Strength
Training for CyclingStrength
training for cycling - done properly |
Strength
Training for Cycling
Why does strength
training work for cycling- since bicycling is a so-called endurance
sport? Because endurance is rarely the deciding factor.
Most
adults of good health could ride 100 miles in a day if they absolutely
had to. But how fast could they do it? Speed, a product of power, is
what makes the difference in the sport of competitive cycling.
And,
bicycle racing isn’t like triathlon or marathon, in which the power
output is relatively constant over long periods of time. In any given
bicycle road race, there are periods that require very high power
output with little rest between efforts.
Much has
already been
written about strength training for cycling. The world-famous coaches
have made their points in their books and websites. Some professional
cyclists strength train in the off-season. Some do not.
As
a
personal trainer in Scottsdale, Arizona, and a former category 2 USCF
racer myself, I've thought a lot about the debate, and I am cautiously
in favor of strength training for cycling.
I don't
think that
you absolutely have to do off-bike strength training to be a good
cyclist, but from my own anecdotal experiences, it's worth the time.
This is definitely true if your concern is overall fitness, as well as
race performance.
What do Studies Show?
First,
a useful definition from the American College of Sports Medicine:
Power=(Force
x Distance)/Time
where...
Force
= pushing or pulling a mass, body, or object.
Distance
= how far
Time = how long it take
Since
our bikes have many gears, cycling, even up steep hills, doesn't
require much force. But, going fast requires a lot of power.
How
do we determine if a training method improves performance? Conduct a
study. What do nearly all studies of strength training for cycling
show? Completely "untrained" individuals generally make some
improvement that carries over to cycling. However, individuals who are
"trained" to some degree at cycling or endurance sports make no
improvements.
But this fact shouldn’t really
surprise anyone
familiar with "periodized" strength training for sports. Since nearly
all studies involve slow-moderate repetition speed with sets of as
little as 8 reps, adaptations will not transfer to cycling performance
just yet. While strength training at relatively heavy loads and slow
execution builds force, it's power that’s actually needed for increased
cycling performance.
Strength training increases
force
production by building larger muscle fibers and improving neurological
function. Now those gains must be shifted over toward on-bike
adaptations, with faster repetition speed and possibly higher
repetition per set.
A Word of Caution
One
of the most frequent mistakes I notice is that riders fail to
sufficiently reduce bike time while engaged in heavy strength training.
I've heard riders say something like, "I spent 3
months in the
gym and I only gained 1 pound". They fail to mention that they were on
their mountain bike 10+ hours per week. In this case, there is too much
competition for limited resources like calories and recovery time to
build any new muscle.
I have found that it actually
makes sense
to let your aerobic capacity slide for a month in the off-season while
you focus on building up strength. Those cardio adaptations come back
within weeks and at that time you'll be ahead of where you were last
season in terms of short-term power potential. What about on-bike power
development?
Some
argue for on-bike power work only. This is fine for some riders with
high-power output. Many other riders who have high-power output as
their weakness will benefit from off-season time in the weight room.
For several reasons, it’s much easier to build a few pounds of muscle
mass in the gym than it is on the bike.
Most
prominent cycling
coaches emphasize short sprints from an almost dead stop to transition
into cycling specific power. After a few weeks of this, the work
intervals should become progressively longer. 30 seconds to 1 minute,
phasing out the start from a dead-stop.
Riders who
are
desperately in need of power should focus on high-intensity intervals
of 1-3 minutes prior to moving into longer, more sustainable intervals.
These 1-3 minute intervals are above time trial
pace, and it
will take some experimentation to find the correct power output for the
duration.
Although there are no studies to my
knowledge on the
subject, I believe that riders who precede these short, maximum on-bike
intervals with strength training for cycling in the gym will be much
more successful(!) at realizing higher levels of power output.
What if you don't race?
If
you don't race, you can still benefit from strength training for
bicycling in general.
After a few months of strength training
, most people report less on bike fatigue and better recovery after
long rides. You'll notice that as your legs, back and core muscles
become stronger, standing starts from stop lights and short, steep
hills will create much less of a rise in heart rate.
Also,
strength training for bicycling can improve the lower back issues
associated with cycling.
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