Cycling Weight Lifting Program

Cycling is a sport that continues to have a wide base of support throughout the U.S. Lance Armstrong has brought home the cycling dream to many young men and women across the country. Regardless of your goals, body shape or size, you are able to get some great benefits from this exercise.

Cycling on a regular basis is great for your lower body strength but doesn’t regularly work the upper body. This is a disadvantage for both the road biker and the off-road biker as both need upper body and core strength to out-distance their competitors or just handle a heavy off-road bike or terrain.

A cycling weight lifting exercise program is designed to help you meet your goals, improve your power and the strength in your upper body. This decreases your risk of injury and improves your endurance. Weight training for the lower body will help your performance on hills and during sprints.

Like in any other weight training program, weights shouldn’t be used more than 3 times per week and always with 48 hours between the end of one session until the beginning of the next. And, as with any other exercise program, before beginning a cycling weight lifting program you should have a medical check up. Your doctor will be able to tell you if you have any underlying medical conditions that should be taken into account with your new endeavor.

A cycling weight lifting exercise program is performed during the off-season at 2-3 times per week and during the racing season 1-2 times per week. During the off-season your goal is to improve strength and explosive action ability while during the season your goal is to maintain what you’ve gained. Since it is easier to maintain than to gain, you’re able to use the cycling weight lifting program less times per week.

Depending upon your sport – sprint vs. endurance cycling – you’ll have different uses of the weight training. For instance, sprint cyclists should aim for heavier weights with lower reps to build explosive energy and endurance cyclists will aim for lower weight and higher reps for endurance. But even the recreational cyclist will enjoy the benefits of weight training when hills are easier, legs aren’t as sore and the upper body can handle the stress.

The real goal in the off-season is to build strength, not bulk. And then to convert that strength into muscle work that makes sense on the bike. Strength from the weight room will help on the bike but leg presses don’t mimic the action of 3,000 pedal strokes. So during the season you use the weight room to maintain your strength and intervals to convert it to cycle specific power.

Before beginning any weight lifting program, always warm up to prevent injury and to help your muscles gain the most from the workout. The weights that you begin with should be slightly less than you can currently handle so you learn good technique before ramping up the weights and the repetitions.

When you are designing your cycling weight lifting program you will want to include exercises to build core body strength, strong abdominal muscles, and good upper arm strength. A strong core will give you the rigidity you need to deliver the maximum amount of power from your quadriceps muscles to the pedal. And a strong upper body will give you protection for falls that are a part of racing.

There are two approaches to almost any weight program and a cycling weight lifting program is not different. The first is the KISS program – or ‘keep it simple stupid’ approach that can be done at home without weights or machines. The other is a more traditional approach that uses machines or free weights.

The ‘keep it simple’ program done at home will include using your bike. Begin with a warm up, on the bike, trampoline, jump rope or your choice of cardiovascular work for 5-10 minutes. The intensity should be about 40% of you maximum, just enough to get the heart rate up and the muscles warm.

Next do wall sits to strengthen your quadriceps. Place your back flat against the wall and slide down until you appear to be in the sitting position with your knees and hips at 90 degrees. Hold this position without using your arms or shoulders for up to 3 minutes. Begin by doing this for 30 seconds and work your way up to 3 minutes. This can be repeated once or twice with a 5 minute rest between sets.

Using lunges in your cycling weight lifting program will also increase your quadriceps but work the gluteal and hamstring muscles as well. Stand straight and move your right foot forward approximately 2-3 feet. Using slow, controlled movements ‘lunge’ forward so your thigh of your right leg is parallel to the floor. Keeping your weight in the heel of your right foot raise your body up over the right leg. You would have essentially taken a long step with your right leg. Make the movements very controlled to get the maximum benefit from the exercise. Many people do this exercise in one place by bringing the right leg back under the body. This movement doesn’t give as much work to the gluteal and hamstring muscles. Keep the knee behind the ball of the forward foot and the weight in your heel to protect the knee.

Use pushups in your cycling weight lifting program to work the upper arms and crunches to work the abdominal muscles. You should also incorporate planks to build core body strength. The plank move is done by starting on your knees and extending your body forward, toes in the position for a push-up, and supporting your upper body on your elbows. Keep your body straight without elevating or dipping your lower back. Hold this position for 1 minute. Begin by holding for 20 seconds and work up to holding 1 minute. You can repeat this movement 3 times with 5 minute rests between.

Using a more traditional approach for cycling weight lifting program in the gym will incorporate the use of upright rowing machine, pull ups, bent over rowing, step ups to a platform using weights, leg extensions, calf raises, leg press, hamstring curl, triceps press, biceps curl, bench press, lateral pull down and push ups.

Resources:

USA Cycling: Strength Training for the Cyclist

http://www.usacycling.org/encyclingpedia/encycstory.php?id=7089

BikeRadar: Resistance Training for Cyclists

http://www.bikeradar.com/us/gear/article/resistance-training-for-cyclists-35771/

FastCatCoaching: Weight Training for Cyclists

http://www.fascatcoaching.com/cyclingresistancetraining.html

Bicycling: Cycling Training Tips: Weight Lifting

http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/training-fitness/cycling-training-tips-weightlifting

MensFitness: 5 Exercises to Build a Better Body for cycling

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/endurance/5-exercises-to-build-a-better-body-for-biking

Team Fezzari: Top 5 Weight Lifting Exercises for Cyclists