Is it wise to practice weight training and aerobic exercise on the same day?
That issue is surprisingly contentious in the sports world. Many competitive athletes, their coaches and athletic trainers have come to believe that aerobic exercise, if practiced in close proximity to strength training, reduces the ability of muscles to strengthen and grow. Conversely, many contend that weight training performed on the same day as aerobic exercise blunts the endurance training response.
Desrciption from Fitocracy.com: Surpass your fitness goals by turning exercise into a game. Earn points for your workouts, unlock achievements, and tackle special challenges to push yourself forward. Level up in Fitocracy and level up in real life.
I’m testing this out. The one problem I see is cheating your friends. You have to be honest in logging your workouts. I like the idea of using a device to upload actual data to keep you accountable and honest.
Plyometrics is a term for a type of explosive power training which mainly consists of leaping and bounding exercises. The main goal of this type of training is to improve your ability to apply force quickly, such as when you do sprints or jumps on your bike. A number of sport specific plyometric exercises have been developed over the years, but they all have two characteristics in common:
1. they use gravity to “store” energy in a muscle,
2. an instantaneous switch from an eccentric muscle action (negative work) to a concentric muscle action (positive work) is necessary.
For the last month, I’ve been dabbling into plyometrics. Nothing structured. At work, I set up a bucket and in between tests I would do a few jumps. I’m glad nobody came into the lab when I was doing these or it might of been a little embarassing. More seriously, I’ve been doing bounding up and down the stairs during lunch. My big question was if the knee would hold up. Looks like it will. The weight lifting since August of 2011 has paid off.
I’ve started full blown plyometrics training this week. This past Monday I set up an 18″ platform to do some leaps off of. Monday was just a test to work on technique and try a different variety of bound, leaps and jumps.
Tonight I’ll get a more structured and record more of my efforts. Starting off with Harvey Newtons recommendation here. His second, third and fourth phases I’ll commence after 2 weeks of each.
I’ve never done plyometrics so this will be an interesting experiment. From what I did Monday, it feels like a great workout. A little hard on the feet but I have some new running shoes on order. I even got it in the back of my mind to start up running again. My other voice says stick to the plan, though.
So my workout on Sunday I had planned on bonking. Maybe there is some evidence to this being a good thing. This article, a fairly new discovery, might explain the benefits. Glycogen supercompensation of cells that feed neurons in the brain can be depleted and then restocked with higher levels of glucose. Previously, it was thought that only, the transfer of glucose from the blood vessels, is what supplied the brain with energy.
Power Phase
Lunch: Did 32 flights of stairs ascending/ descending 2 steps at a time.
WU: 15 min bball and 15 min lifecycle
Leg ext 5x10x85
Seated rows 5x10x110
sit ups w/twist 4x100x7 lb medicine ball
prone hamstring curl 5x10x80
pec press 5x10x65
seated leg press 10x10x225
Knee is holding up a lot better on stair workout. Lot more stable instead of feeling like it’s going to collapse. Getting a lot more muscle definition back into the left leg. Increase 5 lbs on leg extension. Left knee on leg extension getting more stable and quad is getting stronger. Felt really good on leg ext pushing to almost failure on the last set. Time to increase weight. All leg work done fast concentric and slow eccentric.
Then there is this, Spanish guitar. Really passionate, intense and talented. I can easily listen to flamenco or Spanish guitar while riding, especially on the trainer. Today’s ride was done outside. Really nice out. In the low 30′s with some fresh snow on the ground. Gorgeous.
My Bike workout on Mon, 02/13/2012 at 5:36 PM. I did 16.17 Miles in 1:03:49 at 15.2mph. MY COMMENTS: CycleOps Joule
Done after weight workout. Got home. Changed hit the trails. Little tender and sore from weights.
