Author Topic: Armstrong's current physique (Read 8539 times)

LEE · « **Reply #25 on:** 26 January, 2009, 03:10:15 pm »

Quote from: mattc on 26 January, 2009, 12:53:14 pm

Le Tour is 6 months off still. If he just rides his bike, sleeps and eats, he could lose a lot of muscle mass in the less used areas. So he may well look just like the old days in July.

(Oh, and I don't believe you need muscle bulk to hold 1 position for an hour. You need muscles trained to hold you for an hour.)

Exactly, Chris Boardman lacked any significant muscle bulk when he set his records. I suspect that if you are wrestling the bars then you ain't gonna break any 1 hour records.

clarion · « **Reply #26 on:** 26 January, 2009, 03:14:17 pm »

I suspect he's just bulked up to ensure he has the power in a sprint finish, as he anticipates contesting a few.

IanDG · « **Reply #27 on:** 26 January, 2009, 03:42:38 pm »

Increased strength in the arms to massage his ego?

IanDG · « **Reply #28 on:** 26 January, 2009, 04:02:58 pm »

Quote from: LEE on 26 January, 2009, 03:10:15 pm

Quote from: mattc on 26 January, 2009, 12:53:14 pm
Le Tour is 6 months off still. If he just rides his bike, sleeps and eats, he could lose a lot of muscle mass in the less used areas. So he may well look just like the old days in July.

(Oh, and I don't believe you need muscle bulk to hold 1 position for an hour. You need muscles trained to hold you for an hour.)

Exactly, Chris Boardman lacked any significant muscle bulk when he set his records. I suspect that if you are wrestling the bars then you ain't gonna break any 1 hour records.

Hence my comments that you need upper body strength (not bulk) for the hour record so that you can hold a crouched aerodynamic position - one of the problems Hutchison experienced and mentions in his book on the hour.

Rhys W · « **Reply #29 on:** 31 January, 2009, 12:47:35 pm »

Isn't testosterone pretty critical for building and maintaining muscle mass? For someone running on half a tank of gas (so to speak) it's even more remarkable.

I suspect that the human body being what it is, the remaining organ works overtime to compensate. But still, impressive.

pdm · « **Reply #30 on:** 31 January, 2009, 02:35:32 pm »

A single organ can quite adequately provide more than enough testosterone for any body... Built in redundancy and all that. There is an endocrine feedback system that regulates testosterone production - the size or number of production organs have little effect (unless they are defective or missing, of course)...

Other endocrine systems are similar - you can quite easily survive on 1/2 of one parathyroid gland (there are normally 4). You can remove 90% of the thyroid and still maintain equlibrium, etc.

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #31 on:** 01 February, 2009, 08:05:32 am »

Quote from: windy on 26 January, 2009, 04:02:58 pm

Hence my comments that you need upper body strength (not bulk) for the hour record so that you can hold a crouched aerodynamic position - one of the problems Hutchison experienced and mentions in his book on the hour.

I don't recall any other riders mentioning this particular problem.

IanDG · « **Reply #32 on:** 03 March, 2009, 07:33:24 am »

Quote from: LittleWheelsandBig on 01 February, 2009, 08:05:32 am

Quote from: windy on 26 January, 2009, 04:02:58 pm

Hence my comments that you need upper body strength (not bulk) for the hour record so that you can hold a crouched aerodynamic position - one of the problems Hutchison experienced and mentions in his book on the hour.

I don't recall any other riders mentioning this particular problem.

Relates to the superman position, I know/ but Boardman mentions problems with arms here

Frenchie · « **Reply #33 on:** 03 March, 2009, 09:01:59 am »

When he came from Tri Armstrong was quite bulky; some even claim that when he returned from illness he was a changed person, with lower upper body bulk and thereofre a reduced weight. Could it simply be that after "years" of doing other things including MTBing etc. he bulked up again? I am not so sure about the need for such upper body strength either.

andygates · « **Reply #34 on:** 03 March, 2009, 09:03:43 am »

He's not bulked though, he's just hellaciously lean. Optical illusion (unless someone has a Tale of the Tape to call me a fibber).

IanDG · « **Reply #35 on:** 03 March, 2009, 06:35:12 pm »

Quote from: Frenchie on 03 March, 2009, 09:01:59 am

When he came from Tri Armstrong was quite bulky; some even claim that when he returned from illness he was a changed person, with lower upper body bulk and thereofre a reduced weight. Could it simply be that after "years" of doing other things including MTBing etc. he bulked up again? I am not so sure about the need for such upper body strength either.

My hor comment was an 'off the cuff' remark. I'm not suggesting you need massive upper body strength, but it would be required for an hour record especially if you consider that when trying to hold the pursuiters line at 50kph on a 250m track you are probably going from straight to banking to straight every 5 seconds. Also the hour would require conventional drops and not tri-bars.

I know things have changed a lot since my day, and maybe the relative importance of weight training is less and more bike specific methods are used, but I would imagine that the 5 'S's (speed, strength, stamina, suppleness and pSycology) are still important aspects of any distance track training programme

Salvatore · « **Reply #36 on:** 23 March, 2009, 03:25:09 pm »

All the above may be academic - he's currently in an ambulance having crashed on the first stage of the Castilla y León. The commentators are speculating lesión en la clavícula o luxación de hombro (collar bone or dislocated shoulder) so preparation for the Giro might be severely disrupted.

clarion · « **Reply #37 on:** 23 March, 2009, 03:40:29 pm »

Oh no!

I hope it's not that bad

Ariadne · « **Reply #38 on:** 23 March, 2009, 04:33:18 pm »

Shit - hope he's ok

Salvatore · « **Reply #39 on:** 23 March, 2009, 05:22:59 pm »

Johann Bruyneel (via twitter):

Quote

Clean collarbone fracture without complications. Should be fast recovery.

Greenbank · « **Reply #40 on:** 23 March, 2009, 08:34:11 pm »

He now says (as reported on BBC Sport website) that he's a doubt for the Tour de France.

Mind games?

GruB · « **Reply #41 on:** 23 March, 2009, 08:36:07 pm »

Vídeos/deportes - rtve.es - Armstrong se cae y abandona en Castilla y León

Frenchie · « **Reply #42 on:** 23 March, 2009, 08:38:54 pm »

It made the French news tonight; he looked shattered. However I was not under the impression that the TdF was in jeopardy.

Rich753 · « **Reply #43 on:** 23 March, 2009, 09:33:16 pm »

Does show how lucky he has been to have avoided any bad injuries throughout his pro career.

I get the impression that he's suddenly realised that he is, in fact, mortal, and that falling off your bike hurts dammit

StanThomas · « **Reply #44 on:** 23 March, 2009, 09:40:32 pm »

He does seem to have been doing a fair bit of falling off since his comeback; at least twice in California alone. You'd think the peleton would give an old fella a bit more space to wobble in...

Ariadne · « **Reply #45 on:** 23 March, 2009, 10:52:11 pm »

He just tweeted, with a pic of him drinking wine and eating cheese at Johan Bruyneel's house - he's in a sling, but looks fine.

Not sure if you have to be logged in to twitter, but the pic's here: http://twitpic.com/2e0z4

It's a broken right clavicle, hurts 'like hell', surgery in a couple of days.

David Martin · « **Reply #46 on:** 24 March, 2009, 09:42:49 am »

There do seem to be a lot of broken collar bones this year. David Millar as well..

..d

Author Topic: Armstrong's current physique (Read 8539 times)

LEE

StanThomas