TrainerRoad’s Ask a Cycling Coach podcast is dedicated to making you a faster cyclist. It gives you the chance to get answers to your cycling and triathlon training questions with USAC certified coaches Chad Timmerman, Jonathan Lee and special guests. Check out a couple questions we answered in our latest episode.
Listen to the Full Episode
How do I choose the right road training plan?
Some road racers who participate in one road event are likely to participate in another – which is great! However, picking the right training plan can be tricky.
Many aspects that go into an effective road-racing training plan overlap from one type of event to the next. Therefore, you’re unlikely to miss out on any fitness gains by following one and not the other. As a rule of thumb, follow the training plan for your main event.
Take the following example: a cyclist who’s primarily a Crit racer, but also participates in typical, rolling road races as well. Since TrainerRoad offers structured training plans for both events, this rider should stick with Crit plans. Again, Road Racing includes a lot of overlap between disciplines.
If a rider is preparing for multiple events, they can also create a “hybrid plan” of their own by substituting one session for the other. All TrainerRoad plans are flexible, so swapping one Crit workout for a Rolling Road Race workout is completely fine (in the case mentioned above). Specialized plans are obviously specific to each event, as they should be — but specialized plans can still prepare you for other races within the discipline.
To hear the coaches’ advice on this topic, listen at 28:52.
How do I incorporate weight training as a cyclist?
Weight training is an incredibly popular topic in the world of cycling lately, and rightfully so. If you’re going to incorporate strength training into your routine, now is the time of year to do it. Many athletes break strength training for cyclists into three categories: torque intervals, bodyweight exercises and weightlifting.
Torque intervals are probably the least effective of these three. The gains are minimal, and little carries over to your actual race performance. If you’re looking for improvements in raw strength, your work should be done in the gym.
Bodyweight exercises are better than torque intervals. As the name implies, they make your body stronger which in turn helps you as a cyclist However, bodyweight exercises do little to increase your maximum power — the primary benefit to strength training for cyclists.
When it really comes down to it, weight training is the best way to build maximum power off the bike. As your maximum power increases, you’re able to output more power on the bike and in turn, become a faster cyclist.
A great way to work weight training into your fitness routine is during the Base phase. It’s the most forgiving time of training, and as a result you’ll be less exhausted and have more energy to train on and off the bike. Here’s how you can periodize your strength training in accordance to your Base training.
During the first 4-6 weeks of your Base phase: Your main goal is familiarizing your body, muscles, joints and connective tissue with the weightlifting process. Train 2-3 times per week, lifting light weight in 2-3 sets of high reps (between 15-20). This stage is crucial to preparing your body for the training to come.
In the middle of your Base phase: Your goal is to start getting stronger. Train 2-3 times per week, lifting heavier weights in 2-3 sets of medium reps (between 10-15). This phase primes your body for the heavy lifting to come.
For the last 4-6 weeks of your Base phase: You begin increasing your maximum strength. Train 2-3 times per week, lifting heavy weights in 2-3 sets of low repts (between 4-6). This is the phase of your base training that you’ve been waiting for.
A few things to keep in mind: First off, it’s difficult to do endurance training and weight training at the same time. If possible, do your endurance training on the bike early in the morning and your strength training later in the day, or even late at night. If you can strength train on your rest days, that’s even better. However, this is often easier said than done.
The last element to keep in mind is maintenance. After months of hard work, it only takes a little bit of high-intensity, low-rep strength training each week and you’re strength gains are there to stay.
To hear the coaches’ advice on this topic, listen at 54:38.
Additional Notes
We answered a lot of questions in this week’s Ask a Cycling Coach podcast. You can learn more about these topics with our resources below:
- How to plan your nutrition for training
- How to become a faster climber
- How to add volume when training for cyclocross
- What to eat before training in the morning
- How to become a faster cyclist in less time
- How your base training plan will make you faster
- How to recover after an Olympic Distance Triathlon
- How to adjust your training after vacation
- How to extend your base training
- What is ultra endurance racing
- How does FTP relate to VO2 Max
- How to train for a full Ironman
- Can I skip base training
- How to train for Leadville
- How to use TrainerRoad outdoors
- How to train for a Gran Fondo
- How to train while recovering from a knee injury
- How to taper for a 40k time trial
- How to build core strength for cycling
- How to start training for a beginner cyclist
- How to use TrainerRoad’s training plans
- How to increase FTP with lower-intensity intervals
- How to train for a Sprint Triathlon
- How to train for a sportive
- How to incorporate running into triathlon training
- How to incorporate cross country skiing into cycling training
- How to pace a time trial
- How to raise your average speed as a cyclist
- Traditional base training vs. sweet spot
- How to use indoor training for elite cyclists
- How to train for The Dirty Kanza
- How does bike fit affect power output
- Is on-the-bike and recovery nutrition necessary for low volume training
- How to work group rides into base training
- How to train for track racing
If you have a question that you’d like to ask Coach Chad, submit your question here. We’ll do our best to answer them on the next episode of the Ask a Cycling Coach podcast.
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How would you suggest working squats into a Base or Build plan? I absolutely love legs day in the gym, but it takes 2 days at least to recover, both with low reps/heavy weight and high reps/low weight. That’s messing with my cycling, whether it be trainer sessions or outdoor riding.
With weight training, which exercises are recommended?
Nick
Nick,
This is some advice Coach Chad has passed along in the past, so I think it should get you on the right track:
“No hard, fast rules on coupling your training with your riding which is why I don’t heap on too much advice on this topic. Personally, I’ve had to experiment with what works and it’s led me to a few conclusions:
1 – Bike first, weights second…always. Are you primarily a weightlifter using the bike to ditch fat or a rider tying to get stronger on the bike? Accordingly, prioritize what’s most important, i.e. intervals, quality, freshness for the bike in the case of cyclist-first athletes.
2 – Couple weights with riding on intense days so you don’t lift on easy/recovery days and compromise your recovery. This may be a tall order, intervals + weight training on the same day, but I’ve had good results by doing intervals in the early morning and weight training later in the day, sometimes only as little as 3 hours later, thereby leaving the remainder of the day and the following easy or rest day for less-interrupted recovery.
3 – Periodize your weight training much the same way you periodize your bike conditioning, and there are several good books on this topic. Typically this means some early, adaptive training followed by some max-strength transition training, max strength training, and finally some maintenance training over the remainder of the season.
4 – Don’t lift weights during the week leading up to a key event. There’s nothing to be gained but additional fatigue when your this close to an important event, and your muscles won’t atrophy or lose significant strength/power in a single week of weight-training downtime if you’ve been consistent to this point.
5 – Experiment, experiment, experiment. What works for me, for other riding buddies, even for your coach, may not work for you. So while there will be a transitory period of a week or two while your body grows accustomed to the shifts in training loads/emphasis, at some point you should start to notice improvements in your strength, endurance, control, etc. and not just heavier levels of fatigue.”
As far as which workouts to go for, you’ll have to tinker a bit. Try workouts that focus on core strength then resistance training. The muscles of the trunk such as abdominal and spinal musculature should be your focus. This will help prevent lower back pain, a common issue cyclists run into. The other focus on resistance training will aid in not just strength building but also to prevent injuries. Things like the tendons and ligaments around the knee, ankle, foot, and hip joints—even muscular imbalances can be helped by resistance training.
Hope this helps!