@@TrainerRoad that would be awesome, I now use TR to cycle and sufferfest for strength / core. Combining this in the planner would be reflecting what I do now manually.
I’d love if the plans had the option to add in a set number of strength training days that take into account all of Chads knowledge on best time/day to do them whilst improving at the bike/swim/run. Please do it!
It will be great if you can find a way to integrate endurance training and resistance training. Especially if you can integrate the way you monitor recovery from them and plan necessary rest, that would be great.
I think it was my years of weight training that at 50 years old, helped me get to a 300 watt ftp within 2 years of beginning cycling, after having done zero cardio work for 30 years, and enabled me to do 100 - 200 mile rides at a zone 2 power of 200 watts.
👍🏾Heavy weights, low reps strength training has really improved my cycling, especially climbing out of the saddle when the road ramps up. Actually every aspect is improved without any weight or size gains.
could you give an example on the kind of exercise you do? And what weight? Trying to get as much info as possible :) Gonna start weight lifting for next season now
I am a powerlifter (67kg BW) who has now started cycling. Years of heavy squats has definitely given me the ability to accelerate quickly for short periods.
"struggle" with this. Came from a powerlifting background and still training powerlifting style 3-4x/week alongside cycling capacity (usually around 10hours/week). There's a lot days where I just don't have it in either sport due to fatigue but that's the outcome you get trying to improve at two counter-active sports.
DH: I come from a strength training background as well, was a competitive bodybuilder before getting into cycling. I think you may want to try cutting the frequency as well as the volume of your strength training down. Cut the gym work to maybe 2x per week and cut the volume within those workouts down. Has worked well for me if you wish to give it a shot
The other option is to periodize your training. For the last few years, I've followed an off-season plan that focuses on weight training along with muscle tension intervals (low cadence/big gear), transitions through an adaptation phase, a hypertrophy phase, strength phase, and then power phase (plyometric) over 10-weeks. I take a small drop in my cycling fitness, but then switch over to my SS Base Training, and shift the weight training to a maintenance phase of 2-3 times/week, at a reduced volume. It's helped me stay much healthier on the bike, with far fewer back, cramp issues, etc. and has helped my overall bike power and sprint.
you want to do gym on the 'hard' days of your cycling training, ideally after the cycling training. You may lift a little less, but you're structuring it right so that that recovery days are actually recovery.
@@lechprotean Thanks. It tends to only work the other way around, unfortunately (early morning lift and ride after work) but I have tried to focus on trying to leave at least one full off day or at least a recovery ride post lifting session.
@@Phil-dx8rw Thanks, good point. I have typically trained with DUP (daily undulating periodization) and RPE to try and augment this so that on days I do or do not have it (gym wise) its less about the weight and all training sessions are almost primarily squat, bench, deadlift with minimal accessory work to try and limit no-specific workload. I noticed last winter something similar as I began snowboarding on the weekends instead of riding, and typically was able to see better lifting performance without seeing FTP fall off despite much less hours on the bike. Could be I just need a mixture of less overall training volume and ensure the hard days are really really hard.
I don't weight lift, but I do other sports, and other activities that will be much higher intensity, skateboarding, parkour, basketball, etc. does wonders for cycling fitness. even on those tough climbs.
So I am lucky to have strength equipment at the house and my FTP is around 320 with only doing Sweet Spot work and have not done much Vo2 or Z6 intervals. Lately, with consistently doing RFD work and low rep work at 50% of 1rm, not doing hypertrophy, work and not submax strength work, and have found that I am not gaining weight and I am staying with all of the top racers on 3-5 minute climbs that require me to put out anywhere from 375-400np avg. My Z2 rides are 1x a week, I have no base training, and I am actually only doing about 4 hours a week of total riding and easily staying with all the fast guys because of strength work. I think the the term strength work or gym is labeled with some crazy workout where you crawl out of the gym because you're so broken down. Train Smart my friends. I am more efficient in the saddle on climbs, and have plenty of sprint speed.
Such great explanations, on point! Love listening to Chad breaking stuff down to easy language and summarising it to 10min! One thing though: it’s “lifting weights”. Weightlifting is an olympic sport consisting of the snatch and the clean&jerk.
