I started the offseason with the goal of squatting and deadlifting over 500 lbs. While I still believe that goal is attainable, I'm changing my focus. Doing countless squats and deadlifts has made me very good at...squatting and deadlifting. An increase in weight/reps for a particular exercise does not necessarily translate into an increase in speed/power on the bike, and destroying myself in a hard gym workout is actually detrimental on the subsequent bike workouts.
There's a reason I do roller sprints after every gym workout: specificity.
Weight-lifting is about building general strength and power...having muscles that are capable of producing power on the bike. Squatting 405 lbs requires infintely more leg strength than I could ever hope to utilize on the bike, so is it worth it to push myself to get my squat up to 500? Probably not. Not only will the performance benefits be negligible, the heightened the risk of injury makes it a risk that's not worth taking.
Don't get me wrong, I completely understand the need for weights. That much is obvious...but the emphasis on putting up BIG weight is not necessarily warranted.
Many of the world's top sprinters lift significantly less than I do, yet they are significantly faster.
5 comments:
quitter!
seriously though.. you're on the right track.. specificity is key..
But... Increasing force production if the same leg speed can be maintained will mean increased power.
huge 'IF'
Guess this means I won't be joining you for a workout then. I don't want to have to continually peel off weight so you can do your reps.
I have only lifted a couple of times all winter. Lifting is completely over rated. All I do is level 1 rides.
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