Number One Mistake Cyclists Make with Weight Training

[@milkbunnies]

As an older (53) year old rider, I really appreciate these fitness clips. My riding has definitely got better over the last 18months by swapping a couple of rides for a few more sessions in the gym.

[@DavidStacey-tx7on]

Yeah same, it really helps. Usually wind back cycling and focus on heavy lifting for 12-16 weeks than switch to a maintance style thru spring and summer

[@GiJoe94]

At your age focusing more on resistance training will give your more health benefits anyway going into your 60s

[@starlitshadows]

The only caveat to that study is volume wasn't equated. It was half the volume of reps. So of course recovery time was much quicker. Not to say that training to failure isn't a primary factor. But if you match the volume I suspect recovery would be longer. From the research I've seen on the topic if you are within 1-3 reps in reserve you can achieve similar results as failure training with less fatigue on the CNS. So it is important to get close. You just don't want to bury yourself. Makes perfect sense especially in the context of doing so to support another sport like cycling.

[@wayne5741]

I was curious clicking on this video, to see what this big mistake was going to be. I've been lifting weights for 35 years, about half of that time I also was an NSCA/ASCA accredited strength coach. (I even participated in a strength study at USC when I did my MBA there over a decade ago). Can't be more positively surprised and impressed from what was said in the video. Throughout the decades I've gone through many different protocols, but the last years I've shifted to 'submaximal' training, mostly because I didn't want fatigue from my strength training to interfere with other activity I was doing (cycling & surfing). So my base training now is with weights I could probably get 2x as many reps. On the 30 reps though, I find it a good challenge once in a while to do a full workout doing 30 rep sets. Complex exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges, etc. will take the wind out of you!

[@EJGilb]

This is also what I've been doing as an in season track cycling sprinter to Maintain strength through the race season while prioritizing speed work on the bike. Failure is not necessary, and in fact detrimental when building strength & mass is not the priority - but maintenance is necessary and this is the way to do it.

[@DavidStacey-tx7on]

So what he is saying if you want to build muscle lift heavy and hard, if maintaining strength to prevent injury and assist athletic performing wind it back a tad. Controlled with good form with 2-3 reps in the tank

[@FuerteBici]

Same as bike training - if you go too deep / blow, it takes days to recover

[@edsassler]

Let’s define the goal of strength training as it relates to an endurance sport. There is a limit to the amount of force applied to the pedals of a bike, that limit is far below the tension put on muscles at the gym. Muscles have two limits, their limit of strength - how much force they can produce, and their tensile strength - the point where damage occurs. Oddly, the tensile limit is lower than the strength limit, which is why people get sore after lifting if they start the program too hard. The point of a well designed program is to put the tensile limit of the muscles outside of the tension seen on the bike. It’s fatigue resistance. My program is a multi pyramid program, starting with low weights, high reps and working down to low reps, high weights. The program is based on the fact that muscles don’t know absolute weights, they only know what they just pushed. I start at 50 reps, 1 plate per side. I add 1 plate and go down by 8 reps until I’m at 6 plates, 10 reps. I then go back up by 10’s, so the second pyramid starts at 50 reps, 2 plates per side. It feels about the same. The point of doing longer sets is to push higher weights at the top of the pyramid.

[@FunkZoned]

Lower body to failure verse upper body to failure, shoulder and hip failure verse knee and elbow to failure is probably the better conversation than to failure or not to failure

[@niceracleous9999]

This is wrong, I have been training for 45 years, doing weights and cycling. when you do squads and leg press, you use adjacent muscle fibres. I have not been able to walk out of the gym after some leg workouts, and have no pain when I ride, running, jumping uses different fibres in the legs so the jump test is useless.

[@endcensorship874]

Actually, the number one mistake cyclists make with weight training is ... NOT weight training. I came up in the 80's, and have been racing and riding the road bike the whole time. I distinctly remember my "coach" saying that weight training was a waste of time. He said that what we needed to do was ride, ride, ride. Then ride some more. In the winter, that was rollers. I wish I would have started weight training early, when I first started riding. Oh Well!

[@eric13hill]

Great info on training to failure not being better.

[@steveouwerkerk7719]

During the down season when lifting / strength training is the priority I find it hard to believe that you can elicit much improvement or adaptation not going to failure. Fatigue is definitely much greater but strength training is the focus until ramping up volume and intensity on the bike, then a reduction is appropriate.

