[Jason is currently pursuing his masters degree from Marshall University in kinesiology with an emphasis on exercise physiology. He is a high performance tennis coach with experience coaching nationally and internationally ranked players all over the world. Jason is a certified High Performance Tennis Coach with the USTA and hold certifications with the USPTA and the iTPT. He is taking part in the Athletic Lab Coaching Mentorship program.]

Cycling is a sport of very slim margins. Countless hours are dedicated to time in the saddle riding hundreds of miles a week, even in the most extreme conditions, all in an attempt to gain a few seconds here or a watt or two there. Traditionally, the way to improve at cycling was to cycle… a lot. Professional level cyclists average over 20 hours a week of riding. Even recreational riders at the competitive level average 10+ hours a week. Eventually, there is a point of diminishing returns. Over the last 20 years, the science of training has improved dramatically. Periodized training blocks with zone-specific interval training and load monitoring have led to more effective and efficient training. However, there is one area that research has shown can lead to dramatic gains that most cyclists completely ignore; that is getting off the bike and heading to the gym.

Strength training, if done correctly, will lead to improvements in cycling performance [1-7]. Despite numerous scientific studies supporting this claim, cyclists have long avoided trading in time on the bike for some time in the gym. There are a few prominent arguments that seem to persist. One is the fear of bulking up. In cycling, weight matters. The more mass that must be moved, the more energy must be expelled. Anything that could potentially increase weight is on the do not touch list. Another is the fear of reduced aerobic capacity. Aerobic adaptations from endurance training and strength adaptations from resistance training were once believed to be on opposite ends of a continuum; doing one would interfere with maximizing the other. The third argument against going to the gym was the unwillingness to reduce hours of training on the bike. Many believed it was not worth any potential benefits that might arise from strength training to compromise the hours in the saddle. As we will see, not one of these concerns has proven to be true. This article will explain the benefits of strength training for cyclists and how to achieve them.

To understand how strength training can impact cycling performance, It is first necessary to understand, from a physiological perspective, how performance in cycling is broken down. Cycling performance comes from a combination of endurance performance and anaerobic performance [3]. Strength training improves cycling performance by positively impacting both areas.

Endurance capacity is the bulk of most cycling performance. It is what allows cyclists to maintain high outputs for prolonged periods. Endurance capacity is improved by training on the bike. For this reason, cyclists must spend a majority of their time focusing on endurance performance. It can be split into two general components: maximum aerobic capacity and cycling economy [3]. Maximum aerobic capacity is sometimes referred to as VO2max. It represents the maximum amount of oxygen that can be consumed to produce work. The higher it is, the better. Cycling economy represents the amount of effort it takes to maintain a specific power or speed. Increasing economy means a cyclist can maintain a specific workload with less effort. Endurance performance is improved if a cyclist can maintain a higher power output than they previously could over a given distance or time. Most of the workload of endurance performance in the muscle is accomplished by type I muscle fibers in the legs [8]. Type I fibers are the most oxidative and, as such, are where most of the muscular adaptations associated with endurance training occur.

Anaerobic performance in cycling is what drives sprinting ability. It is determined by the maximum amount of power a cyclist can produce and how long they can maintain that very high output. Most events in cycling come down to a well-timed sprint to break away from the pack or a sprint to the finish line, or even just a race to the coffee shop to beat riding buddies. Anaerobic performance is improved if the maximum amount of power a cyclist can produce increases and/or the time a near max amount of power can be maintained increases. Unlike type I fibers that power endurance performance, anaerobic work is done primarily with type II fibers of the muscle [8]. These fibers are highly glycolytic; they have a great capacity to produce energy anaerobically. There are two types of type II fiber, type IIx and type IIa. Type IIx are the most glycolytic; they produce vast amounts of power but fatigue extremely rapidly. Type IIa fibers are intermediate; they are more oxidative than type IIx and more glycolytic than type I. In a stereotypical model, adaptations associated with strength training are seen in the type II fibers. Understanding muscle fiber types and their function will be important as we move into discussing performance adaptations for cyclists.

This basic understanding of muscle physiology led to the false belief that strength training would not help endurance performance. This is no longer the belief. There have now been enough peer-reviewed studies demonstrating the performance gains for cyclists from strength training programs that strength training should be included in every cyclist’s training plan.

The key for cyclists to implement a successful strength training program is to follow a few fundamental guidelines [3].

  • Strength training must be programmed to achieve maximum strength gains
  • Strength training must take place concurrently with endurance training on the bike
  • Strength training must replace a portion of endurance training not added onto the existing endurance training
  • Strength training sessions should be performed year-round, not just in a preseason phase, to maintain gains

Strength training for strength gains

Cycling consists of single-leg, concentric, multi-joint movements. A strength training plan focusing on increasing concentric strength will have the most carry-over to cycling performance. Strength training sessions must be designed to achieve maximum strength gains. Strength training results in increased strength by increasing motor unit recruitment, increasing motor unit firing synchronization, and increasing muscle fiber cross-sectional area, specifically, of type II fibers. Increased leg strength directly correlates to increased anaerobic power. These adaptations predominantly occur when performing exercises at greater than 85% of an individual’s 1RM[3]. Studies showing the most improvement in performance used closed-chain, multi-joint exercises following a high-load, low rep, high volume protocol lasting at a minimum of 8 weeks [1, 4, 5, 7]. Examples of these exercises would be back squats, lunges, deadlifts, or other variations of these three exercises. They would usually be using a barbell to achieve the required amounts of load necessary for strength gains. This contrasts with a still predominant thought that muscular endurance, using a lower load for more repetitions, should be the focus of resistance training for endurance sports.