I assume the headline only applies to lifting weights with the muscles I also use in cycling. What exercises (High Force, Low Velocity) can I do if I have to avoid deadlifts and squats (had 2 L5/S1 herniations, no need third strike).
Oh no! Sorry to hear about your injuries, making modifications like that is super tricky, as we dont know the extend of the injury and dont want to steer you in the wrong direction! Checking in with a PT who can assess your stability for a modification like a sled-squat instead of deadlift for example would be a great idea!
You'll want to ask which strengthening exercises are safe for you post-injury. Apart from wanting to risk another herniation, its important to consider what other stabilizing muscle groups were effected through your injury. This is definitely a whole-scope thing that should be approached comprehensively to keep you safe!
I've added strength training to my routine, currently 2x a week. With COVID though I'm doing everything at home and have limited access to weights--only about 25lbs for a barbell (including the bar) and a pair of 5lb dumbbells. Looking to eventually add a kettlebell or two to the mix. Squats, single leg dead lifts, etc are all part of the routine and I add resistance bands when appropriate. How can I get the most out of training with not that much weight? Just more reps?
Aaron M Likewise... absent even dumbbells... I ended up getting some bands and use those (not the ones with the handles!) and I like them... the natural resistance and the different band "weight" provides enough to keep me toned and leveled off strength wise, with a little extra muscle build... nothing is going to beat actual weight (dumbbell, curl bar, bench press) but it’s a good bridge and provides enough variety (upper body/legs) until things get back to normal. Do a TH-cam search for James Grage... he has some good videos on using bands, but more importantly discusses his transition from weights to bands that’s pretty interesting... I hope this helps...
That’s a tough one; you might have to get creative by finding odd but heavy things to lift. There’s evidence to support that lifting to failure at light weight increases hypertrophy (similar to lifting heavy to failure), but that’s hypertrophy, not max strength which is where more of the benefits lie. Time to get creative with some heavy stuff around the house! :)
There is only one way to train specifically for strength. It's lifting HEAVY weights. If you only have a 25Lbs barbell you are not going to be able to do specific strength work. There is no way around that. More reps is not the same and does not train the same system. You could however try to do jumping squats and things like that with less weight but even then 25 is nothing. Also, doing plyometrics is much more injury prone but it's the only way of using more muscle fibres with less weight.
If my max weight lifting force exceeds my peak 1s cycling torque, why would it be beneficial to raise it? Only possibility I see is if it would be below it, but with cycling the torque required is actually really low. Or am I missing something?
So if I can do say 600 watts on that 1-2 second moment, and I want to improve that to 1200, how much weight applied to a squat sled (45 degrees with a stationary back support- so you can envision what I am talking about and using) equates to 600 watts, and then 700 watts, and so forth up to 1200 watts?
Hey! Thats a tricky question, power on the bike is a measure of torque (circumferential force, even for 1s) wherein heavy strength work is almost always linear force application, so there's no direct numerical correlation that we could apply/recommend to get that exact result. Gradually building weight on the squat sled in a way that feels safe and productive is a great place to start!
@@TrainerRoad Yes, but the vast majority of the power applied is in the short downward movement of the foot (as my Garmin pedals so perfectly show me). So maybe if you assume a linear application what formula might apply?
You will need to increase your strength significantly (1-2.5x your body weight on say a squat for example) and specifically increase rate of force development to get that 1 second inconsequential spike. I would focus on 5 and 10 second power unless you race BMX.
One thing is for sure. Don't use a squat sled and think that will give you the neural pathways you'll need. Focus on doing actual squats. If you are not balanced while applying force, you will not be able to able force on the bike. Doing full body exercises like squats/benches/deadlifts will help you actually use your power.
Sam Bennet first needs to get at 200m before the finish line, to use is sprint strength. So he really needed to focus on endurance, so much that he probably didn't have time to do strength training.
Great segment. Would TR ever consider developing a strength training program/block? I would pay for that.
Great suggestion! Submitting to the team as a feature request! :)
@@TrainerRoad that would be awesome, I now use TR to cycle and sufferfest for strength / core. Combining this in the planner would be reflecting what I do now manually.
I’d love if the plans had the option to add in a set number of strength training days that take into account all of Chads knowledge on best time/day to do them whilst improving at the bike/swim/run.
Please do it!
