Buy, install, ride faster: aero wheels promise off-the-shelf speed for any cyclist with a credit card.
When it comes to improving the human machine, cyclists are prone to looking at strength training like an aero wheel purchase; choose exercises, lift heavy, then reap the rewards of greater strength.
Treating strength training like your aero wheels is a terrible idea. Here’s why.
Lifting weights differs from most things you do on the bike for these obvious reasons:
- Strength training requires knowledge and deliberate practice to execute safely.
- Strength training places unique stressors on tendons, ligaments, and joints.
- Strength training (compound lifts) engages significantly more muscle mass than pedaling a bike.
- Strength training requires (if done well) movement beyond the pedaling stroke’s fixed range of motion (ROM).
Improved performance should be the last item on your strength training checklist if you’ve recently chosen to lift weights.
Here are three priorities to master before turning your attention to more speed on the bike.
1: Execute desired ROM for each exercise, starting with body weight only, followed by an unweighted training implement (like a barbell), and finally with added resistance (weight plates).
2: Once you can execute the movement with a desired ROM and consistent technique, conservatively increase weight or reps across different training sessions while remaining well under maximum intensity (≤ RPE 8).
3: Once you’ve arrived at your desired training intensity (RPE 6-8), practice lifting with benchmark ROM and consistent technique in the larger context of the rest of your time in the saddle.
Ride Basic: A Minimalist Guide to Maximize Your Cycling
Whether you’re a beginner eager to complete your first fondo, or a seasoned pro aiming to refresh the foundational principles of long-term cycling success, this time-efficient guide offers invaluable insights into why and how you can Ride Basic.
Wise cyclists conservatively prioritize their strength training goals because they recognize that the time it takes to progress toward lifting intensely varies across athletes.
While some cyclists with a training history of lifting weights and no ROM limitations may quickly progress toward lifting heavy, many cyclists will require more time (in the form of months) to build the necessary tendon and ligament strength to support heavier strength training.
In summary, if you hope to use strength training as a lever to improve your cycling performance, don’t assume you can take it off the shelf and use it however/whenever you want.
Be smart and follow a purposeful progression focused on pain-free ROM, efficient technique, conservative weight increases, and a final target intensity well below a maximal effort.