If you’ve been cycling for even a little while, you probably know that strength training for cyclists can help you become a better cyclist.
But what exercises should you do?
Where do you find the time to do weight training?
And how do you weave in strength training without ruining your next ride?
I had those same questions too.
My strength training hasn’t been a deliberate plan—just a few exercises I thought might help after a ride or run before calling it a day.
But then, I received a copy of Finish Strong: Resistance Training for Endurance Athletes.
From combining strength training with cycling, when to do strength training, and a strength training plan to follow, the advice within these pages has been helpful to me, and I’m sharing a little bit of what I’ve learned here, so hopefully, it can help you too.
Whether you’re a runner looking for running tips or a cyclist searching for cycling advice, this site is here to help you elevate your fitness game.
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About Finish Strong: Resistance Training for Endurance Athletes
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Finish Strong: Resistance Training for Endurance Athletes has been written by endurance athletes who’ve completed IRONMANS, marathons, half-marathons, open water swims, cycling races, and other multisport events.
Richard (RJ) Boergers has a BS in Health Science and Athletic Training, an MS in Human Performance, and a Ph.D. in Human Movement Science.
He’s a licensed athletic trainer and an Associate Professor in the Master of Science in Athletic Training program at Seton Hall University.
Angelo Gingerelli has a BS in Exercise Science, an MS in Education, and an MBA. He’s a certified strength and conditioning specialist and is a strength and conditioning coach at Seton Hall University.
Does strength training help cycling?
Absolutely.
With regular strength training you’ll:
- Build muscle strength (which means you’ll have more energy toward the end of your bike ride. And if you do bike races, building your muscle strength can help you sprint through the finish line.)
- Prevent overuse or chronic injury (such as neuropathies in hands, disc herniation, and tension headaches)
- Give you stability and mobility (reaching for your handlebars causes the upper back to round and shoulder blades to slide outward. This position elongates the back muscles, which over time creates an imbalance unless you do regular exercises to strengthen those muscles.)
- Decrease your risk of injury
Now, strength training is only one part of the equation.
The other essential part is mobility training, which helps your joints move through their natural full range of motion to help you produce more force.
Do strength/ resistance and mobility training to be a stronger, faster, injury-resistant cyclist.
“Cyclists always make sure to pump up tires to decrease rolling resistance and improve mechanical efficiency, and the same should apply to joints.
Failing to add mobility exercises into your training is the equivalent of going out for a ride on soft tires—you’re seriously limiting your performance.“
Though you’ll find more mobility exercises for cyclists in Finish Strong, one of the recommended moves is the downward dog—yep, the yoga move.
Try it out—this stretch targets the main problem areas for cyclists—the hips and spine.
“Your power production on the bike comes from the hips so keeping them strong and mobile is critical to keeping your functional threshold power (FTP) high.”
When should cyclists do strength training?
Richard and Angelo recommend doing strength and mobility training done first.
Personally, I like to do strength training after my endurance efforts, but there’s no ‘right’ time—only one that works for you.
I suggest that you try some strength and mobility sessions before a bike ride and some after one to see which one you prefer.
How often should cyclists do strength training?
Cycling is a full-body activity, so your weight and strength training should follow suit.
Richard and Angelo have recommended 45-minute full-body strength workouts three times a week, moving quickly from exercise to exercise (called supersets) to pack plenty of moves into one session.
So how do these supersets work to build your whole body strength?
Typically, a strength routine would have you do a set of pushups to work your chest, take a minute or two to rest, and then do more pushups.
With supersets, you’re using opposing muscle groups—taxing one while the other recovers.
Supersets remove that minute or two rest period and replace it with a different exercise that works the opposite muscle.
Your superset strength routine would then look like this: a set of pushups to work your chest muscles, followed by pull-ups to work your back muscle while your chest muscles recover.
Though you can pencil in your 45-minute strength session, you may have other areas of your life that are far more important than building your cycling strength.
Do what you can in the time you have, take what’s useful here, and leave the rest.
How do I incorporate strength training in cycling?
If you aren’t training for a bike race, do your strength training three to four days a week.
At this point, you can really focus your strength training on volume and intensity. That’s because you’re not putting in long efforts and miles, so you don’t have to worry about too much fatigue and stress on your body.
If you’re building your cycling base or training for a race, schedule your strength training around your endurance efforts.
And finally, if you’re tapering for a race, your strength training should also taper off.
Though we’ve covered a little about strength training for cyclists here, there’s much more where that came from.
If you want to learn more about strength training for cyclists make sure you grab this book, where you will find even more tips such as:
- The top 10 exercises all cyclists should do
- Mobility exercises that focus on your spine and hips (the most common problem areas for cyclists)
- And, a strength training for cyclists plan to help you build strength
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