[@JAB-jp6le]

Then this shows your base knowledge of strength training. Training to failure and training hard out of seven or eight RPE aren’t the same thing.

[@richardmiddleton7770]

Heavier weight, lower reps, hardly ever to failure. 3 RIR. You'll be less sore and can literally do it every day.

[@iamlukehunter]

This is awesome content, thank you. I had been on a weight to failure training program for 12 months and stopped because of joint/muscle pain from constantly pushing so hard. Obviously body not recovering properly between sessions. Recently moved to a calisthenics program (still using weights where required). Reducing the weight while keeping a 4-1-2-0 tempo during each rep is having an extremely positive effect as now I am training muscle strength and endurance simultaneously. I have also reduced the number of strength training sessions each week. In 2 months my FTP has gone from 216 to 270 (relatively new to cycling) and I am stronger in every metric. I think there is real potential to combine this style of strength training to compliment endurance sport for all levels. Would be great to get your thoughts on this.

[@jaketriathlon]

I tend to watch a lot of the videos about the best way to strength train for cycling and they all say lift heavy, which makes sense in theory. But the main issue I think & feel personally is, not many people are stable/strong enough to control their true 1RM or even 80% of it on a compound lift such as the squat without sacrificing form, often leading to injuries. So I find myself building a foundation slowly throughout the offseason to allow me to go heavy & then by the time I feel confident I am back in season again & am focusing more on cycling specific workouts. Maybe I’m the only one? Lol

[@freedomfreedom7031]

I was a bodybuilder and cycleing but always tired on my bike but after i do only body wights training its work with me i can train and ride in the same day 😂 . My workout is like 10 pull ups 10 posh ups 15 sqouds15 lenges rest time 1 mn repet it 10 Times .and rest 2 mn and do 8 pull ups 10 posh ups 15 sqouds15 lenges 10 times rets time 1 mn in betwen then rest 2 mn and i do 6 pull ups 10posh ups 15 sqouds 15 lenges 10 times rets time 1 mn 10 times and dont rest do 4 pull ups 10 posh ups 15sqouds15 lenges 10 times try this this routin its good for any sport i do 💪🏼😉. You my find it hard for you but start with low reps and you will get there 👍🏻

[@jamestalkscycling]

Is the strength training revolution finally hitting cycling? I hope so and I am here for it! I've seen the huge benefits since September in every aspect of my cycling. I was a bit confused about the 16-30 reps per workout. Is that per exercise or muscle group? For example, barbell squat and leg press for 16-30 reps or both at 16-30 reps.

[@ΘάνατοςΧορτοφάγος]

If you do less reps with the same weight, the stimulus is not enough to elicit growth/ strenth gains. Going from 2 reps in reserve to 6 reps in reserve means the weight is too light. Later in the video the explanation gets a bit different from 8 rep max weight for 5 reps, so 3 reps in reserve.

[@d9dga]

So... 1 good session a week, heavy enough but too many reps, min 2 minute rest in between sets... As a dad of 2x little ones with a fairly non-stop weekday, this sounds like a great start to what could be a productive weekend workout in 1 guilt-free hour

[@foundfoundfound1]

the greatest mistake cyclists make in the gym is no upper body strength: they lack bone mass, coordination, type 2b muscle fibres, and ordinary function. cyclists are only cyclists for 1-2 hours a day; the rest of the day they’re normal adults.

[@hambo76]

I've started resistance training which includes bench press (flat and incline), lat pull downs, bent over rows, deadlifts, and shoulder press.

[@jamesbarber6375]

Some people are training to failure on some movements, machines etc, hardly anyone is training to failure on squats. Failure is that you start a rep and are unable to complete it. Zero reps in reserve is more likely. But most beginners are horrendous at knowing where this is.

[@jobo3062]

I like that bike wall rack in the back. Any idea which one that is?

[@Gabrielle4870]

The overlay videos of people in the gym with horrific form is hurting my eyes. Who the .... is coaching?

[@EndurancePerformanceOptimized]

I agree, The athlete jumping with the dowel rod was atrocious. Correct form is paramount to proper recruit sequencing of the musculature, as well as for reducing potential injury. Same with the sled push, horrible. Walking lunge was questionable as well. Even the research talking points are suspect. Grade: C-/D+

[@EndurancePerformanceOptimized]

I will add HRV, if referring to heart rate variability, has pretty much been debunked as an indicator for recovery.

