, while free weights will help you train all the corresponding little muscles during a full range of motion. Both are good.

Take the free hour, learn all you can, read magazines and books, too, keep it interesting to keep motivated. You'll love it!!

Namaste,
~T~

[kiwi girl]

I'm editing this because I didn't read your post carefully enough last time - I seeyou belong to a Y and want to workout there . But I second the BodyPump solution if it is availiable

I do BodyPump for my resistance training (in fact I did a class this morning) it is group fitness class with high reps of low to moderate weight set to music. I find it hard to motivate myself to do solo weights workouts and didn't want to stump up for a personal trainer every week, so BodyPump does the trick for me. It is pre-coreographed (sp?) franchise style programme based here in NZ but availiable all around the world. The attached link takes you to a site that tells you where classes are avaliable.

http://www.lesmills.com/site/class-l...rue&country=42

[betagirl]

I started doing a combination "spin & sculpt" class that's 40 mins on the bike and 20 mins of weight training. They also have various classes that do weight training. I personally prefer the classes since they're more structured. But if I just do a spin class, I try to put in some arm work on the weight machines. I can't really say I'm an expert there, I just do them at the weight I can handle and for 3 sets of 10 reps each.

[doc]

There are a large number of really good books out there. And even more lousy ones! I started from scratch without any help with a book by Rachel McLeish (sp?) who was the reigning Miss Olympia at the time. That was a long time ago. If her book is still available I highly recommend it. If you're interested email me and I can give you the publisher and exact title etc. This year I bought "strength training anatomy" an absolutely gorgeous book. Really outstanding, but you have to know something already to use it.

I am a big proponent of free weights, cable machines and some ball exercises. These type of exercises require good form, balance, and the use of many accessory muscles. So they are closer to real life. The only downside is using bad form which can lead to injury. I find machines WAY too limiting in the range of motion and muscle fibers enlisted.

Make sure you have fun so you'll keep it up. G'luck!