It will be great if you can find a way to integrate endurance training and resistance training. Especially if you can integrate the way you monitor recovery from them and plan necessary rest, that would be great.
Agreed. While I would not pay for it, a general plan designed by the Team there would be awesome!
I think it was my years of weight training that at 50 years old, helped me get to a 300 watt ftp within 2 years of beginning cycling, after having done zero cardio work for 30 years, and enabled me to do 100 - 200 mile rides at a zone 2 power of 200 watts.
👍🏾Heavy weights, low reps strength training has really improved my cycling, especially climbing out of the saddle when the road ramps up. Actually every aspect is improved without any weight or size gains.
could you give an example on the kind of exercise you do? And what weight? Trying to get as much info as possible :) Gonna start weight lifting for next season now
As a person who lifts heavy and loves cycling this was a very encouraging video 😁
I am a powerlifter (67kg BW) who has now started cycling. Years of heavy squats has definitely given me the ability to accelerate quickly for short periods.
My question got answered! Thanks TR team!
"struggle" with this. Came from a powerlifting background and still training powerlifting style 3-4x/week alongside cycling capacity (usually around 10hours/week). There's a lot days where I just don't have it in either sport due to fatigue but that's the outcome you get trying to improve at two counter-active sports.
DH: I come from a strength training background as well, was a competitive bodybuilder before getting into cycling. I think you may want to try cutting the frequency as well as the volume of your strength training down. Cut the gym work to maybe 2x per week and cut the volume within those workouts down. Has worked well for me if you wish to give it a shot
The other option is to periodize your training. For the last few years, I've followed an off-season plan that focuses on weight training along with muscle tension intervals (low cadence/big gear), transitions through an adaptation phase, a hypertrophy phase, strength phase, and then power phase (plyometric) over 10-weeks. I take a small drop in my cycling fitness, but then switch over to my SS Base Training, and shift the weight training to a maintenance phase of 2-3 times/week, at a reduced volume. It's helped me stay much healthier on the bike, with far fewer back, cramp issues, etc. and has helped my overall bike power and sprint.
you want to do gym on the 'hard' days of your cycling training, ideally after the cycling training. You may lift a little less, but you're structuring it right so that that recovery days are actually recovery.
@@lechprotean Thanks. It tends to only work the other way around, unfortunately (early morning lift and ride after work) but I have tried to focus on trying to leave at least one full off day or at least a recovery ride post lifting session.
@@Phil-dx8rw Thanks, good point. I have typically trained with DUP (daily undulating periodization) and RPE to try and augment this so that on days I do or do not have it (gym wise) its less about the weight and all training sessions are almost primarily squat, bench, deadlift with minimal accessory work to try and limit no-specific workload.
I noticed last winter something similar as I began snowboarding on the weekends instead of riding, and typically was able to see better lifting performance without seeing FTP fall off despite much less hours on the bike. Could be I just need a mixture of less overall training volume and ensure the hard days are really really hard.
I don't weight lift, but I do other sports, and other activities that will be much higher intensity, skateboarding, parkour, basketball, etc. does wonders for cycling fitness. even on those tough climbs.
So I am lucky to have strength equipment at the house and my FTP is around 320 with only doing Sweet Spot work and have not done much Vo2 or Z6 intervals. Lately, with consistently doing RFD work and low rep work at 50% of 1rm, not doing hypertrophy, work and not submax strength work, and have found that I am not gaining weight and I am staying with all of the top racers on 3-5 minute climbs that require me to put out anywhere from 375-400np avg. My Z2 rides are 1x a week, I have no base training, and I am actually only doing about 4 hours a week of total riding and easily staying with all the fast guys because of strength work. I think the the term strength work or gym is labeled with some crazy workout where you crawl out of the gym because you're so broken down. Train Smart my friends. I am more efficient in the saddle on climbs, and have plenty of sprint speed.
Such great explanations, on point! Love listening to Chad breaking stuff down to easy language and summarising it to 10min!
One thing though: it’s “lifting weights”. Weightlifting is an olympic sport consisting of the snatch and the clean&jerk.
I assume the headline only applies to lifting weights with the muscles I also use in cycling. What exercises (High Force, Low Velocity) can I do if I have to avoid deadlifts and squats (had 2 L5/S1 herniations, no need third strike).
