I would suggest stretching the hip flexors regularly (include a posterior provide tilt before any forward movement). Strengthen the glutes with glute bridges. For the upper body, try band pull aparts for thoracic extension or band face pulls.
Basic exercises with minimal equipment.
How did you guys find progression with this?
I think I’ve done about ten sessions over five weeks, starting very light. Not seen any change in body composition, and feel a bit lopsided in that OH Press feels like I’m nearing the limit, but bench is easy.
Using 5x5 rather than 1x5, on Chads scale I’m soon to be L1 deadlift, I’m L1 bench, soon to be L2 squat, and L2 on row and oh press.
Whereas I find Squats far worse. Squats DOMS wreck me whereas I can train on Deadlift DOMS. 
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Just started on Monday, also very light. From past lifting experience OHP maxes out really quick. It would be beneficial to pick up some fractional plates for smaller increases. How have your TR workouts been? I’ve had to bring the resistance down about 10% for sweetspot rides this week. 75 weighted squats a week is no joke. Hoping I adapt over the next few weeks.
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Perhaps am an oddball, but I find day after leg day (squats and deads) can bang out a hard VO2 ride 30/30 or up to 3 min intervals, but longer threshold work is hard. Two days after a leg day + VO2 combo I want a Z2 recovery day. Everyone is different but might be worth playing with your programming depending on when “leg day” soreness really hits you.
I’ll do something like this:
Sun - Outdoor ride 2-3 hours tempo minus
Monday - Strength work
Tuesday - VO2 Day
Wed - Recovery or rest
Thurs - Threshold work
Fri - easy ride plus strength work (I usually have light work days on Friday so more time)
Sat - Outdoor long ride at tempo plus
That works for me when in “just lifting” maintenance mode. During winter I like to run a couple cycles of an intermediate program (for example Candito’s six week). When doing that, the lifting takes priority so typically doing a low volume bike plan riding 3-4 days a week.
When getting ready for race season I keep lifting upper body and core work but drop the legs.
Good luck - keep lifting!
Mark
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I have just started with a new coach and he wants me to do strength work twice a week and I am really looking forward to it. The plan is not to do both bike and weights on the same day but it may happen, in which case it will be to the gym before work for weights and then bike after work at home.
This actually works well for me because I do not have the motivation to go into a cold garage early morning.
The other aspect I like about the plan is that he is counting a good weights session at about 60 TSS so I do not feel pressurised that I am missing out on TSS by not biking.
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Funny thing is, I actually did the opposite of what I posted last winter.
I thought I wouldn’t be able to manage TR workouts in the morning but I actually was.
So what I did was:
Monday: TR 1 hour in the morning gym in afternoon/evening
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 1,5 hr in the evening
Thursday: rest
Friday: TR 1 hour in the morning , gym in the afternoon/evening
Weekends: either rest or MTB
This worked pretty well for me, especially because friends would join me in the gym in the evening, that made it easier for me to stick to going to the gym.
I haven’t been able to go to the gym the last two months or so due to an annoying shoulder injury and I noticed that I really need the gym work for my core and balance.
My form currently on the bike looks awful compared to before the injury.
Good luck with the new coach and training plan, hopefully it will get you the results you are looking for!
Okay but bear in mind; I was doing SSB LV 1 when I started, 5x5 is within 7.5-8.5h triathlon training I’m doing, I rarely made three lifting sessions per week but I always swam, biked or ran the same day.
I’ve never done SSB before so it’s hard to gauge the effects of lifting. Mostly it affected my perception, I thought that because I had been aching a bit maybe I shouldn’t bike or run, but when I got going I felt fine.
Fair enough. I don’t think there is a protocol for this, but while weights are light I’m using RPE 4, (30 min session 24TSS) where I feel I’m nearing my limit 6, and when I get to assbusting Ill look at 8,9,10.
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Last season and this season I’ve worked with strong lifts. Here’s just a bullet point list of my experience.
- 3 times a week is doable early in the program as weights are light. (Assumes you start with just the bar)
- Last season I was on a low volume base plan and the two complimented each other well for about 12 weeks. This season I’m trying a polarized approach and can tell already that 2 days a week lifting will be the max I can withstand.
- Wow do you have to eat a ton doing this. Stepping on the scale(Tanita) my weight has stayed the same but muscle mass jumps up nicely. Looking forward to carrying this mass into the latter part of the year to help improve B.M.R to lean down and improve strength.(Worked last year)
- Doing bike rides early in the morning and strength training in the evening usually after supper. Lifting on the days I do VO2 Max work has worked best for me but it’s critical to get a recovery drink in right after the morning bike session and then follow it up with a good breakfast(Oatmeal, berries, walnuts, whey protein, 2 eggs) Can’t spare the calories at lunch either on these days. The book Nutrient Timing really helped me get this part figured out. Just have to put the principles into practice consistently.