Power Phase
A.M Workout
WU: rode to gym
leg ext 4x10x80
seated rows 4x10x110
sit ups w/ twist 3x100w/3kg med ball
single leg curls 4x10x80
single leg press 5x10x225
tricep ext 3x10x70
NOON hour workout
24 flights of stairs bounding 2 steps at a time ascending and descending
P.M. Workout
WU: 20 min lifecycle
leg ext 4x10x80
seated rows 4x10x110
sit ups w/ twist 3x100w/3kg med ball
single leg curls 4x10x80
single leg press 7x10x225
pec press 4x10x60
Good, tough day at the gym doing 2 a days with some stair climbing during lunch. After that A.M workout I was really sore. First few flights of stairs, at noon, still a bit sore but loosened up. Rest of stairs came easier. P.M. workout not sore and the lifting came fairly easy.
My Bike workout on Thu, 02/09/2012 at 3:59 PM. I did 37.65 Miles in 2:12:51 at 17.0mph. MY COMMENTS: Garmin EDGE705
Feel 7
Little sore at start of ride. Really sore this morning. Graduallly dimished through the day. Easy peasy ride SW12 to Sprague. Beautiful night but a little bit chilly with temps around 30.
All the endurance riding that I’ve done, this past fall and winter, is really showing in the vascular definition of my legs. I’ve always had very vascular calves but my thighs have really been showing the vascular definition. I’ve also noticed that my abdomen is showing some vascular definition since I’ve been doing 600 situps, with a 7lb ball, since last August. This is a sure sign of aerobic capacity has increased.
A very good series of articles I would recommend reading, maybe twice. Even though Alan is talking about triathletes, any endurance athlete should follow this advice.
That means tired. Not over trained. Just bushed. Here’s why.
Woke up at 5:30am to get to the gym by 6:30am.
Power Phase
WU: rode to gym
Leg ext 5x10x80
Seated rows 4x10x110
Sit ups w/ twist 2x100x3kg medicine ball
Leg curl 3x10x80
Single legged Seated leg press 5x10x225
pec press 4x10x60
tricep ext 4x10x60
Quicke at the gym. Needed to get work done. Felt really good, though. Getting close to increasing weights. Fast concentric and slow on eccentric part of lifts for legs.
My Bike workout on Wed, 02/08/2012 at 4:14 PM. I did 38.15 Miles in 2:08:56 at 17.8mph. MY COMMENTS: Garmin EDGE705
Feel 8
Little sore but not bad from morning weights. Threw in a few 30 sec efforts and 1 min power for just a “test”. Felt good. A lot better than the last few years.
Like I said, I’m tired from a long day. Working in the lab isn’t all that stressful physically. There is a lot of moving around and standing. Late fall through late spring samples are kind of rushed. The results need to be read so as to know what lines of wheat to plant the coming fall. Now that we’ve taken on an organic wheat study and whole wheat flour study there’s not much free time like previous years. It used to be May through end of July was preparing for the coming samples. Oh, and then there’s August. A bunch load of sample need to get done by labor day. See, I’m tired and I’m rambling on.
What do I mean by that title? Over the top. David Lee Roth style. You’re pushing it hard, lovin’ it, and having a rockstar moment. Fun. Oops! The last post I said I wasn’t going to reaffirm you all that I’m ” lovin’ and havin’ fun” cycling. When I put David Lee Roth in a blog I’ve got to.
Power Intervals
WU: bball 20 min
Leg ext 10x10x80
Leg curl 7x10x80
Seated rows 5x10x110
Sit ups w/twist 3×100 w/ 3kg med ball
Single Legged press 10x10x225
Seated bench press 5x10x60
During lunch 20 flights of stairs bounding 2 stairs at a time. Last flight 3 steps at a time. Then 1 mile walk.
Yeah that was pushing some limits. At times I felt like I needed a nurse to help me walk. The point of no return workout. WOW! luckily I saved a little for the ride home. More like pedal, coast, pedal home.
Slowly working in plyometric type workouts for later this month when I’ll start full blown plyo’s.
