As April draws near, many northern hemisphere cyclists are drawing their base period down to a close and beginning to ramp up into the build period for the coming riding season. Whether we're training for a specific event or just to ride, our focus tends to shift from strength training and structured indoor riding to breaking free from the trainer/gym and exploring the great outdoors.
While riding outside and putting our newly earned fitness to use is the whole point of putting up with the trainer and gym, there are still a large number of benefits to be had over the coming months from both structured riding and continuing strength training.
Especially when it comes to strength training, there are a few very important things we need to put into practice in order to have our strength propelling our riding forward, instead of ending up with tired, sore legs feeling like we're draggin' anchor on the bike.
Here's how to "get it right."
It's All About Consistency
The secret to attaining improved riding abilities, increased lean muscle mass, and riding stronger for longer is…..consistency.
Show up two (maybe three) days a week and get regular doses of high-quality movements with just enough load that you get what you need.
Through the meat of your riding season, the two days a week may change from being one loading day and one movement session (think more like restorative and resiliency building instead of somewhat challenging weights), but you're still showing up consistently and putting in the work.
Exceptions to this rule are professionals and neo-professionals, but even they are still coming to the weight room at least once every seven to ten days (exception again here for the Grande Tours).
Should you be lifting heavy? Yes, but as you'll see in our next point, it's not at all what you think it is!
The Weight On The Bar Doesn't Matter (as much as you're led to believe)
While "the research" has finally opened the eyes of the masses that human beings need to lift heavy things, what it fails to tell us (yet) is that the weight on the bar actually doesn't matter as much as we think.
Instead, what matters is our perceived effort, or put simply, how heavy it feels to you on each day at each time.
A great example of how this can change even within the same week is a rider I've been coaching for the last few months. He had been doing strength training on his own for about a year before we began working together, but he stopped strength last February because he was finding his legs and body too tired to ride with quality.
Just a few weeks ago, we had a VO2max MAP Attack workout on Tuesday and a Hard Start Tempo workout on Thursday. The week prior to that, we had Sweet Spot intervals with cadence changes on Tuesday and a Tempo Bridge workout on Thursday. His strength on the VO2max MAP Attack week saw him front squatting 45 kilograms the next day with an RPE of 7. But just the week before, he was squatting 60 kilograms for the same RPE.
Did he get weaker?
No.
His body was carrying more fatigue from the harder interval work on the bike, and because of that, he needed to lower the weight in order to get what he needed from his strength workout.
This is where the magic happens in strength training: adjusting the weights to meet you where you are on that day to make sure you get what you need.
And that brings us to our third point: to move into the heavier weights now as we get into build and peak season.
Now is The Time to Lift Heavy!
It may seem counterintuitive to ramp up the weights as riding volume and intensity goes up, but this is where strength training actually shines!
If you follow the previous point and allow your ego to stand aside and let your actual feelings from strength session to strength session drive your weight selection, there are huge gains to be had by lifting heavy this time of year and through the high volume ride season. Here are a few of the benefits:
The heavier (by feel) loads help to counterbalance the high volume of riding we're doing
Heavier weights = longer rest periods, which means our training density goes down. These longer rest periods (3-5 minutes between sets) allow us a number of practice sessions to dial down our stress levels and find a calm center. This is a critical skill for competitive cyclists, as the faster we can bring ourselves down from a hard effort/focus, the faster we can go again.
The heavier weights help recruit more motor units, as well as keep muscles firing in optimal timing, something we need to help us maintain prime riding positions on the bike.
But I have to stress here that the goal is not to smash ourselves in these heavier weight sessions! The weight selection is still guided by an RPE of 7-8 (medium to heavy-ish), with a focus on technique and how we perform the movement.
But how is it heavy if it's only an RPE of 7-8?
Because our repetitions per set are going to be in the range of 3-8 reps, our weight selection should naturally move up, as we're doing fewer total reps per set. Let's take our rider from above as an example: He can front squat 60 kilograms on fresher legs for 3 sets of 10 repetitions at an RPE of 7. He can also squat 75 kilograms for 3 sets of 5 repetitions at an RPE of 7. That's a 25% increase in load.
While this is just an example, and what we're each capable of will vary, our weight selection (on fresh legs and tired legs) should increase as the total repetitions decrease in order to reach the desired RPE.
A Personalized Program Can 10x Your Returns
Unlike bike training (metabolic/energy systems), strength training is not as easy to build a premade program for best results.
This comes down to a simple and very easy to understand principle that while as humans we each have the same energy systems (which work at differing levels and abilities), our muscle abilities, movement patterns, and posture vary far more greatly.
Yes, each of our energy systems' abilities is different, which is why we have sprinters, time-trialists, and all-arounders, but if we train the energy systems following a general approach, we're going to see some pretty nice returns in cycling. It's not as good as a personalized cycling program, but it gives us some really solid returns nonetheless.
Strength training is not quite like that.
Sure, a general fitness program will work for you to get generally stronger, a step that is absolutely the correct first step to take, but as we move into a more performance-based time of year, having a personal program can multiply your returns ten times or more, as you'll be addressing your specific needs.
Every body has a story to tell and requires a different recipe in order to get it to where it needs to be. While the ingredients all stem from the movement variations of pushing, pulling, squatting, hinging, pressing, and rotary stability, how we put them together and which variations we use gives each of us a completely different outcome.
If you want to dig a little deeper into strength training for performance, watch the video below for little more explanation and some details.
Have a great March, and I look forward to seeing you out on the trails and the road here in 2025!
At BaseCamp, we believe that every cyclist has the potential to achieve greatness, no matter where they start. Our mission is to create a community-driven training environment where cyclists and triathletes of all levels can train together, support each other, and grow stronger, faster, and more confident in their abilities. Our cycling training programs are expert driven and tailored to your needs. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just getting started, BaseCamp is where you belong.
Bình luận