Oh no! Sorry to hear about your injuries, making modifications like that is super tricky, as we dont know the extend of the injury and dont want to steer you in the wrong direction! Checking in with a PT who can assess your stability for a modification like a sled-squat instead of deadlift for example would be a great idea!
@@TrainerRoad So just ask PT on how to get big glute, hamstring and quad muscle without risk of another herniation?
You'll want to ask which strengthening exercises are safe for you post-injury. Apart from wanting to risk another herniation, its important to consider what other stabilizing muscle groups were effected through your injury. This is definitely a whole-scope thing that should be approached comprehensively to keep you safe!
I've added strength training to my routine, currently 2x a week. With COVID though I'm doing everything at home and have limited access to weights--only about 25lbs for a barbell (including the bar) and a pair of 5lb dumbbells. Looking to eventually add a kettlebell or two to the mix. Squats, single leg dead lifts, etc are all part of the routine and I add resistance bands when appropriate. How can I get the most out of training with not that much weight? Just more reps?
Aaron M Likewise... absent even dumbbells... I ended up getting some bands and use those (not the ones with the handles!) and I like them... the natural resistance and the different band "weight" provides enough to keep me toned and leveled off strength wise, with a little extra muscle build... nothing is going to beat actual weight (dumbbell, curl bar, bench press) but it’s a good bridge and provides enough variety (upper body/legs) until things get back to normal. Do a TH-cam search for James Grage... he has some good videos on using bands, but more importantly discusses his transition from weights to bands that’s pretty interesting... I hope this helps...
That’s a tough one; you might have to get creative by finding odd but heavy things to lift. There’s evidence to support that lifting to failure at light weight increases hypertrophy (similar to lifting heavy to failure), but that’s hypertrophy, not max strength which is where more of the benefits lie. Time to get creative with some heavy stuff around the house! :)
There is only one way to train specifically for strength. It's lifting HEAVY weights. If you only have a 25Lbs barbell you are not going to be able to do specific strength work. There is no way around that. More reps is not the same and does not train the same system. You could however try to do jumping squats and things like that with less weight but even then 25 is nothing. Also, doing plyometrics is much more injury prone but it's the only way of using more muscle fibres with less weight.
Do you have esperience with eccentric , like jo-jo machine ?
If my max weight lifting force exceeds my peak 1s cycling torque, why would it be beneficial to raise it? Only possibility I see is if it would be below it, but with cycling the torque required is actually really low. Or am I missing something?
It’s not necessarily about elevating max capacity; rather, the training that lifts max capacity conveys endurance benefits. ;)
So if I can do say 600 watts on that 1-2 second moment, and I want to improve that to 1200, how much weight applied to a squat sled (45 degrees with a stationary back support- so you can envision what I am talking about and using) equates to 600 watts, and then 700 watts, and so forth up to 1200 watts?
Hey! Thats a tricky question, power on the bike is a measure of torque (circumferential force, even for 1s) wherein heavy strength work is almost always linear force application, so there's no direct numerical correlation that we could apply/recommend to get that exact result. Gradually building weight on the squat sled in a way that feels safe and productive is a great place to start!
@@TrainerRoad Yes, but the vast majority of the power applied is in the short downward movement of the foot (as my Garmin pedals so perfectly show me). So maybe if you assume a linear application what formula might apply?
You will need to increase your strength significantly (1-2.5x your body weight on say a squat for example) and specifically increase rate of force development to get that 1 second inconsequential spike. I would focus on 5 and 10 second power unless you race BMX.
One thing is for sure. Don't use a squat sled and think that will give you the neural pathways you'll need. Focus on doing actual squats. If you are not balanced while applying force, you will not be able to able force on the bike. Doing full body exercises like squats/benches/deadlifts will help you actually use your power.
Sam Bennett has said that a key reason for his improvement in results was reducing resistance training.
Same here
But he still got strong first. Plenty of cyclists struggle to squat 1 plate
Sam Bennet first needs to get at 200m before the finish line, to use is sprint strength. So he really needed to focus on endurance, so much that he probably didn't have time to do strength training.
@@VincentVanWersch he said it was more important to have fresh legs than higher peak power. He had time to strength train but it was tiring his legs
@@jordywilliams he trebled the weight he could push but got slower
If you can do it more than once, it's not your 1 RM. Classic!