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Interesting results. Just last night I read an article about training for rock climbing that suggested cutting back on intensive cardio routines outside of clim

Interesting results. Just last night I read an article about training for rock climbing that suggested cutting back on intensive cardio routines outside of climbing if you're having trouble making strength gains, and I went to sleep last night wondering how much merit there is to the claim, since I'm both a cyclist and a climber. Anecdotally, when cycling in the city it's usually shorter rides with high intensity hill climbs and sprints, but after an 18 hour, 300km ride in the country last summer, it took me weeks to get that climbing/sprinting power back, that one big ride made me substantially weaker.

lj3 8y ago
You can still do cardio and maintain muscle mass. Sprinting is better than running miles and miles. But, if you want to run marathons or triathlons, google "alex viada the Hybrid Athlete." He's a bodybuilder who maintains his muscle mass and strength while also doing triathlons. He has a background in biochemistry and works in pharmaceuticals. At least he used to. I'm not sure if he still does.
- tcoff91 8y ago
  Given his background in body building and pharma, I would bet he is using PEDs to be able to be a hybrid athlete.
  - ahi 8y ago
    Based on a google image search I think that's a safe assumption. Still impressive though.
  - girvo 8y ago
    I’d agree. The people I know who can reasonably simply be a “hybrid” are those who use various anabolic steroids, SARMs, and peptides, the latter two bring more interesting for this case as various ones target, say, joint damage and help repair them
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - gamblor956 8y ago
    I know a bunch of triathletes who look like that despite not using PEDs. They do, however, treat their bodies like temples and have the most rigorous diets I've ever seen.
    - lj3 8y ago
      Same here, but there's no sense trying to convince the people here that.
davemp 8y ago
Further off topic: high intensity workouts also have the benefit of being short and therefore easier to do after work :) --- A great workout that only requires an exercise bike is: - 4-5min of biking, sprinting for 30sec every minute. - no break, 20 push-ups, 20 squats, 20 crunches - ~1min break, repeat the above two more times The result should be a ~20min strength building exercise that is easy on the joints and gets a nice heartrate/endorphin spike.
- ovi256 8y ago
  The body-weight push-ups and squat are only a very light strength building exercise. Sadly, you'll still be above average in fitness if you do this workout.
  - mywittyname 8y ago
    If you keep some progression going, and don't over-eat, you'll end up with a pretty nice physique at least.
    - Fricken 8y ago
      I think a big reason why so many have a hard time maintaining a life-long fitness habit is because their goals are merely cosmetic. The first thing an excercise routine needs to be is fun, and after that the rest is butter.
  - claytongulick 8y ago
    The entire discipline of calisthenics would disagree with you on this one... (oh, and me too)
    - balfirevic 8y ago
      The discipline of calisthenics does not consider plain push-ups, bodyweight squats and crunches as anything more than beginner-level exercises.
  - User23 8y ago
dillondoyle 8y ago
For what it's worth, 8 years ago when I had a climbing coach and took it seriously we did HIIT (before it took off as a trend) and it was further super tailored for climbing - for instance had days of the week called climbing specific which were mostly campus board with camera work for motion tracking type stuff. So at least I can vouch for a small group of fairly serious Colorado climbers who mostly did this type of training versus just running for many miles. Outside of climbing / training I mostly just walked a LOT to stay lean but that's quite different than running for long periods. I think there is some specific differentiation between alpine sport climbers and boulders/indoor comp climbers in terms of endurance needs. I definitely made noticeable strength gains with his program I did it from like 18-23/4. Biggest regret of my life giving it up but that's another story!

lj3 8y ago

You can still do cardio and maintain muscle mass. Sprinting is better than running miles and miles. But, if you want to run marathons or triathlons, google "alex viada the Hybrid Athlete." He's a bodybuilder who maintains his muscle mass and strength while also doing triathlons. He has a background in biochemistry and works in pharmaceuticals. At least he used to. I'm not sure if he still does.

tcoff91 8y ago
Given his background in body building and pharma, I would bet he is using PEDs to be able to be a hybrid athlete.
- ahi 8y ago
  Based on a google image search I think that's a safe assumption. Still impressive though.
- girvo 8y ago
  I’d agree. The people I know who can reasonably simply be a “hybrid” are those who use various anabolic steroids, SARMs, and peptides, the latter two bring more interesting for this case as various ones target, say, joint damage and help repair them
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- gamblor956 8y ago
  I know a bunch of triathletes who look like that despite not using PEDs. They do, however, treat their bodies like temples and have the most rigorous diets I've ever seen.
  - lj3 8y ago
    Same here, but there's no sense trying to convince the people here that.

davemp 8y ago

Further off topic: high intensity workouts also have the benefit of being short and therefore easier to do after work :) --- A great workout that only requires an exercise bike is: - 4-5min of biking, sprinting for 30sec every minute. - no break, 20 push-ups, 20 squats, 20 crunches - ~1min break, repeat the above two more times The result should be a ~20min strength building exercise that is easy on the joints and gets a nice heartrate/endorphin spike.

ovi256 8y ago
The body-weight push-ups and squat are only a very light strength building exercise. Sadly, you'll still be above average in fitness if you do this workout.
- mywittyname 8y ago
  If you keep some progression going, and don't over-eat, you'll end up with a pretty nice physique at least.
  - Fricken 8y ago
    I think a big reason why so many have a hard time maintaining a life-long fitness habit is because their goals are merely cosmetic. The first thing an excercise routine needs to be is fun, and after that the rest is butter.
- claytongulick 8y ago
  The entire discipline of calisthenics would disagree with you on this one... (oh, and me too)
  - balfirevic 8y ago
    The discipline of calisthenics does not consider plain push-ups, bodyweight squats and crunches as anything more than beginner-level exercises.
- User23 8y ago

dillondoyle 8y ago

For what it's worth, 8 years ago when I had a climbing coach and took it seriously we did HIIT (before it took off as a trend) and it was further super tailored for climbing - for instance had days of the week called climbing specific which were mostly campus board with camera work for motion tracking type stuff. So at least I can vouch for a small group of fairly serious Colorado climbers who mostly did this type of training versus just running for many miles. Outside of climbing / training I mostly just walked a LOT to stay lean but that's quite different than running for long periods. I think there is some specific differentiation between alpine sport climbers and boulders/indoor comp climbers in terms of endurance needs. I definitely made noticeable strength gains with his program I did it from like 18-23/4. Biggest regret of my life giving it up but that's another story!