This year was the first time in my career where I could lift and bike train in the same day, but it has resulted in not feeling burnt out, stronger, and allowed me to have better workouts. It’s a luxury though and it took ten years into my career to get it.
Mine today looks like this and this would be considered a long session:
Backsquat: 5x3
Single Leg RDL: 4x3
Banded hip thrust: 1 x 225
Single leg box jump: 3x5
Today I did 1h TR (Ericsson) followed by 45 mins of rest before lifting. This included the drive to the gym. Didn’t plan it that way, but ended up doing it out of necessity. It worked out fine. Amazing what 45 mins of rest will do.
The advantage of stacking TR and lifting close together is not having to deal with two separate workout sessions. Not getting dressed out twice, showering twice, etc, etc. It is easier to schedule it this way. The disadvantage is having one workout interfere with the other–or having less optimal gains compared to what would happen if they were more separated in time. I’ll continue experimenting, but I was surprised how well today’s accidental scheduling turned out.
This seems like very little stimulus, unless you are really light, just starting to lift or recovering from an injury. I guess better than nothing, but that weight/rep scheme doesn’t seem optimized for strength gains.
6 reps at 85% of one’s 1RM should be nearing failure. The notation is [reps]/[% 1RM].
The “|” does denote superset. It’s not a Crossfit program but a USA Weightlifting program run out of a Crossfit gym. The gym considers themselves primarily a weightlifting gym and has won three team state championships in the past decade.
oh…ok, I thought that was lbs. Cool. In that case is a lot of work. I keep my working sets in the 4-5 range…for now. Let’s see when I get stuck following a linear progression.
Pretty much all my programs in my sports history used % 1RM plans. I use kilos these days, which has been a nice mental break because I’m not always comparing myself against my old maxes from football.
I pay the $$$ in part so I don’t have to do the mental work of planning a lifting schedule. The other reason is that I need the technique coaching. I’ve had so many surgeries from my past life of sports that I can’t just yank weights around willy nilly anymore without consequences.
Most of the time it’s 5+ hours, but I did Carpathian on Thursday and lifted immediately after, just downed a Skratch Recovery shake in between. Felt great!
My linear progression gains are plateauing for the Over Head Press. I’m stuck at 120lbs 3 sets of 5. I have several options in order to shake things up:
Do OHP twice a week
Decrease weight slightly and add reps/sets
Decrease reps increase weight.
In general I think I’m not progressing because of I need more volume, so leaning towards option 1 or 2. I weight 155-160lbs.
I give it at least 3 hours. Normally riding in the morning then weights during lunch. I follow the advice given in this concurrent training research: Using Molecular Biology to Maximize Concurrent Training - PMC It’s a great read if you’re into research. The recommendations are:
I’ve had good success with negatives and isometrics.
Negatives: I’d keep the same set/rep scheme as before. On the first WO I wouldn’t be able to complete a single rep, so I’d push press the bar up and bring it slowly back down. In subsequent workouts, I’d do as many normal reps as possible and complete the set with negatives.
Isometrics: I’d “prime” myself by exerting maximal force against an immovable object at three different points in the ROM before doing the actual lift. For overhead press, I’d step on tow straps to which I had attached handles. I thought it worked better for power movements, but might be worth a try for max strength too.
TR (SS outside) immediately before lifting (literally on the commute to the gym) – sketchy/dangerous; do NOT recommend
TR (SS indoors) 45 minutes before lifting – acceptable
TR (SS indoors) 4 hours before lifting – fine
TR (2h endurance outside) immediately after lifting (long way home) – fine
A conclusion I’m coming to is that TR workouts before lifting tend to interfere with lifting more when the workouts are higher reps.
This past Thursday I did a TR (SS indoor) workout around midday and lifted in the evening. Friday (yesterday) I did an endurance/shakedown ride that was almost ten hours in the saddle. Tried to keep my HR in Z2/low Z3 as much as possible. I lifted this morning (heavy, low reps) and didn’t notice any hindrance this morning from yesterday’s long ride. However, I did have a decent amount of muscular fatigue Friday morning when I was starting my long ride. The psychological feedback faded after an hour or so.
EDIT: Just want to add that my philosophy is generally, “Get the workouts in first; optimize scheduling second.” Figure out what you can do consistently first. I’ve done a lot of non-optimally timed lifting in previous sports. It had to be done. 9 times out of 10, consistency beats other forms of optimization. Yes, having at least 24 hours rest between lifting and cardio is optimal, but not if one uses that reasoning to optimize themselves out of a workout entirely.
I’d do either/both #2 or #3. Body adapts well to routine. Or so I’ve been told. Hard to know if it’s just broscience or whatever.
I know a lot of people who got into lifting via Starting Strength-like programs, which focuses on the 5x5. Anecdotally, I don’t know any competitive strength & conditioning program that doesn’t change the sets/reps on the regular.
There’s also #4, which is to change to DB overhead press or another mostly similar, but somewhat different lift for a bit (incline bench; push press; jerk). And #4.5 which is to use a spotter with a variant that can be safely spotted. Contrary to what some might believe, spotters are not just for ensuring safety. They also can help you by applying the slightest amount of help/stabilization when you start to fail so that you can complete the set. This is helpful when you’re between increments. DB overhead press can be spotted at the elbows or the wrists. There are videos on YouTube.
I guess #5 is find smaller change plates, if you don’t have them. Do you fail at 122.5?
While it doesn’t come close to comparing to the more advanced strength training programs in this thread, I have come across a maintenance routine that seems to work for me given that I rarely can fit more that 1 training session in a day.
Basically, I have come up with a set of mini-strength workouts that I do right after my rides. These workouts consist of 3-4 exercises organized as 6-8 minute EMOMs (each minute on the minute). An example would be:
2 rounds (EMOM)
Alternating Pistal Squats
Pull-ups
Ring Dips
Sand-bag drags in plank position
So far these have maintained my strength standard levels (which I will test from time to time) between level 2 and 3. I have even been able to increase my pull-ups to 18 strict.
Anyways, thought I would throw it out for discussion and in-case anyone wants to try something different for maintenance.
. Home gym situation.