Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Upper Body: Cross Training Mini Series Part 3

There are still some holes in my cross training schedule.  Specifically, I need to be spending more time working my upper body.  While it may not benefit my cycling skills very much, I have the short, stocky body build that lends itself to having a decent upper body.  I just don't take the time to develop or maintain it. 

Back in high school, I was much more muscular than I am now.  I spent time bench pressing, doing curls, push ups, pull ups, and other upper body exercises.  Last year, most of my upper body work outs came from rock climbing, which is an excellent, interesting way of working those muscles.  This year, I haven't done any climbing, and essentially zero upper body exercises.  This needs to be rectified, but to do it, I really need some dumbbells to do curls, and a place to do pull ups. 

I had hoped to rock climb on the weekend of the 1st and 2nd, but that outing got postponed due to rain.

I am not perfect, and I have my weaknesses.  Right now, one of them is my lack of upper-body cross training.

Where are you weak in your cross training regimen?  What do you need to work on?  Ask for advice and give advice in the comments section below!

4 comments:

Daniel May 12, 2010 at 7:05 PM  

My training regiment really just needs some consistancy. Traveling so much really throws everything out of whack, thats all about to change as Ive just found employment again, dammit. Back to a schedule and training I guess.

Greg Heil May 13, 2010 at 12:52 PM  

Money is good though, keeps the bikes running! ;) I definitely also find that when I'm out of town, or my normal schedule is interrupted that one of the first things that seems to get neglected is my training routine. I usually find time for rides, but other stuff... not so much.

Constantin Gabor May 17, 2010 at 7:50 AM  

Hi Greg!
Rock climbing is truly a good sport for working that upper body. And even if you don't climb that much doing some exercises on a pull-up bar or a hangboard can keep you in shape.

I'm basically a climber who like mountain biking but there are periods in my life when I'm more of a cyclist.

Let us see some pics from your climbing trips.

Cheers!

Greg Heil May 17, 2010 at 9:08 AM  

Hey Constantin, thanks for the comment! I will definitely be throwing some photos up the next time we get out on the rock. Unfortunately, it has been really rainy here in the Southeast and everything is soaked. Hopefully we'll be able to get out soon though!

-Greg

Post a Comment

Labels

Counter

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
Greg Heil is the Editor in Chief for Singletracks.com. He's been writing and publishing online since before blogging existed.

About This Blog

Mountain biking, plain and simple. Trail reviews, ride reports, and philosophical musings induced by delirium from grinding up way too many vertical feet.

Read More

  © Blogger templates The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP