Race Season Workout Routine

no joke.

Tabata burpees in the morning and until I die in the evening.

2 eggs and a bulletproof coffee in the morning and protein and salad at night.

2 GT's instead of a six pack.

That's about
300% better than status quo.

Phl said:

no joke.

Tabata burpees in the morning and until I die in the evening.

2 eggs and a bulletproof coffee in the morning and protein and salad at night.

2 GT's instead of a six pack.

That's about
300% better than status quo.

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True dat! There's a lot worse out there

GK1199R said:

Complex strength training routines. Squats, dead lifts, clean and jerk to an overhead press. Squats make a huge difference in leg strength and stamina. Running is worthless.

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What he said - but I'm not sure clean and jerk is something to practice regularly, that's a niche Olympic lift

Get on the stationary bike and peddle your ... off!

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Why? Largely a waste of time. Rapid superset strength straining works your heart just fine

When I'm training hard there is nothing better than a big glass of chocolate milk.

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Cut the sugars, grains, and empty calories - why spend all that time in the gym and load up on junk? Good whey protein shake with Omega 3s and probiotics is much better as a post workout drink

Avoid that on leg day as dairy...

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Cut ALL dairy - "milk is for babies" to quote Arnold

We've been using blue apron to get some recipes and try meals we like then we just order the ingredients ourselves. Most are filling and under 800 calories!

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No idea what blue apron is - I just go to the Whole Foods hot bar and load up, stick with organic and avoid anything processed/refined, way too much junk added to most foods these days

mark419ny said:

most people have back problems because the core is not strong.

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"core" is the new parroted term in fitness circles for ab training, I'm kind of sick of hearing it

Best way to avoid back problems is take hyaluronic acid and CMO and do heavier stiff leg deadlifts - your back is very strong when trained properly but I'm amazed how many people just do endless sit ups and other "ab" training and largely ignore low back workouts

Rich Gaspari once told me (in person) that he never trains abs, and no one would have ever guessed, he was ripped

Gaspari never trained abs cause he was the biggest juice coke head around he also never won the big shows. Mr second maybe he should have

Oh I forgot when was the last time you saw a 210 ripped motogp rider. Oh yea never. U want to talk about body building can do that too. He asking about fitness for track racing. Not to go into a body building contest.

I see why you're hated here, your usual simple minded contrarian ........ - all those guys use(d) steroids, moron, that isn't the point, the point is he didn't have to train abs

I make my own cereal from purchasing quinoa, flax, chia, raw oats, hemp seeds and pumpkin seeds and mixing them up in a big bowl as a cereal ...
I find it to be most nutritious along with my daily omega 3 and probiotics...some time I even divulge into colostrum or pre-digested goat whey protein ....

Strength-Training my lower back has helped me regain my overall health back and abs was a very small aspect of this routine ....

ultra300x said:

What he said - but I'm not sure clean and jerk is something to practice regularly, that's a niche Olympic lift







Why? Largely a waste of time. Rapid superset strength straining works your heart just fine







Cut the sugars, grains, and empty calories - why spend all that time in the gym and load up on junk? Good whey protein shake with Omega 3s and probiotics is much better as a post workout drink







Cut ALL dairy - "milk is for babies" to quote Arnold







No idea what blue apron is - I just go to the Whole Foods hot bar and load up, stick with organic and avoid anything processed/refined, way too much junk added to most foods these days

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Lol interesting Approach to disagreeing with everything someone said yet not providing any benefit to the OP. Chocolate milk has everything you need from your protein super shake and a fraction of the cost. Muscles crave simple sugars after a workout, not protein. Protein helps in the rebuilding of muscle fibers, not replenishment of glucose. See how many people tackle the cupboards after a workout because their protein shake did nothing to replenish spent energy. If cycling was a waste of time then every single Motogp, world Superbike, and ama supercross rider must be completely misinformed. The continuous burn strengthens muscle fibers and increases capillary density allowing more oxygen to the muscles. Don't think he should cut dairy. I said cut dairy on leg days. I've had bad experiences with milk and cheese after leg training as it upsets my stomach. Not sure why. No other muscle group reacts that way. Maybe it's from the rapid firing off all the lower core muscles.

GK1199R said:

Chocolate milk has everything you need from your protein super shake and a fraction of the cost. Muscles crave simple sugars after a workout, not protein.

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You need good carbohydrates free of junk sugars

Post-Workout Drink - Part One: Carbs, Protein, and Fat

"Usually, when one thinks of high-glycemic carbs one thinks of simple sugars. However, most simple sugars would not be beneficial to consume post-workout. Non-beneficial sugars would include fructose, sucrose, and lactose."

Personally, I get up at 3-4am and will do "Insanity" (in my home gym).

Then around lunch time I go to the gym and lift weights. I will play basketball for about 20min to get warmed up, then I lift weights. I pretty much stick to a schedule of chest/triceps day, back/biceps/core day, legs day, shoulders/core day, day off, start over. I never go lower than 10 reps on anything.

Then around 5-6pm I will do an hour of steady state cardio back at home on either the stationary bike or elliptical machine.

On my day off, I don't do anything. I take the full day off from all 3 workouts.

Sometimes instead of Insanity, I will take an hour and do different exercises like wall squats (where you squat down till your legs are parallel to the floor and back flat against the wall and hold it for 1min, then rest and repeat. Then "slides" where you squat down with feet wider than shoulder width and slide side to side keeping your feet apart and in the squat position (those that played basketball know what they are). Then I will do box jumps. Then lunges. And in between all of those, before I start a new exercise, I will jump rope for 2 minutes. Then I will finish it off with 10min on the Concept 2 rowing machine and 5min on the Stair Climber.

