CrossFit and cycling?

[The_Weekend_Report_Guy]

Hey!!!

Anyone around here has any experience with this?

What I mean is doing both things to complement cycling of complementing CrossFit with the cardio from cycling.

My question is: if you do it, Have you seen any changes? Positive or negative.

I am doing both for a while and my cycling seems to be taking a negative impact from it.

Maybe is just in my head but would love to hear someone else’s opinions.

Thanks!

 

[cougie uk]

If you want to get good at cycling - do more cycling. If you want just general fitness all round then sure - cross train like that. Just be aware of injuries from it.
I went to a couple of classes and enjoyed it, but noticed the instructors didn't demonstrate or join in. Turns out they'd injured themselves in their own classes. So I stopped going after that !

 

[The_Weekend_Report_Guy]

If you want to get good at cycling - do more cycling. If you want just general fitness all round then sure - cross train like that. Just be aware of injuries from it.
I went to a couple of classes and enjoyed it, but noticed the instructors didn't demonstrate or join in. Turns out they'd injured themselves in their own classes. So I stopped going after that !

I love to do everything!

With age I keep reading that strength training is important for everyday things. I love cycling but lot of aches come and go with it.

Want to be good at both!! 😅

 

[Dogtrousers]

I know that CrossFit is a specific thing, but I don't really know what it is.

That said, I have for many years done regular "workouts" not structured or really any particular system. Bodyweight exercises like planks, crunches and sit-ups. Some exercises with weights. Squats and lunges and all that malarkey. Plus some feeble efforts to address my lack of flexibility. Just "keep in shape" kind of stuff really. ( I think that's what CrossFit is aimed at but I could be wrong). It's very different to the demands of cycling which is aerobic/ endurance focused.

I can't say whether they affect each other much. I like to think that they are complementary but I've not got any evidence for that.

 

[PaulSB]

Hey!!!

Anyone around here has any experience with this?

What I mean is doing both things to complement cycling of complementing CrossFit with the cardio from cycling.

My question is: if you do it, Have you seen any changes? Positive or negative.

I am doing both for a while and my cycling seems to be taking a negative impact from it.

Maybe is just in my head but would love to hear someone else’s opinions.

Thanks!

I don't know what CrossFit involves but I would be very surprised if it was having a negative effect on your cycling. I know many cyclists who use gyms, other forms of exercise. I've only encountered one person who did have a problem for most people more exercise means greater stamina, strength and general health.

The one person I know of was a body builder. This was his passion and cycling came a long way behind in second place. His ever increasing muscle mass and weight made riding harder and harder.

 

[Sea of vapours]

The one person I know of was a body builder. This was his passion and cycling came a long way behind in second place. His ever increasing muscle mass and weight made riding harder and harder.

From personal experience, the inverse of that is true too, unsurprisingly; at least it is specifically for going up steep hills quickly.

I do resistance training in the gym and have done for forty years. I am typically about 10kg above what I suspect is my natural weight. A couple of years ago, I was unable to go to the gym for four and a half months and consequently lost about 8-9kg. Towards the end of that period, I achieved personal bests on every local, steep hill I attempted, which I attribute to weighing 12-13% less . Simultaneously, I became distinctly less comfortable on the bike on long rides and thus endurance suffered a bit. I hope not to repeat that involuntary experiment.

As to Crossfit, based on a local gym which does it, most people who do it look generically 'in good shape', but not huge, so I'm sure it's very good for general cycling, though not for pure climbing or stage races. That said, doing it a lot, and thus having a huge training load, isn't going to help cycling performance in the short term if fatigue levels from the Crossfit are high.

 

[The_Weekend_Report_Guy]

Good morning!

Here is this morning routine from CrossFit, is a mix of Spanish and English but I think you’ll get the idea.