[KiwiCoach]

Hey Disco

Seeing John is following a similar programme to the Aussies does this mean cake between efforts? If so may just have to poke my nose in on a few sessions

What's your one leg press up to? Are you modifying it to recreate different parts of the pedaling stroke and if so how?

Hamish Ferguson

[D1sco]

Someone asked me the other day "what do you do at the gym that takes 2 hours". So I thought I would let others know what I am doing.

Please don't take this as correct or the right way to do things, I am no expert by any means and I don't claim to be, all I have done is adapted what I was doing to what Craig Colduck, Friends and Coaches have talked about. I am only passing on my experiences.

5min Bike
18min Dynamic Stretching, BW Squats, Lunges, Knee Tuck Jumps etc
30min Single Leg Box Drives, 4 Sets
40min Dumbell Bench Press, 3 Set
55min Standing Box Jump, 3 Sets
1hr 04min Prone Row, 3 Sets
1hr 12min Ab Crunch, 3 Sets
1hr 22min Squats, 2 Sets
1hr 46min Single Leg Squats, 4 Sets
1hr 53min Ab Extension, 3 Sets
2hr 08min Balistic Leg Press, 3 Sets
2hr 18min Bike and Stretch

This is only an example and is varied with Single Leg Squat/Single Leg Press, Dumbell Bench Press/Prone Row, Bicep/Tricep Curls, Chinups/Shoulder Press, etc, etc... it is also varied depending on how I feel and in consideration as to what training I am doing the next day.

Perhaps one of the Aussies could enlighten us on how their Gym sessions go in a bit more depth.

[KiwiCoach]

Yeah, but what about the cake!!!

Hamish

[panch0]

After a couple of months doing single leg squats I am quiting. It is stressing my knees a bit and I am fearing an injury may happen. I guess I am just getting old! At 40.. those SLS are not the most comfy thing!

I am wondering if that injury that practically ended Sean Eaddie's career came from a single leg squat?

panch0

[Phipps]

Greetings,

This has been such a great and helpful thread. I felt I had something to offer and so while being new to the forum I decided to post.

If your body can handle the single leg exercises and presses that is the way to go. One thing to consider is that as your strength increases and you increase your lbs/kg your risk of injury increases as well. If you have not done the training work on your core and back to prevent injury you should be careful. Much of what is posted in these threads is elite level training information and should be looked upon as such. Protect yourself. If you’re just starting single legs squats use a smith machine or a decent hack squat machine to get started. While this will inhibit some of the core and stabilizer strengthening it will help get you started. Fatigue and poor form equal injury. Vertical compression on a back that is not conditioned for heavy loads is a back that is at risk to be injured.

A few alternatives.

Ballistic Leg Press- This seems to be a staple – Single leg presses are fairly safe and there has been a lot of information posted on the site regarding these. Explosion is the key. An Alternative approach I use for this exercise is: Once you complete a set of leg presses, get off the sled and immediately go to a box to jump up on. The theory behind this is fast twitch muscle fiber recruitment. I typically only do 3 sets of these and generally when jumps get soft I stop on the last rep I have difficulty with. *A word on the leg press exercise itself- I go to a parallel level on the leg press. Generally speaking if you bury the weight to your chest you will many times end up rotating your pelvis forward and risk a back injury. Furthermore burying the weight can cause significant patellar tendon problems not to mention the two times I have cracked ribs.

Single Leg Step Ups- Rather then hold the weight with dumbbells at my side I use a chain belt typically used for weighted dips- roll up the chain and strap a dumbbell to the chain. Move the weight to your backside -resting perfectly on your glutes (takes awhile to get it right but once you do it works fine). I do my step-ups single legged. Meaning I step up and down with the same leg. I do these as 8 reps per leg as fast as I can. I vary the number of sets per workout based on what else I do. As far as the height of the box goes – the rule of thumb is nothing past parallel with your knee. If you do go past that you increase your risk of injury.

Leg press alternative- This will seem a bit odd and while it works mostly glutes it is an excellent alternative exercise. Turn yourself around in the sled (leg press). Find a way to balance yourself using the sled etc. You should be facing the floor – using one leg (reverse) press the weight back. This looks super odd but it really works your glutes. This is more difficult to master then you might think and the lbs/kg’s increase slowly. I realize this may be difficult to visualize but if you were on all fours on the floor and kicked one leg back- that is what the exercise should simulate on the sled. Yes it works.

I hope that may help someone out with mixing it up a bit.

- Phipps

[dominus88]

I was wondering.

What type of leg press machine is best for the ballistic single leg legpress?

[Phipps]

Greetings,

I use a regular leg press (a Sled)- not a vertical. I believe a vertical leg press would be ok. My gym's vertical leg press is a bit hard on the back-
Plus I feel the sled is more versatile in one's ability to adjust their feet position.

- Phipps

[jb1566]

Okay, havent contributed in awhile because I havent had anything constructive to add.....not that, that has stopped me in the past....

