Lifter problems
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@JDelage I commiserate with you, lifting-bro! But I couldn't agree more with Reuben. Don't fight it, give your body time to rest.
I picked up one of those Rogue Echo assault bikes at the beginning of the pandemic and I absolutely love that thing. It's not a smart device, but it tells me how fast I'm going and how far I've traveled. Works for me!
Question: can you hold weight at your sides? Maybe a trap-bar would allow you to do some of those barbell lifts? My chiropractor always tells me to stop squatting with a barbell on my back, but to squat with a trap bar held at my sides. If one of those works, you might still be able to deadlift, squat, and maybe even bench! Though I would recommend dumbbells for chest work if you have shoulder issues.
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Those bikes are great for Tabata. I miss having access to one.
Is there any benefit to squatting with a trap bar over a trap bar deadlift? Big fan of the latter, but never thought of racking a trap bar.
I find it counterintuitive that dumbbells would be safer for shoulder presses than barbells.
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I'm going to try the power zone program that is on Peloton. I tested my FTP, and it was only 199, which isn't great. The test sucked.
With regard to my zone 2 training, it's a very specific type of training, with a very specific goal: stay at max lactate clearing capacity for 45mn or more. (It's a 5-zone system.) I am not sure whether watts or HR is the best metric. To assess that will require purchasing a lactate meter, which I might do.
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There's some technique to FTP testing–check out the guidance this dude offers: https://www.reddit.com/r/pelotoncycle/comments/mat0j5/powerzone_program_signup_thread_starts_monday/
If you haven't already done so, you will need to take the FTP test (can be found by filtering for powerzone and 20 minute classes). I recommend taking the 15 minute warm up first (I like Matt's newest one). The goal of the test is to produce the highest average watts that you can for 20 minutes. A decent estimate for first time test takers is to aim for 110% of your 30 minute PR (if it's relatively recent). So if you averaged 100 watts in your 30 minute PR ride, aim for 110 watts on the ftp test. There are multiple ways to take the test, I will offer up a few pointers using the 110 watt goal as an example. Have a fan on you, a towel or 2, and some water. Before taking the test, figure out where you are most comfortable holding the 110 watts (which cadence and resistance feels most efficient for you?) Start the test around 100 watts (since you can hold that for sure for 30 minutes), and hold that for the first 5 minutes of the test. For the second 5 minutes try to bump it up to 110 watts and hold it there. If you're feeling good try to bump it up again to 115-120 for the 3rd 5 minute block. In the last 5 minutes if you have anything left feel free to add if you can, or just hold on to what you can. If you have anything left in the last 1-2 minutes of the class empty the tanks. Alternatively you can simply try to maintain 110 watts for the whole 20 minutes of the class and push at the end of the test. You can also follow the coaching of the instructors, it may be helpful for you to preview and watch the test beforehand so you know what to expect. I would also recommend taking the test totally in the saddle (a quick 5-10 second booty break is okay if needed), as that will give you the most accurate results.
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One more thing @JDelage – this post by the guy who came up with PZ has a very helpful chart as to what each zone stresses, so it can help you determine what zones will get you what you want.
It's kind of funny that he discusses lactate threshold (which is basically what I like to focus on a few times a week), and then says that what athletes call LT is a generally higher intensity that what scientist actually call LT. That's why his LT zone is zone 4, whereas true LT is probably low-to-mid zone 3 (in his system).
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Zone 3 falls under the PZ Endurance category–these classes will bounce back and forth between PZs 2 (recovery in this context) and 3 (intervals). I spend a lot of time in PZE (did an hour this morning in fact) because I want to improve my baseline cardio.
Power Zone usually spends a lot of time in 4, and PZ Max focuses on 4-7. So if you find PZ works for you, you can target your workouts accordingly.
OTOH, you can also use the power meter anywhere you see fit to do your own training (as you could also do with heart rate readings). So you could Just Ride or do a scenic ride, or even a class ignoring the instructors and focus on what you want to focus on.
So back to the coaches, Matt Wilpers is great in terms of being a pure cycling instructor. His (non-PZ) low impact classes will take you through pedal drills and such if you want to improve your form. Denis Morton has the edge on music quality and on cadencing to the rhythm of the music, which can help you get through difficult intervals. He also gives a lot of good reminders on form and is also a good cycling coach, but Matt feels like a pro in that regard (they also do have classes by actual pro cyclist Christian van de Velde). These as mentioned are my go-to for PZ, but no one has been bad. The program I'm doing is forcing me to step outside that comfort zone more than I would normally.
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I find it counterintuitive that dumbbells would be safer for shoulder presses than barbells.
From experience, they are. The barbell forces your shoulder joint to be open and weight bearing. The thing is that you can hold dumbbells in a neutral/hammer grip. The movement is much less stressful for the shoulders. Alternatively, you can widen the grip as much as you can without causing irritation/grinding. The latter does demand excellent form however.
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Yeah–I know that the mechanics don't align with my intuition. But my shoulders feel so stable especially doing a medium to close grip on a barbell, and I feel that I kind of pull the bar apart laterally on presses (imagining pulling my hands away from each other during the press), which gives me the feeling (right or wrong) of stability.
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Yeah–I know that the mechanics don't align with my intuition. But my shoulders feel so stable especially doing a medium to close grip on a barbell, and I feel that I kind of pull the bar apart laterally on presses (imagining pulling my hands away from each other during the press), which gives me the feeling (right or wrong) of stability.
I know exactly what you mean. One of the early cues I learned that helped me advance with benching was to «make your upper back like a table». It works. As long as your shoulders are fit [emoji38]
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Is there any benefit to squatting with a trap bar over a trap bar deadlift? Big fan of the latter, but never thought of racking a trap bar.
My chiropractor claims that squatting with a trap bar (i.e. you pick it up from the ground and stand up straight) puts a lot less load on your back and protects your lower back. But I get your point. As I'm thinking about the motion, a trap bar deadlift would look almost identical to a trap bar squat.
I also listened to a podcast with one of those professional sports trainers about how he loves the deadlift but only uses a trap bar. More specifically, he trains his athletes to perform the ascending motion and drop the weight at the top of the lift instead of performing the descending motion. He elaborated that the ascent is the most beneficial aspect of the lift in adding burst power to sprinters and the descent is the leading cause of injury in the deadlift.
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Interesting!
The physics of a trap bar to me makes more sense. Keeping the weight centered instead of foreward. Then again, front squats are a thing, so I supposed it depends upon what you're trying to do. I just think deadlifts with trap bars feel much better.
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Back before the pandemic, I toyed with the idea of buying my own trap bar and taking it to the gym, but I just couldn't shake how ridiculous I'd feel carrying that thing in and out of the car
Now that I have a garage gym, I have no excuse, except that it's the cost of a pair of UHR jeans that I'm eagerly awaiting/anticipating
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Anyone out there using a Whoop, @BOTC_OLLY and I started an Iron Heart team for a little friendly competition. Feel free to join using the Team Invite Code COMM-16FC15 or DM me your username and I can manually add you.
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Do y’all like your whoops? I did a quick read on it but wasn’t immediately sold.