[@Gabrielle4870]

@@EndurancePerformanceOptimized and let's not start about the "squats" 🤣

[@slowcyclist4324]

Why is the ROM of the ppl on the video so small?

[@Saltcodnewfie]

😮 my mind has just been Blown.....omg.

[@SoleTownDuo]

I was talking about this with my weight lifting-muscle focused friend last week. We also got into the subject of recovery fuel. I usually eat a banana or some Whey-stuff. My friend says that I should go for gainer to maximize muscle building. Mind that I also want to shed a few kg of weight, so I don't want to overfuel. What should I do?

[@markwhitham1169]

Gainers are well known to be full of rubbish. Nobody uses them anymore. You’re far better off with a real recovery meal. If your trying to loose weight I’d probably carry on as you are with the whey and maybe something a bit more substantial than a banana (maybe some kind of rice)but all depends on how hard you’ve trained and what you eat the rest of the day.

[@Gabrielle4870]

Heaps of good videos on Diary of a CEO about this - worth watching.

[@SoleTownDuo]

@@Gabrielle4870 Checking that out, thx for the tip!

[@eileenseemann6270]

soo, cyclists should do strength/power training and rather not hyperthrophy (which also would just add weight). what about muscle endurance? should we for example do some strength training and 1-2 times a week muscular endurance? or is strength enough?

[@Gabrielle4870]

Endurance on the bike, strength in the gym.

[@slowcyclist4324]

No, cyclists should also go for hypertrophy. If you add muscle weight, so be it. No one cares if you’re the first up the hill because you kept your weight low. But being the last up the hill because you gained functional muscle mass? Your body and doctors certainly will in 40 years time.

[@eileenseemann6270]

​@@Gabrielle4870 Obviously you do endurance on the bike, but I was asking about muscular endurance. same as strength you build some of it on the bike, but you still train strength in the gym. so my question is if it would be beneficial to also train some muscular endurance with weighths in the gym. if your answer remains no, can you explain? is it your opinion or do you have some links to science for this? would be really interested. :) ​ @slowcyclist4324 but are you really in the hyperthrophy range when you dont train to failure? with the rep range explained in the video, you are in the strangth and power range, but not in hyperthrophy? can you explain and give an example how to stay in hyperthrophy? also any link to science would be appreciated. :)

[@dicloniusN35]

stil dont know what ett for h 170 ins 80...

[@DittersGustav]

The guy at 10:20 really needs to work on his jumps 😂

[@barrybkopicz2845]

A 4% decrease with an n=9, really.

[@ARCENAULT]

If you just train like a gymnast.. plyometrics isometrics and weight training.. you never have to worry about math cause math sux.. I am 54 retired military.. and I stopped training to build muscle... Body builder type... Because large muscles are expensive for body efficiency.. when I started training like a gymnast people say I am " bigger " than I was before because when they look at me all my muscles are well defined.. pound for pound there is no athlete stronger than a gymnast .. their control of their body is unmatched wether they be a body builder gym rat just training for the opposite sex to view me as attractive.. power lifter and so forth.. if I was a young man again I would encourage to add isometrics and plyometrics into your weight training .. before I looked like a 5' 10 running back.. now I look like a ring specialist from the Olympics.. just to give you a visual of what I am talking about.. I am faster.. more athletic.. and have much better endurance than when I was 44.. train smart and train to your body.. eat mushy foods ... Lentils beans hummus fruits and veggies and choose to eat protein only once a day whether for breakfast or at the end of your day.. I only eat 2 times a day.. 11am and 5pm.. the weight lost was easily visible within 3 weeks.. muscle definition came next.. I also rode my bicycle 25 miles a day before I eat my first meal at a crisp for my age 14mph lol. Stay safe everyone

[@hill160881]

It would be better to show people doing proper movements instead of that chick butchering a deadlift or that guy also butchering the squat. I train sets of 5 heavy now days. I get more strength out of it and less fatigue than sets of 12-15.

[@JanneRasanen2]

I have not watched completely yet. The first mistake imo is not doing weight training at all.

[@mikewatkins422]

Oddly oversimplified analysis of a non- linear training adaptation. Presenter partially recovers late into the clip.

[@hill160881]

It would be better to show people doing proper movements instead of that chick butchering a deadlift or that guy also butchering the squat. I train sets of 5 heavy now days. I get more strength out of it and less fatigue than sets of 12-15.