Strength training concurrent with endurance training

A key finding is that strength training must be performed concurrently with endurance training to achieve improved endurance performance. Performed concurrently, several adaptations take place that do not occur if strength training or endurance training are completed independently [3]. Concurrent training leads to increased muscle capillarization over endurance training alone, increasing blood supply and oxygen delivery [1]. There is an increase in muscle cross-sectional area, specifically in type I fibers [7]. Apart from being the predominant fiber type involved in aerobic work, type I fibers play an essential role in lactate metabolism. Increasing the muscle’s ability to process lactate functionally increases the lactate threshold. A phenotype shift occurs within the trained muscle from type IIx to less fatigable type IIa fibers [1]. As previously stated, type IIa fibers have a larger endurance capacity than type IIx. Combined with the increased capacity of type I fibers, this increases the aerobic capacity of the muscle. A high volume of endurance training seems to interfere with the pathways responsible for hypertrophy signaling meaning, cyclists performing concurrent training experience very little increase in mass, even when following protocols to maximize strength [9]. Lastly, there is no reported adverse effect on VO2max from resistance training [3, 4]. Combined, these adaptations translate to an improved cycling economy, and increased average power output, all without affecting maximum aerobic capacity.

Strength training programming

Most cyclists operate close to the limit of what their schedule or physical capacity will tolerate for training volumeβ€”because of this, adding extra training volume in the form of strength training sessions to their regular endurance training schedule might not be appropriate. Studies using elite-level cyclists found that performance gains were greatest when strength training replaced a portion of the endurance training [3]. When strength training was in addition to normal endurance training volume, there was actually a drop in performance. Presumably, this was due to the volume exceeding levels that the athletes could appropriately recover from. The goal then, is to add strength training sessions while keeping the overall volume the same. To achieve gains in strength, 2-3 sessions a week are ideal. However, adjusting the number of strength training to the training phase is essential. During the preparatory phase, three sessions may be possible. As cycling volume increases, that might drop to two sessions. In season, one day a week as maintenance may be all that fits into the schedule. It is essential to maintain at least one session a week to prevent losing the gains made.

Other strength training benefits

Beyond just experimentally proven performance gains, there are other benefits of strength training for cyclists. Doing full-body strength exercises indirectly increases core muscle stability. A more stable core allows for a more efficient energy transfer through the body. Exercises such as squats and lunges, if done correctly, can improve hip mobility. Less resistance through the hip joint produces a smoother and more comfortable pedal stroke. After many hours of training on the bike, the upper body can become fatigued from holding the same position. A stronger upper body can help reduce arm and shoulder fatigue. Adding a circuit of upper body exercises to a strength training session is worth the extra time. Good examples would be dumbbell bench presses, dumbbell rows, pullups, and shoulder presses. Dedicated stability and mobility work can help alleviate any imbalances that can arise from hours doing the same repetitive motion. Ending a strength training session with a small core circuit and a few static stretches is all that is needed. A more robust and balanced body may not directly lead to more watts, but being more comfortable for longer on the bike will lead to higher quality training sessions, ultimately leading to increased performance.

Summary

  • Strength training should take place 1-3 times a week for a minimum of 8-12 weeks, preferably throughout the entire year
  • The bulk of a strength training session should consist of full-body multi-joint exercises. It may also include some upper body accessory exercises and conclude with a stability/mobility circuit
  • Primary exercises need to progress to sufficiently heavy loads within the session to achieve positive adaptations
  • Strength training sessions need to become a part of weekly endurance training. Doing both concurrently leads to adaptations that improve cycling performance
  • Strength training sessions need to replace a portion of endurance training to ensure that total training volume does not become too high

There is no substitute for hours spent on the bike focusing on endurance training. However, a properly designed cycling strength training program will improve the cycling enthusiast’s comfort, endurance, and anaerobic performance.

References

  1. Aagaard, P., et al., Effects of resistance training on endurance capacity and muscle fiber composition in young top-level cyclists. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2011. 21(6): p. e298-e307.
  2. Douglas, J., A. Ross, and J.C. Martin, Maximal muscular power: lessons from sprint cycling. Sports Med Open, 2021. 7(1): p. 48.
  3. Mujika, I., B.R. RΓΈnnestad, and D.T. Martin, Effects of increased muscle strength and muscle mass on endurance-cycling performance. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2016. 11(3): p. 283-289.
  4. RΓΈnnestad, B.R., E.A. Hansen, and T. Raastad, Strength training improves 5-min all-out performance following 185 min of cycling. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2011. 21(2): p. 250-259.
  5. RΓΈnnestad, B.R., E.A. Hansen, and T. Raastad, In-season strength maintenance training increases well-trained cyclists’ performance. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2010. 110(6): p. 1269-1282.
  6. RΓΈnnestad, B.R., et al., Strength training improves performance and pedaling characteristics in elite cyclists. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2015. 25(1): p. e89-e98.
  7. Vikmoen, O., et al., Strength training improves cycling performance, fractional utilization of VO2max and cycling economy in female cyclists. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2016. 26(4): p. 384-396.
  8. Coyle, E.F., et al., Cycling efficiency is related to the percentage of type I muscle fibers. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 1992. 24(7): p. 782-8.
  9. Izquierdo, M., et al., Maximal strength and power, muscle mass, endurance and serum hormones in weightlifters and road cyclists. J Sports Sci, 2004. 22(5): p. 465-78.