Strong legs, ravenous appetite, puny arms and a big belly. That pretty much describes me, and quite a few other cyclists that I know. While riding to work provides health benefits for your heart, lungs and circulation, it generally doesn’t help your core strength or your upper body fitness too much. That’s a shame, too, because core strength and strong arms can really help you get the most out of your bicycle. Not only do they allow you to push the bike faster and/or harder, but both your core muscles and your arms are vital in maintaining good posture on all but the most upright (or recumbent) of bicycles.
A few days ago, I started working through the One Hundred Pushups program and I can already feel the burn. I don’t plan on stopping once I can do 100 push-ups because that’s not really my end goal. I need to get some kind of fitness schedule wedged in to my already busy week.
Can you do 100 consecutive push-ups? Some people can do it. Have you tried the Hundred Pushups program or some other “ladder training” routines? What are you doing to balance out your riding, or do you even care? Tell us in the comments!
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This is totally me too… I went from being a fatty to a pretty in-shape dude, at least in terms of legs/etc and cardio. I lost 50 pounds in my first year of bicycling (freshman in college). But I still can’t do more than 5 pushups, and drop-style handlebars still kick my ass. Thanks for passing along a link to something to save me (and all of those like us) from becoming dinosaurs!
Whoa. I started the 100 pushups program on Monday. I do the pushups after my morning run, before I hit the shower (along with my ab routine that I let slip). Today, my arms were sore! Keep your readers posted on how many you can do.
I had this idea about two years ago. I started doing pushups and went from five to twenty-five in a couple of months. Then I got a stabbing pain in my left shoulder. Went to the doctor and he said, “Rotater cuff injury. You have to give the shoulder complete rest for six months. ”
Don’t overdo it! Take your time.
Personally, I find a good weight training routine to be a great compliment to cycling. I have ~30 mile commute that I’ve been doing for a little over a year now, 2-4 times/week, along with the occasional 75+ mile ride and a few centuries. Around the end of last summer, I got serious about weights. Not only do I feel better and have more power for attacking and climbing, but (without being too narcissistic) the wife thinks non-wimpy arms look pretty good in cycling jerseys.
Body weight exercises like the pushups and situps are a great way to get started. I don’t honestly know if I could do 100 consecutive, though… I’ll have to give it a try.
Wait…what? We’re supposed to be training?
Seriously, it’s a good idea to balance all that cycling with something else. I swim and do some fairly unstructured core exercises with one of those stability balls when the mood strikes me.
I started doing pilates a few months ago (2x/week mat class, 1x/week with a trainer on the machines), and I feel a very distinct difference in my core and my back when riding my bike – or, more particularly, I don’t feel anywhere near the soreness I used to feel in my back after a long ride.
I’m a horrible exerciser. That’s why I commute by bike, it tricks me into working out. I know I need to do upper body work and weight training, but that would require carving out time. And I’m lazy. Perhaps I should purchase a hand bike and rotate every other day.
I do a little weight training and some running to balance things out. I also do a lot of other activities outdoors during the summer – tennis, frisbee golf, kickball, roller blading, geocaching… I think that all helps with my core and upper body.
I’m with Iron Man. I’m also bad at at exercise but like to cycle. I admitt that I need some more balance. My waist is still the same size and I still weigh around the same as when I started but then it could be an exchange in muscle mass and fat. I like to swim but it’s not easy to find the time for swiming while cycling is my commute time to and from work.
I can do about 60 consecutively. But I try to do at least 100 a night. It’s so much easier than going to the gym.
My wife and I did the hundredpushups thing a few months ago as a way of getting some exercise during the harsh Chicago winter. I was shocked at how quickly we were able to build up to big numbers. The only problem I had was that once you reach the end, there’s no plan for a regular routine going forward. We just stopped when we reached the end. Now that I think of it, It might be a good time to start it back up again.
I’m also with Iron Man, but I have an idea. Don’t steal my invention, now, but what about a headset that was REALLY hard to turn? Or bungee cords that make you really work to steer? Upper body work while cycling!
Please note: I will not be held repsonsible for the injuries sustained by anyone silly enough to try the above ideas.
Wii Fit!
There’s playground on my way to work where I can get pretty creative, especially on the bars. I do a quick circuit of pullups/pushups and situps to failure before I’m back on the bike.
I think I have always had pretty good lower-body strength and relatively low upper-body strength. I bike regularly with about 100 lbs. of kids on the back of my bike and am pretty strong leg-wise.
I did do the hundred pushups program earlier this year. I had to start with wall pushups – that made me feel pretty weak! However, I did make progress very fast and enjoyed the program!
Kettlebells Anyone?
I rock climb – usually in an indoor gym but sometimes outside too. In 5 months I’ve gone from flabby arms to total guns – can do pull ups (never able before) and you can tell my abs are getting more cut! I highly recommend it!
Can I do 100 consecutive pushups? Yeah. But I’m a gym rat. Lifting weights is beneficial to maintaining bone density—-and chicks dig muscles. LOL!
I ride my bike to work on Tuesday and Thursday, and lift M-W-F. Then I go for a long ride on Saturday.
Some form of strength training is beneficial to everyone. Having more muscle burns more calories.
I count calories, and protein/carbohydrate/fat grams too. And I weigh my food. Yeah, it’s sick.
