12/30/08: Discontinuing Leg Exercises
While it is premature to stop leg weight exercises now - unless you are peaking for an early season race - you could certainly start cutting back from lifting 3 days/week to 2 days. You could also start considering cutting back on the number of leg exercises you are doing and the number of sets per exercise you're doing.
In my experience, being larger muscles, the legs take a bigger beating from weights and, thus, take longer to snap back from the intensity. I know I've maxed out the effectiveness of lifting leg weights when I hit a 'critical mass' of sorts. I can push up a certain weight on the Hip Sled for 3 sets of 8 reps (or 6 or 4, depending on the day). But, add some weight and all of a sudden I'm about to explode an artery out my forehead. 650lbs is challenging but doable. 670lbs, however, threatens to blow my legs apart. (And, just for clarification, the rule of thumb for increasing weight is up to 5% from one session to the next. So, this 20lb increase comes in at right around 2.5%, well below that threshold).
One thing I could do is lower the weight substantially and lift for more reps. But that's not the point. I'm lifting for strength right now and, invariably, I will hit a plateau with each and every exercise at some point. It just so happens I hit it with the legs first. Lifting further on my legs will yield little (if any) additional dividend for me. So, while I continue to focus on my upper body and (more importantly) my core, I'll be giving my legs a break.
Another suggestion is that you do not lift for the legs the day before a key workout day or leading into your key weekend workouts. When I cut out legs from my Friday workout, I was shocked at the immediate and substantial improvement to my long-annd-hard Saturday ride. Instead of feeling fatigued and like I was struggling to push out 230-250 watts for a sustained climb (30-60min), I was instead feeling powerful at 275-295 watts. This was a huge eye opener to how lifting weights and training hard affect recovery and our ability to perform in subsequent days.
Lifting weights has its place, but it is also important to keep in mind that doing so can detract from your performance as easily as it can enhance your performance. The key is to understand the difference and realize when it's time to either cut back or quit lifting altogether. For me, it's time to stop working the legs; so I will.
Cheers,
Nate
In my experience, being larger muscles, the legs take a bigger beating from weights and, thus, take longer to snap back from the intensity. I know I've maxed out the effectiveness of lifting leg weights when I hit a 'critical mass' of sorts. I can push up a certain weight on the Hip Sled for 3 sets of 8 reps (or 6 or 4, depending on the day). But, add some weight and all of a sudden I'm about to explode an artery out my forehead. 650lbs is challenging but doable. 670lbs, however, threatens to blow my legs apart. (And, just for clarification, the rule of thumb for increasing weight is up to 5% from one session to the next. So, this 20lb increase comes in at right around 2.5%, well below that threshold).
One thing I could do is lower the weight substantially and lift for more reps. But that's not the point. I'm lifting for strength right now and, invariably, I will hit a plateau with each and every exercise at some point. It just so happens I hit it with the legs first. Lifting further on my legs will yield little (if any) additional dividend for me. So, while I continue to focus on my upper body and (more importantly) my core, I'll be giving my legs a break.
Another suggestion is that you do not lift for the legs the day before a key workout day or leading into your key weekend workouts. When I cut out legs from my Friday workout, I was shocked at the immediate and substantial improvement to my long-annd-hard Saturday ride. Instead of feeling fatigued and like I was struggling to push out 230-250 watts for a sustained climb (30-60min), I was instead feeling powerful at 275-295 watts. This was a huge eye opener to how lifting weights and training hard affect recovery and our ability to perform in subsequent days.
Lifting weights has its place, but it is also important to keep in mind that doing so can detract from your performance as easily as it can enhance your performance. The key is to understand the difference and realize when it's time to either cut back or quit lifting altogether. For me, it's time to stop working the legs; so I will.
Cheers,
Nate
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lou Otremba on -
Nate-
670 lbs sounds unbelievable!
I am not lifting on my legs this year but I am doing muscle tension intervals (big gear / low cadence) once a week on the kinetic trainer. I am really getting into them. I've built up to and done 3 x 12 minutes w/ 10 min rest, averaging about 240 watts and reaching zone 3 in HR, spinning 60-65 RPMs. This session plus a straight 75 min roller ride w/ 40-45 min tempo are my main bike workouts this time of year.
Do you have an opinion about when to stop doing the muscle tension intervals? My thought was the more patient I can be with these the better, i.e., keep doing them until Feb/March.
Just curious,
Lou
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Permalink Reply by Nate Llerandi on -
Hi Lou:
Well, while piling on the 45lb plates sounds impressive, it's still on a machine. I'm not kidding myself that I could free squat that much! ;-) But, yeah, it's plenty!
When Greg LeMond was still cycling and trying to regain his Tour form in the early 90s - this was before he realized his fitness was permanently compromised by the lead poisoning by the remaining buckshot in his body from the hunting accident - he had been a believer in the low cadence, hard gear approach. In working with Paul Koechli and becoming a die hard student of the SRM power meter, LeMond realized that stringent power tests did not verify this approach to gaining strength and power on the bike. Turns out the low cadence, hard gear scenario is a myth. It has little to no value in terms of improving power output, leg strength, etc.
The main reason is that to gain power and strength, you have to things that are both explosive and short in duration. Nothing we do on the bike, aside from very short sprints, fits this mold. Hence, the value of the weight room. 60-65rpm for 12min is still one heck of lot of revs when compared to 3-4 sets of 4-12 reps for a leg exercise in the weight room.
The harder effort to turn the pedals certainly gives the illusion that you must be doing something to improve your cycling. However, power tests demonstrate otherwise.
Hope this helps,
Nate
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