Over the last 3-5 years we’ve seen a changing of the currents in regards to strength training for cyclists. Moving from “To be avoided at all costs, unless it’s light weight and high reps”, to the modern day “Lift Heavy $h*t!”
There has been a very wild and sudden swing from one side of the spectrum to the other. While some may see this as a positive, fast change into a better direction, it has in fact left many “average riders” hanging on for dear life, trying to figure out how to make sense of it all.
Here’s two common reasons you’re still struggling to make in-season strength training a regular practice.
Poor Mental Model
As we’ve had this shift in approach happening in the cycling world over a very short period of time, there has not been enough time for the old beliefs to be properly “re-wired”.
This may sound silly, but it’s true.
New approaches take time to become accepted, and more deeply embedded. We need time, evidence, and often-times personal experience (or experience from someone we greatly admire or look up to), before we can see a true change of understanding of an item or topic.
Take the shift to disc brakes as an example. They’ve been around for nearly the last 10 years, but only in the last 5 years or so have they been embraced by the masses… and that was pushed along faster thanks to the popularity explosion in gravel riding. Otherwise, we’d probably still only be getting to where us “average” riders would be willing to purchase a new bike with them.
Unfortunately, unlike disc brakes, which are pretty easy to understand the benefits and downsides to, strength training is not so simple to understand. And in fact, there are a whole host of “common knowledge” practices which are complete and utter garbage, but have gained a hold of the cycling community, and are proving extremely difficult to remove.
This includes seeing in-season strength training as detracting from performance on the bike, when in fact, it can (and should) have a very big positive impact on not only your riding, but also your recovery and adaptations from your rides.
This is in part due to reason #2.
Following Poor Guidance
One of the unique problems the world of strength training and fitness has always had, is the audiences wanting to believe in a shortcut or hack to get them the results they are after.
In bygone years, we’d call the folks selling these hopes and dreams “Snake oil salesmen.”
But these days, we face a bigger challenge, as these people are no longer hocking their goods in late night infomercials… they’re EVERYWHERE in social media. With great looking bodies, and seemingly mounds of endless “testimonials” to prove their stuff ‘works’.
And we fall for it. Because we WANT it to be true.
On the other side of the poor guidance spectrum, we have well-meaning cycling coaches and personal trainers claiming that they have “workouts to help you ride better”… most of which endlessly focus on the lower half of your body, load you up with heavy weights (“Hey! The “research says so!”), and point to more weight on the bar or more reps completed a few weeks later, as “progress”.
Well, It’s Bull$h*t. No, not light, flaky Horse$h*t. Heavy Bull$h*t.
But again, we buy it. And on this side of things, it’s a lot more complicated, as many of these cycling coaches have previous or current clients who are absolute stars on the bike…Because the coach is a great cycling coach.
Strength Training for sport performance, is a completely different approach, and something that this author has been studying and experimenting with for almost 2 decades… and I still have so much more that I don’t know, than I have “figured out”.
Much of what you’re finding on the interwebs, including quite a few articles on well established news and information outlets, is being shared by folks who either:
- Are really great in-sport coaches, but whom have extremely limited knowledge and experience on the strength side of things
- Have large social media followings, or whom have built trust on in-sport guidance over a long period of time, and who have been asked to “chime in” on strength training
- Have worked with high performing athletes, and thus are seen as trustworthy and knowledgeable about strength training.
- Here’s a dirty little secret very few coaches will want to admit: When you have a highly talented athlete, they’ll make you look good, at times despite what you give them. The truly great coaches are those who can get results for athletes and clients at any stage in their development, and for almost any capabilities.
Here are some of the most trusted and professional resources whom you can lean on to give you a no BS guide to getting stronger for overall fitness and for endurance sports:
- Dan John (Strength, Performance, longevity, and perspective)
- Pavel Tsatsouline (General to specific strength & conditioning)
- Erin Carson (Strength Training for triathletes)
- Kriss Hendy (Strength Training for triathletes)
- Chris Peden (Strength Training for cyclists)
- Mike Robertson (Athleticism, Strength Training)
- Dr. Stuart McGill (Low Back and overall athletic performances)
- Bob Takano (Olympic Weightlifting)
- Joel Jamieson (balancing aerobic conditioning with strength training)
This is by no means an exhaustive list or in any particular order, but it is one which has been curated over the years by myself, fellow coaches whom I know and trust, as well as my mentors.
There are a few names whom I’ve left off the list, as the majority of their work tends to be in specializations that differ too greatly from cycling (i.e. Powerlifting, Baseball). While they’d be great resources for some of you here reading who are really diving deeper into this strength training rabbit hole, they’d be too far askew for the majority who are looking for “lighthouse” guidance on what to do.
The recurring theme amongst these highly experienced coaches? Their ability to say “It depends” and “I do not know”, as well as to give you true expert guidance, not some general answer.
Conclusion
There are, of course, many more reasons we can think of as to why we struggle to keep up mid-season strength training, however, these two items are at the inner core of the deep “why”.
Once you build a more updated, modern understanding of what strength training is (and is not), as well as find far better resources to learn from, you’ll highly likely find yourself not only making the time for in-season strength training, but also pushing back (or even blowing up) many, if not most, of these “common knowledge” myths and misconceptions which have found their way into the wonderful world of cycling.
If you’d like to learn more about how to get the most out of strength training in a way that helps improve your on-bike abilities, and helps you gain enjoyment and longevity for many years to come, check out my international best-selling books Strength Training for Cycling Performance, or “Lift Heavy $h*t: Intelligent Strength Training for Masters Cyclists”.
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