And since this thread was hijacked a long time ago and turned into a general weight training thread, i figure its okay to post off-topic......

Since this thread is so informative, gonna tack on three things I've experienced this off season so far (yes, I'm hitting weights probably too hard too early.....but I am doing 12-15 reps...just not at super-light weight)

Creatine:

I felt the effects of Creatine about a two weeks after I started.....

Creatine has definitly helped me finish my sets (not so much lifting more, as I am able to finish more reps - this is as expected from the literature - its replacing the ATP phospho something or other).

Finally, I'm noticing a huge difference in my ability to cycle at a "honest" aerobic pace on days between lifting.....seems the lactic acid isnt there at the aerobic levels, like it was before this creatine cycle.

So, I'd recommend you really take an honest look at creatine supplementation.....its working for me (as a training aid)

Leg Press:

Do these after squats and try to mimic the cycling position/muscles.....let squats be squats (no bullshit mimic this or try that...just plain old squat to parallel squats). Dont go too deep in the leg press....

CycleFX and NetAthlon:

see the websites, just trying to keep the same pace as one of the pacers will make getting up to desired HR easier, also causes the time to go by much faster.

Milk and Protein:

drink extra milk with protein, to get big you gotta be big, your trying to build lean mass.....

These are just some things I have noticed this year. Now granted, this is only my 3 season of racing, and 4th year of cycling, but, I am noticing some much bigger gains this year in the weight room then last year.....of course that could all be because I'm fitter and my muscles were more "primed" to respond to weight training.....

[bijan]

When you guys are doing the single leg press exposively, are you actually throwing it so your foot loses contact with the machine? Or are you just being quick with the movement? I've done squats like this before, and I know you can do jump-squats so I was curious.
Thanks

[jb1566]

OMG, posts like this are like seeing a guy in the gym do stiff-legged deadlifts with a rounded back.....

Do not throw the weight sled in the air!

I know there is stuff on jump-squats too...but think about the spinal disk whatever-its called and its potential for getting squished out like goo....

Besides, I would think December is too soon to be doing single-leg ballistic lifts anyways......assuming your racing in June/July/Aug....shouldnt you just now be getting ready to transition to a max strength phase or a power phase....followed by speed strength later?

Ballistic anything this early might be an injury waiting to happen.

see: http://spokepost.com/news/?articleID=12 for a pretty vanilla treatise of timing weight training.....

From the article:

"A good weight program for cyclists should include and anatomical adaptation phase (AA), a maximal strength phase (MxS), a power phase (P), endurance phase (End), and maintenance phase (M). Depending on the amount of time and previous training history of the athlete, a hypertrophy phase (H) can also be added."

[bijan]

Just to redeem myself...I was asking about the SLP just because I was wondering if that's what you guys were doing. I have plenty experience in the gym and with kinesiology so don't worry about me. I promise I won't do anything liek that or round my back during DL's I'm also all about periodization.

[D1sco]

Down here in New Zealand we are doing single leg - balistic leg press, and we are throwing the sled as far and as fast in the air as we can. Don't forget to throw it with one leg and catch it with TWO, preferably have you legs bent at the knees for obvious reasons! As the weight increases you might find that you can't throw it, but the "intention to throw it" works just as well. Happy Training. Disco.

[jb1566]

D1sco •wrote• Down here in New Zealand we are doing single leg - balistic leg press, and we are throwing the sled as far and as fast in the air as we can. Don't forget to throw it with one leg and catch it with TWO, preferably have you legs bent at the knees for obvious reasons! As the weight increases you might find that you can't throw it, but the "intention to throw it" works just as well. Happy Training. Disco.

This has got to be a joke right? What possible benefit would a weight sled coming crashing down on your leg have for speed-strength? Maybe you could get Hammish from down your way to elaborate.

I could maybe agree with the "intention to throw it" mentality....but actually throwing it , well go ahead, its your body...and I could maybe agree with you if your a olympic level athlete....but for the average joe at T-Town or Kissena in the states?

[panch0]

jb1566 •wrote• This has got to be a joke right? What possible benefit would a weight sled coming crashing down on your leg have for speed-strength?

It has the effect of a plyometric. The "throw" is similar to a box jump and the "sled come crashing" on you is similar to a depth jump not to mention it would be twice as safe!

It can be very adventageous to the average Joe if administered in an adecquate dosage/plan.

panch0

[HotBlack]

panch0 •wrote•

jb1566 •wrote• This has got to be a joke right? What possible benefit would a weight sled coming crashing down on your leg have for speed-strength?

It has the effect of a plyometric. The "throw" is similar to a box jump and the "sled come crashing" on you is similar to a depth jump not to mention it would be twice as safe!

It can be very adventageous to the average Joe if administered in an adecquate dosage/plan.

panch0

Psssst - panch0, you weren't supposed to say that. That way he stays an average Joe...