In addition to those things, I haven't had a single cookie or piece of cake or burger or pizza or coke/soft drink in months. I also consume at least 250-280g of protein daily (with whole foods and smoothies), plus adequate carbs and fats. I do not "diet" per se, because it takes sufficient nutrients to fuel that kind of workout routine every day. But I don't eat ......... If I ingest something, it has a purpose. Also drink at least a gallon of water a day. I am still about 210-215lbs, but I carry single digit bodyfat %.

That might seem like a lot, but I train hard enough that racing is easy. On a typical double-header weekend I will race 3 different bikes and between those 3 bikes I will do a total of 12 practice sessions and 16 races. The last laps of my last races will be just as fast as the first laps, and usually faster as we make setup improvements over the weekend.

You essentially need to be able to support your entire body with your legs for 20min at a time...multiple times a day...and be able to run a race pace while breathing calmly through your nose.

Prince Albert said:

I make my own cereal from purchasing quinoa, flax, chia, raw oats, hemp seeds and pumpkin seeds and mixing them up in a big bowl as a cereal ...
I find it to be most nutritious along with my daily omega 3 and probiotics...

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Hmm, never thought of doing something like that. It might be a good idea for breakfast at the track when I need some complex carbs, but I am too excited and my nerves are jacked up and I cant really eat much.

Do you put anything in it for flavor? Like honey or something?

I agree that the bicycle is a must. Squats, leg presses etc are great...but you need to be able to maintain an elevated heart rate for at least 20min at a time, while having your legs be able to work for that same period of time. I don't know of a single professional rider that doesn't swear by bicycle training for road racing.

I have tried many different exercises and routines over the years, which is what led me to arriving at my current routine.

I have tried just lifting weights....
I have tried just doing Insanity or p90x...
I have tried just doing cardio (bicycle, elliptical, running)...
I have tried a mixture of 2 or 3 of them...

And my current routine is what I have found works the best for me. The "explosive" type of workouts like Insanity or fast circuit training with weights help, but they don't give you the type of long term endurance you need to do multiple 15-20min races over the course of a full day.

Just doing cardio is good because my heart and lungs were in shape and I was able to ride for a long period of time, but my arms gave out in longer races on Liter bikes, as did my calves and thighs.

In my opinion, you need a combination of workouts that can work the fast and slow twitch muscle fibers, help your heart and lungs operate at an elevated capacity for long durations, and strength training exercises so your muscles don't get fatigued when racing a Liter bike on really physical tracks.

Like I said, that aforementioned routine works for me. Your results may vary.

And by the way, be secure enough in ............ to use some of the girl machines. You know like the ones they use for their hips where you squeeze or spread your legs. Those things help a lot with being able to get into good BP and holding the tank under braking and while hanging off.

Chaotic said:

Hmm, never thought of doing something like that. It might be a good idea for breakfast at the track when I need some complex carbs, but I am too excited and my nerves are jacked up and I cant really eat much.



Do you put anything in it for flavor? Like honey or something?

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I add ground flax and a protein powder that is naturally sweetened ... Plus I forgot to mention I always add fruit such as kiwi, blueberries and dark grapes .... It tastes great

Chaotic said:

And by the way, be secure enough in ............ to use some of the girl machines. You know like the ones they use for their hips where you squeeze or spread your legs. Those things help a lot with being able to get into good BP and holding the tank under braking and while hanging off.

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100% agree

Chaotic said:

Personally, I get up at 3-4am and will do "Insanity" (in my home gym).

Then around lunch time I go to the gym and lift weights. I will play basketball for about 20min to get warmed up, then I lift weights. I pretty much stick to a schedule of chest/triceps day, back/biceps/core day, legs day, shoulders/core day, day off, start over. I never go lower than 10 reps on anything.

Then around 5-6pm I will do an hour of steady state cardio back at home on either the stationary bike or elliptical machine.

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Crazy - how do you have time for work or anything else like a g/f?

At my age (and even when I was younger) I'm all about maintenance, entropy is always going to win, you aren't going to stop it, but life is too short to live in a gym. Racers need to up their game I understand but from my "long view" it's all just kind of futility. A one hour workout with weights maintains muscle mass and bone density, I still move the same weights I did when I was 20, so I'm happy with that, and I don't see many guys my age/weight doing dumbbell curls with 65s

Chaotic said:

Just doing cardio is good because my heart and lungs were in shape and I was able to ride for a long period of time.

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I'm not questioning the need for "cardio" (endurance training) as a racer, but for the average guy I'm not convinced it does all that much - there isn't any compelling evidence I've seen to show marathoners or any other "extreme" endurance athlete lives a single day longer, in fact they often drop dead faster. Furthermore most of those guys look like absolute hell in their 60s and 70s - compare them to Dave Draper or Bill Pearl in their 60s and 70s and the difference is striking

Water is the key to everything, and it's very hard to stay hydrated running, etc - I drink a full gallon in my weight taining

This is the exercise that I am doing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T-u4gib3Dk

it is very good.

also before a race. I eat nuts/almonds. it keeps me focused. I used to drink coffee before a race but it makes me want to go to the bathroom .

Prince Albert said:

I add ground flax and a protein powder that is naturally sweetened ... Plus I forgot to mention I always add fruit such as kiwi, blueberries and dark grapes .... It tastes great

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Ah ok, I gotcha.

BTW - Syntha-6 Vanilla Ice Cream is by far the best tasting protein I have ever used. Like I can drink it by itself and it tastes better than pure sugary drinks. I add it to all my smoothies and the smoothie tastes better with it than it does without it.