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When it comes to clocking miles, cyclists are often laser-focused on checking them off. And that’s not a bad approach. Riding more miles does make you a better cyclist. But that’s not the only way to up your road game, something many novice riders don’t realize. Enter: strength training.
In general, strength training “helps with maintaining or increasing muscle tissue and improving bone density over time, as well as helping to reduce injuries and body fat,” Yusuf Jeffers, a NYC-based strength and conditioning coach, run coach, and fitness instructor explains to Runner’s World. When specifically applied to an endurance athlete, strength training will help with increasing speed, power, and neural adaptations.
While cycling is a non-weight-bearing sport, it’s still important to practice strength training to build muscles that support your joints and tendons. Carly Graham, D.P.T., a physical therapist and certified running coach, tells Runner’s World, strengthening the muscles that support the pattern you repeat in your sport will keep you stronger and healthier while completing that activity.
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According to Andy Speer, C.S.C.S., a Peloton tread and strength instructor, there are two big reasons why at athletes need strength training: injury prevention and performance. Cycling demands high repetitions of the same movement in a limited range of motion, he says. Strength training in multiple places of motion and greater ranges of motion (think lateral lunges and single leg-deadlifts) balances the high volume of pedal strokes cyclists take on a weekly basis, Speer says.
Strength training also shores up your connective tissue, tendons and ligaments. “Having strong, resilient connective tissue can help reduce risk of overuse injury,” he says.
Unfortunately, Jeffers says that time and time again he sees endurance athletes consistently neglect to do any form of strength training—until some sort of injury sidelines them and rehabilitation is necessary. But the truth is, even the most casual of general strength programs can go a long way in helping to address potential muscular imbalances and keeping you cycling for longer.
If you are not used to lifting, getting started can feel intimidating. So, experts let us in on the golden rules of strength training—tips that build the foundation of an effective and efficient weight-training program. Even if you’re new to strength training, you’ll have a basis of knowledge to get started and see progress with these key facts.
1. Start new moves using bodyweight only
You don’t need to be in such hurry to pick (heavy) things up and put them down. “Novice lifters should start without weight to learn proper technique and emphasize movement characteristics with the guidance of a professional,” says Natalie Niemczyk, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., a physical therapist and owner of Revolution Running Physical Therapy in Long Island, New York. You also want to allow the body to go through an adjustment period, in which increased fatigue may occur and more recovery is needed—similar to what you experience when you begin any training program, Niemczyk says.
Once you’ve mastered bodyweight moves, then step it up to light weights. “The stimulus from range of motion even with light weights will be plenty at the beginning of your strength training journey,” says Speer, who notes that proper technique, balance, and range of motion are all more important than the amount of weight you lift initially.
You want to aim for longterm progress, the same way you would approach cycling, says Speer. “Strength training will be more enjoyable and effective if you make small progressions over time,” he adds. If you’re super sore after every single workout, will you still want to come back for more? Likely not. So start light and work up.
As you get stronger, Yusuf warns that those who are just starting to incorporate weights into their routine shouldn’t be attempting to lift a one-rep max—the maximum amount of weight you can lift for one repetition—too frequently. (This is something more experienced lifters might do to hone in on strength and max out on weight in a specific movement.)
Instead, to build strength, you do want to choose weights around 85 percent of your one-rep max and go for low reps. Higher efforts can severely depress the central nervous system making recovery and subsequent rides and other activities difficult, Yusuf says.
2. Incorporate holds into your routine
Most people think you need to sling around heavy weights to gain fitness benefits—but that’s not quite true. In reality, isometric exercises will also benefit cyclists looking to build strength and stability. These moves require contraction of a specific muscle or a group of muscles and holding that contraction in the same position for a determined period of time (think planks and hollow-body holds).
Isometrics are a powerful training tool, especially for endurance athletes, says Speer. “Holding positions for 30 to 60 seconds, such as lunges and single-leg balances help strengthen muscles, connective tissue (i.e. joints), and your core.”
It also may be the best way to help make the body a buttress against internal and external forces, helping you maintain a stable posture during activities like cycling. This is an important factor considering good posture can make you more efficient, as well as help ward off neck pain and lower back pain.
3. Target your entire lower half
There’s plenty of evidence to back how strong quads help you dominate hills and crank out more watts, while your hamstrings and glutes power your pedal stroke and help you sidestep injury. Chances are, you probably think about working these big muscles in your strength workouts.
But what about the rest of the leg? Unfortunately, people often neglect everything below the knee—and you shouldn’t.
Your calves and anterior tibialis (the muscle in the front of your shin) are very important in the biomechanics of cycling. The former acts as a stabilizer and power provider through your pedal stroke, especially on the sweep down and slightly back. And the latter kicks in at the end of your pedal stroke, as you point your toes and then draw them back up.
