The $64,000 question for cyclists aiming to boost their performance: should they make lifting weights a part of their training regime? There are many arguments for and against, and few topics raise the hackles of bike fans more than this.
But, in my view, one thing is sure: when you have a busy life and time is of the essence, strength and weight training should take a back seat. If you only have a limited amount of time to dedicate to your cycling training, then forget about lifting weights and pumping iron: focus on intervals and the sessions that will bring you the maximum benefit.
Nobody doubt that strength training is an excellent exercise in everyday life and can benefit everybody. People of all ages should do some strength training as part of a healthy lifestyle or exercise regime from a health and well-being perspective. The benefits are boundless; lifting weights can help maintain muscle mass and core strength throughout life.
But in my area of expertise, we are not talking about ordinary mortals: we are talking about serious cyclists. For riders, lifting weights CAN be a good option, let’s say, during the winter months as an alternative to road training, or if they have the luxury of incorporating lots of variety into their training programs. During quieter training periods, pumping iron can be an excellent alternative to regular endurance training. And there is a school of thought that weight training can make a tiny but crucial difference to highly-trained athletes.
Sadly, few people have all the time in the world at their disposal. Ambitious cyclists who want to boost their performance tend to have busy lives: children, families, careers, social life. So they need to prioritize their training to get the best results possible, and spending several hours a week in the gym pumping iron may not be a feasible option. However, when you only have so much time available, something has to give, and training on the bike will almost certainly increase your performance more than lifting weights.
The studies that have taken place so far as to whether strength training can boost a cyclist’s power and performance are inconclusive. Most riders know that they must put in heavy bursts with 1,000 watts during a race. But can these bursts be improved by strength training? Unfortunately, the answer is unknown because we lack the statistics to back up any theories advocated by some bike coaches and riders.
One of the most burning questions is whether it is possible to convert the neuronal power from strength training to generate extra performance on the bike.
One of the most common theories is that weight training makes muscles more efficient when recruiting muscle fibers for contraction. This theory does sound sensible and feasible, but it isn’t straightforward to prove in the lab.
Extra body weight derived from lifting weights will slow you down when climbing or accelerating your bike. And then there is the “power-to-weight ratio,” which refers to how many watts you can push compared to your body weight. That ratio has a huge impact when you climb or accelerate.
But during the cold winter months, strength training can be an excellent alternative to road and endurance training. So one crucial question cyclists should ask themselves is whether they would enjoy doing some weight training as an alternative to regular bike riding when it is freezing outside.
So, yes, strength training is brilliant from a health viewpoint, but for dedicated cyclists wanting to stretch themselves and make tiny improvements, it can be dropped if time is tight.
It would probably be ideal to have “strength training only” days in a perfect world. However, this cannot be easy in practice, especially if tackling a fair amount of endurance training.
But while strength training is a viable alternative to regular endurance sessions, especially in the winter, it should never harm your overall training regime, so sessions on the bike should always come first.
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The benefits to resistance training are many and very well studied. It's just that no one has ever proven that those results translate into improved cycling performance.
Most of the latest science points to intense, short durations of high resistance work - e.g. single sets of 8 maximal reps of a few full-body functional movements - and long periods of recovery. Not only is it the most effective, its takes no longer than 30 minutes per week.
If you can't take 30 minutes per week for the benefit of your overall health (even if its not a cycling-specific benefit), then you need to reexamine your lifestyle.
Thank you J.
An excellent article, well reasoned and concisely expressed.
js
@Matthew - Thanks for commenting. I think the training strategy you describe is just on spot with my approach to time effectiveness. Though, it requires easy access to a weight lifting room.
I actually tested out a strength training program with squats as the main (or sometimes only) exercise. It was time effective and the rider reached similar strength levels as previous years when he had done several other exercises.
However, strength training is not that time effective and is not recommended if you want to be ultra time effective. Actually, it is counter-productive to speed up high-quality strength training sessions because the recovery periods are essential when you build neuro-muscular power.
But from a healthy point of view, we should all lift iron. No doubt about that.
@John - Thanks!
this is my second winter season spiced up with strength training. particularly, I have added squat to indoor cycling. I only follow pure strength programmes, and I enjoy that kind of stress. much more than the LSD rides... additionally, I can easily set targets and improvement plans, testing the effectiveness of different approaches to strength. last summer I have collected the most results ever, based on similar conditions (total mileage, etc.). the only difference? strength training. so YES to squatting till the snow melts. :)
@sebastiano - Thanks for sharing your experience. There is a clear benefit for riders who want to train other skills than cycling and still improve their cycling performance.
Hi Jesper
Any time you view a competitive sport, , they all have a basis in strength training. That is because strength training is one of the single most important aspects of any competitive sport due to the anaerobic nature of the workouts and the heightened levels of endurance that are derived as a result of extensive strength training routines. There is no point in having large muscles if they cannot maintain their power over time. It is more important to have lean, strong muscles that can push for hours on end without giving out.
@Ben: I am a supporter of the equation more strength = more endurance, as long as (like you point out) a correct "conversion" takes place. Muscle size and strength are bound to one another, though, and "large" is not necessarily the antonym of "lean". :-)
The break-even point in cycling is set also by other limiting factors, more functional than dimensional... Most of my work, after deep winter, is then VO2max and threshold (I shift from dimensional to functional, from size to quality). At that time I try and "teach" my body how to use force to create power: typically, in the winter I am "stronger", and in the summer I am more "powerful". But I would not give away my muscles for "leaner" ones... for a 10% more of VO2 max... well, we have a deal! :D
My take on the issue is that if you are lifting weights for the ultimate goal of getting faster on the bike and you are not a track sprinter, you are lifting weights for the wrong reason. There are many reasons to lift weights: overall body fitness, 'beach body', etc. However, getting faster on the bike as a direct result of lifting is not one of them... @Jesper: I think you are spot-on when you talk about fitting what training you can during the time that you have. One thing to remember about every bit of training is your ultimate goal. @Matthew: if your ultimate goal is to get faster on the bike and you don't feel you have the time to fit lifting into your schedule, I don't think you have any issues with your "lifestyle"...
I agre with those of you who believes that strength training is secondary and that the transfer of strength is doubtfull. There is off course benefits from increased muscle mass (or the strength associated with it) but drawbacks as well. The general benefits from strength training can be obtained at home from doing bodyweight exercises like pullups, pushups and single leg squats. These 3 exercises will give a good overall effekt on the whole body. For the strong and ambitius individual a pair of ajustable dumbbels (up to 15kg/33ibs each) og a set of training elastics will provide extra resistance for the 3 mentioned exercises besides the oppertunity for a variety of other exercises. By performing the training at home, the timing becomes more flexible and there is less need for time overall.
One more interesting point for discussion is then open.
If you limit the maximum load to some kilos and some elastic bands, then you are missing an important point. Very soon you will not be stressing your nervous system and your muscles enough to break through force barriers, you will either increase reps (hypertrophy?) or just apply an insufficient stimulus. The carry over of strength training to specific force is not in doubt. How much an endurance cyclist will benefit from strength training is in doubt. Otherwise, why would TRACK cyclists train their strength so much? For them, payback is out of discussion. For anybody else... I agree with Jesper that at least more fitness will come in handy.