The second in a series by Scot Willingham.

@##=#<1,r>@##=#specificity: the quality or condition of being specific
specific: something particularly adapted to a purpose or use.

Specificity …How to develop training programs that are specifically designed to increase speed, control, muscle recruitment and so on. The more specific you can be, the more quality results can be achieved. The more specific the workout to the activity the less time spent in an adaptation phase from the workout to the sport.

A quick disclaimer: You are a cyclist. You are not a weightlifter or gym rat. Don’t get obsessed about this. Do it and then get back out and do your stuff. This workout shouldn’t take longer than 45 minutes to an hour. After that you are too tired to get a quality workout. And it probably means that you are trying too hard to pick up something other than weights.

These exercises are designed to use the muscles in the same way as cycling. The body positions are the same as when you are down on the drops fighting a headwind or up on the bar ends attacking a hill. The unilateral work mimics the one-legged activity of the pedal stroke. And the balance aspect of these exercises develops the proprioceptive skills that cyclists use intuitively when riding. Balance work also initiates and trains the smaller stabilizing muscles of our joints, increasing their integrity and protecting them from injury.

But why do these exercises or do resistance training at all? Won’t it make you big and stiff and hard (Believe it or not, that is a bad thing for a cyclist. Especially a male one.) to get up a hill? Won’t you hurt yourself with big weights?

Well, yes and no.

If you go in and grab the biggest weight and do what someone else is doing, then yes, you probably will injure yourself.
But if you follow the form of the succeeding exercises the benefits you might see are:
•better strength
•better coordination
•less fatigue
•fewer injuries
•toning
•a leaner, longer musculature
•better flexibility
•better body/space awareness (kind of getting Zen on you, but bear with me)
•better proprioceptive skills (see glossary)
•and you can do some things in that circus act you’ve been wanting to try out.

The unseen benefits are:
•better joint integrity
•better bone mass density
•stronger, healthier tendons and fascia (connective tissue)
•stronger vascular pump (the muscular action that pushes waste fluids into the veins and the lymph system for elimination. YUCK.)
•And of course, better sex.

BIG SECRET: That last one is totally false. I just threw it in because every exercise magazine would have you believe that.
But if everyone says it, it must be true, so…

•Better sex.

But why go to the gym? Why work out indoors? You spend your whole season riding outside . Why go to a sweat filled room with loud clanging noises, loud music and loud, overly competitive people who are wearing tight fitting clothing over swollen bodies?
It’s like riding the wrong way on a busy interstate.

Well, think of it as cross training because that’s what it is. Most of the benefits of resistance training you will never see. But you are rebuilding what you have spent all season tearing down . And letting your body rest from cycling. And maybe you don’t need to go to the gym to do it. Which is the nice part of this workout, it’s actually easier to do at home with a few specialized tools.

1 Roller Squat

Muscles worked:
Primary: Gluteus maximus, Quadriceps (Rectus Femoris, Vastii), Hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranous)
Secondary: Gluteus medius and minimus, Adductor Magnus
Tertiary: Lateral muscles of the hip, lower leg compartment, ankle

Equipment: 3’ x 6” foam roller

Lay the 3’ x 6” roller on the floor in front of you so that it’s length is perpendicular to you.

If you need a stabilizer face a wall or a chair or use a broomstick or BodyBar. Be prepared to fall off the roller.
Step on the roller and see if you can balance. Stand evenly on both feet in a normal stance, legs long and your focus up, not down on the floor.

Once you have your balance, slowly squat down to a 90 degree knee bend and return to standing. Think of sitting back in your haunches (for you non-Texans, that’s your butt) and if you have to counterbalance with your upper body, do so. Do this and keep the roller as still as possible. Try to use your stabilizer as little as possible or even try it without it. Work up to 15 repetitions.

Stud muffin version: Raise your arms overhead as you squat and lower them as you stand up.

Xena, Warrior princess version: You can also add weights by holding a dumbbell (don’t forget that water jug or bottle) in one hand. I would only use one hand to hold an added weight in case of loss of balance. But alternate hands the next day you do this exercise.

Really cool piece of weight equipment: The best alternative for adding weight is a weight vest that carries the weight close to your body and leaves your hands free. It is also a useful device to add weight during your cardio workouts. (Like most of us need to add weight!)
Or fill up your CamelBak and wear it for your workout.