Speer’s advice for targeting the lower legs: Using a wall to balance, perform bodyweight calf raises and toe raises. Start with 2 to 3 sets of 10 reps each, increasing those reps and sets over time.
4. Focus on compound moves and cycling muscles
When it comes to choosing what moves to actually do for your first couple strength workouts, Jeffers suggests compound exercises that complement cycling movement patterns versus single-joint isolation exercises. That means moves like squats (working multiple muscle groups, like quads and glutes) versus bicep curls (which just focus on the biceps).
The reason? These types of lifts recruit more muscle groups leading to a bigger response, he says. Research agrees. One study in Frontiers in Physiology revealed that multi-joint exercises provide higher gains in physical performance thanks to an uptick in both cardiorespiratory fitness and maximal strength.
You should also make sure your strength workouts focus on unilateral (or single-side) movements such as single-leg deadlifts and lunge variations, adds Speer. In general he says you should pick one to two sets in each workout where your muscles fatigue by the last two reps, while the rest of your session should focus on learning exercise technique and gaining range of motion.
Be careful not to overload your muscles, though. One thing you don’t want is for your strength training to affect your form or make you compensate due to soreness since that could lead to an injury or another issue, says Graham, who also recommends you consult with a physical therapist to make sure your body has the mobility to complete the motions you want and that you are loading your muscles properly. It’s also smart to hire a personal trainer who can help you learn how to perform standard moves and help address any muscle imbalances you might have that can lead to injuries.
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5. Time your strength work with your ride schedule
Strength training—which Niemczyk says it’s most effective when performed two to three times per week in the off-season and one to two times per week while training for a race—is meant to support your cycling, not make it more difficult. For example, beginning a strengthening program too close to race day can not only hinder your cycling performance but place you at risk for injury, says Niemczyk. She notes that in the beginning you need to allow for an adjustment period in which increased fatigue may occur and more recovery is needed, similar to what you experience when you begin a cycling program.
Also, adding too much lifting volume as your cycling volume increases can be counterproductive, says Speer. “If your miles per week are increasing to a challenging level, keep your lifting manageable and consistent." He says, it’s best to push your weights when you lower your cycling mileage.
Cyclists should aim to periodize their strength training if possible, says Jeffers, just as you would do with your cycling. Do the “majority of lifting during speed (anaerobic) phases of training versus endurance (aerobic) phase,” he says. “Strength, speed, and power are a more similar stimuli than strength and endurance.”
Also important: Add in shorter sessions throughout the week so you don’t get too sore for the next day or fatigue your muscles too much at once, advises Graham.
6. Get your mind involved in the workout
“Make sure you are not just going through motions, but feeling the correct muscles turn on,” advises Graham. For example, you want to focus on “actually driving through your heels to use your glutes [in moves like squats, deadlifts, and lunges] or keeping your core tight during ‘ab’ work.” Being more mindful, and more specifically, focusing on the muscle you are working while contracting it (you might have heard of this as the mind-muscle connection) can result in a greater increase in muscle size and strength.
Jeffers agrees, also adding that performing each repetition with good form, focusing on quality of movement versus quantity, is key. For example, “shortening the range of motion will sometimes neglect deficiencies in strength or muscle recruitment at the end range of movement, where most people are weakest,” he says. For example, it’s okay to not squat at full depth if you’re not confident in that end range of motion yet.
7. Take rest breaks
Remember your strength day is your strength day, so resist the temptation to turn your lift session into a cardio session—if you really want to get stronger.
In other words, rest between sets and let the heart rate come down if it spikes, advises Jeffers. Proper rest “helps with being able to give appropriately intense efforts to elicit muscular adaptations.” If you rest for at least a minute between big moves like deadlifts, for example, that rest period will allow you to continue to lift a heavy weight, rather than dropping down or sacrificing form because you’re tired from insufficient recovery time.
8. Log your lifts to track your progress
You track your rides (or at least you should) because it gives you a window into not only your progress but your challenges too. Well, you should also record the strength moves you do and the weights you lift for those moves, Jeffers says.
Progressive overload—or gradually increasing the weight, frequency, or number of repetitions in your strength training routine—is what leads to strength increases and keeps you from hitting a plateau. To make sure you’re continuously moving forward, you have to keep track of where you’re at too. Plus, it can build confidence to see the progress you’ve made over time, especially if you started with something like bodyweight squats and now lift 40 or 50 pounds as you go.
Rozalynn S Frazier is an award-winning, multimedia journalist, and certified personal trainer living in New York City. She has created content for SELF, Health, Essence, Runner's World, Money, Reebok, Livestrong, and others.