For six months, a couple times a week, I have been lifting weights in an effort to try to make my upper body look a little more like my lower body. I can certainly see an improvement. Once I get my arms in shape, I need to work on center section.
After breakfast, I’m going to have to see how many pushups I can get through. I see pain in my future.
Cheers,
Matt
I’m surprised, really. My arms are puny and they definitely burn while doing push-ups. I did my first “real” block (Week 1, Day 1) yesterday and my deltoids (whoulder muscles) and triceps (back of the upper arm) hurt as expected, but my abs are where the real pain has remained. I haven’t done push-ups since high school more than a decade ago, and I wouldn’t have thought that the abs would hurt so bad.
I usually say “Why go for a six-pack when you’ve already got a keg” but it feels like I’m likely to get more ab workout than I originally expected.
As far as “where do you go after a program like 100PU?” – I plan on keeping up a 3-day per week schedule of some variety. I have workout equipment at my community club-house, but I’ll probably stick with core-fitness and upper-body stuff that I can do at home. Probably sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups. I’ll have to see what works best for me because I certainly don’t want to just stop doing push-ups once I can do 100 push-ups. I may try modifying some other ladder training routine into my schedule, though, and combine it with a once-a-week push-up block.
I see a lot of you are already working balanced fitness routines in, and that’s awesome! I especially like Moe’s Wii Fit option. haha I need to try that.
I don’t know. 100 push-ups sounds like a lot of ice cream to me.
Seriously, though, I’m really bad at sticking with an exercise regimen that doesn’t involve riding a bike. My hope is that by doing more of my riding off-road I’ll help my upper body out a bit. To that end, I’ve been taking an alternate route to work since my rear wheel on my road bike gave up. This route puts about 1/3 to 1/2 of my 8ish mile commute on a grassy, and sometimes rough strip under some high tension wires. Dunno if it helps my physical condition, but I feel better about having to commute on my mountain bike.
I remember returning to cycling in the fall of ’06, 20 miles a day with a 32+ lb rig with a 50/39 crank, got me in shape Quick! The next spring I I bought my Raliegh XXIX and hit the dirt every time I had a spare half hour.
Sarah’s got it – the answer is climbing for me too – although I’m in no danger of any cut abs appearing any time soon as I balance it up with a healthy dose of Guinness re-hydration therapy(GRT) – I’ve got up to doing 4 or 5 GRT reps in a session and will be training hard over the weekend.
Climbing? Sarah obviously doesn’t live in flat Florida.
I managed to do 17 push ups, though the last four were a little sloppy. That was better than expected. Maybe I’ll try push ups for a couple weeks.
Cheers,
Matt
Yep can do 100 push ups also 50 pull ups I trained doing this http://www.crossfit.com
try it
May I recommend a great book by Men’s Fitness called “Total Body Play”. It has 3 work out phases broken into 6 week periods. Each 6 week period is broken into two 3 week periods. Most exercises can be done at home with dumbells and the workouts only take 20 minutes or so(4 exercises a day). It is very comprehensive for those without a ton of time on their hands.
opps. Plan not Play. Total Body Plan
I started P90X over the winter. I’ve only lost about 8 pounds but all that old gue has been replaced by muscle. I finished the program in May and started cycling 40+ miles Tues/Thurs/Sun with a choice P90X upper body routine (or P90X+, depending on how I feel and how much time I have) Mon, and again either Wed or Fri.
I’ve been very satisfied with this routine and never get bored with such a variety. P90X is pretty intense, but after two weeks you’re body gets adjusted. I think it would be near impossible to do the full program with a stiff cycling habit, but replace the cardio dvd’s with an evening on the bike and your good to go.
I do 25 pushups 3x per week, 80 ab exercises 3x per week and yoga a minimum of 1x per week (prefer 2x). I don’t have any back issues so to speak of, nor shoulder issues and have a good core. I’m all about counterbalancing the cycling movements to make myself stronger.
When I commute to the city (7.5 miles/30 mins), I do a few bench presses, lat pulls, etc., before hitting the shower at my gym. I’m not necessarily overweight, as I combine bike riding with a vegetarian diet, but I could use some toning, and I am 7-10 lbs overweight.
Having read this post, though, I’ve begun trying the 100 push-up plan. On my first day (yesterday), I did 7 push-ups using strict form. I was surprised that I could do so few. Oh well. Will try for 10 tomorrow morning.
[...] legs, my arms and midsection could be tighter and stronger. It seems I am not the only one with T.Rex syndrome. With my 30th Birthday (and an alleycat to celebrate) it is high time to fix this. Today was [...]
[...] I haven’t really done anything for core or upper body. I didn’t want to end up with T-Rex Syndrome. In fact, it’s from that site that I got the inspiration to do the 100 Pushup [...]
How much will I be charged over the next months if I decide to keep using it?
The adjustable kettlebell is a beautiful design innovation. While the different designs of adjustable kettlebells can vary considerably, they all share one distinct advantage over traditional free weight sets or even entire sets of variously weighted kettlebells: they take up a whole lot less space in your home gym, garage or wherever you do your training. This can yield some dramatic advantages, considering that nobody has infinite storage space they can use for all kinds of equipment. Simply put, an adjustable kettlebell is going to let you train as if you had a well-stocked gym – because it pretty much is a gym you can carry around with you.