- If your new to strength training try your darnedest to get some strecthing or better yet yoga in. I dropped from three strength sessions down to two and subbed in a yoga class at the Y and that was a huge help. The strength training tightens you up but the Yoga allows for mobility.
Gotta run but those are the high points of what I’ve learned. This stuff is highly personal.
Keep up the great thread fellas!
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Nice work, it’s a lot to juggle. With only a year of tri training under my belt I’m still learning what I should prioritize and when to schedule it. I’m struggling to be okay with keeping my FTP down while I work in the weights 3x a week.
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No change for me, no increase in food needed either. At what point did you feel the need for more, and what was your starting - not sure what sat here - muscle mass, muscle percentage?
Muscle percentage is 76.5% currently, and as below you can see muscle mass has fluctuated throughout the year, dipping when I started 5x5 and SSB, and starting to rise again now but still below peak.
So I’m currently doing the Starting Strength program and want to plan ahead on how to maintain the strength during the season. @lancestrum, @GPx how did you maintain it with minimal effort or did you train just through?
Even if I don’t put on more weight and go down to 2 sessions per week that’s still a lot of time. At least with 3 work sets and 5 or so warm-up sets I’m clearly in the 1h-1.5h range.
Does it make sense to condense it into one “big” session with all main lifts, just one work set and reduced warm-up sets or will this destroy me?
Well I don’t race, so I don’t really like have a season per se.
After my A and B event that I had in April 2019, I pretty much let go of the TR workouts and did the rides I wanted.
I started training with TR somewhere in September again.
I had two types of gym days in the winter of 2018, the first one in the week would be on balance and core. Not so much heavy lifting but exercises with body weight and things that target balance and core. Those balance exercises would also work muscles in my legs, but wouldn’t destroy them.
The second one would usually be the day after my last TR ride for that week and was on pushing weights as I would have rest days after it and it wouldn’t interfere with the TR workouts.
For strength I started doing crossfit after my events in April, which had positive results for me on the bike (road and MTB).
In my opinion, (please note that I am not a personal trainer or am highly experienced in weight lifting), I think you should find a routine for your weight training that targets more muscles per exercise but with less time spend at the gym (given your comment on time) and that you actually like to do.
It so much more motivating if you can find a routine that’s efficient, what I mean by that is that you get a barbell and do two or three different exercises in a row with it without having to change the weights too much.
Or you grab a kettlebell instead of a barbell if that helps efficiency.
I wouldn’t put it in all in one session if I were you, if I were to put it all in one day it would become such a drag and I would have a higher chance of losing proper form because I am bored or tired, risking injuries.
Same here. Squat day wrecks me, deadlift day not near as bad.
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+1
@srv
StrongLifts 5x5 isn’t a once per week thing, but there is a “for Old Guys” version twice per week:
I’m doing twice per week but 5x5, usually after my interval run, or early morning with a hard bike in the evening.
Alright. I’ll just play around when I reach my target and see how far I can condense it without destroying me or losing motivation.
LOVE Strenght training, and I do it all year around. I do GZCLP method, linear progression, but seems similar to 5 x 5.
The neuromuscular thrashing is amazing; it hits you like a ton of bricks 4-5 hours afterwards.
I try to lift after my hardest workout during the week, if it’s possible. Definitely have to finagle the workouts around a bit based on how you feel.
Keep crushing it!
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Howdy. I wasn’t able to maintain it all season long. I’m a contractor and our summers get very hectic so much of the structure I find in the winter “Off-Season” slips when our season gets going. It was a learning experience for sure.
Working with strength training and structured on the bike training really is taxing especially as you improve and the weights get heavier and your FTP grows. I tried to lay out a plan before hand and it was going well but I quickly got in over my head with life stressors. Once I started to be non-compliant then I felt like I was a dud and results went down hill. Knowing this I’ve adapted my overall plan including strength training downward. Meaning when I look a my plan I think “Oh you can do more than that” but it’s the unforeseen events that really kicks a guy in the nuts. My suggestion is put together a plan you think is maintainable and then scale it back by 10%(Volume wise). Then give yourself a couple weeks to acclimate to it and see how you feel. If your feeling hungry to train still your in the right spot. When your wrecked after a couple weeks of strength and on bike training you’ve taken it too far.
Not sure if this answered your question in a round about way or not.
In short what works for me is two strength sessions a week(Workouts A/B) in the evening done on the same day as my VO2 max rides(done early A.M.). The other four days are endurance rides ranging from 1 hr to 3 hrs. I no longer continue to try and increase my squat because it gets too taxing. Maintaining is fine with me. Dead lift is one I try and improve upon.
Good luck!
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How many days per week do you lift during different times of the season? Do you drop down into a maintenance mode when race season starts? Also, care to share your numbers for each lift?