Preparing for Cycling 2017 — Squats and Lat Pulldowns
I was discouraged by the severe cramping at Alta Alpina in June, my 8th double century of the year, and one I ought to have won easily. Setbacks don’t usually bother me, but this one took a toll, because it remains a mystery—and it was a really miserable time of suffering from mile 100 to mile 165 or so. I’m just not a 7 of 8 passes type of guy, but my body thwarted me that day. That out-of-the-blue failure of my body put a cloud over my thinking about cycling that caused me to divert my attention to other things more than usual (not that I stopped riding, but I stopped training seriously).
Anyway, it is now December and I am back on the training regimen, but it has been raining a lot. I dislike the grit and filth and discomfort of rain riding, so I resolved that I would resume squats and weight training, something I had been robust at 15 years ago (400 pound squats, ten or so, and 135 X 135 pounds, that range).
So I’ve done squats a few days over the course of a week and I’m now up to (as of tonight) 100 reps X 115 pounds as a set of 70 reps, then a set of 30 reps. I am hoping this strategy will help raise my top-end power for cycling in 2017. I should be able to get to at least 100 reps X 135 pounds again*, even though I am 15 years older than my peak weight-lifting days.
UPDATE, one week later: I have now worked up to 135 pounds X 115 reps in two sets: 50 reps, then 65 reps. Already I seem to be having better torque on the bike, the weights seems to have stimulated that aspect of muscle memory.
* 45 pound Olympic bar plus 2 X 45 pound weights = 135 pounds.