Coach Chad's Strength Training Recommendations For Cyclists

I am just about L3 on deadlift (doing both, sumo and conventional) and high bar squat. I could do half of the L3 weight on dumbbell row (haven’t tried barbell row yet). L2 in military press and chin-ups and L1-2 in bench press (I don’t do benchpresses at all). Oh, and I am a true climber - 189 cm, 64 kg.

I started strength training in Nov 2016 with a coach but at the beginning the main focus was just a proper movement and joint health (mainly hips and shoulders, proper breathing). I was a runner back then and did 2 sessions a week. After around a year I kept one session with coach focused on overall health and good movement in the lifts while the other two sessions were regular strength training. This is still the same though when my coach is not available I’ll do third strength training focused session instead. My strength training is compound movements focused on legs, back, shoulders and abs. I’ll perform high bar squats, deadlifts, latt pull downs, overhead presses, seated rows, facepulls, dumbell rows, reverse dumbbell flyes, hanging leg raises. Since I am focused on strength I’ll do 3-4 x 5 on dl and squat and around 8 rep series for back and shoulders. Trying to do the sessions after my hard bike training sessions.

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Squat with 132kg? :flushed::flushed::flushed::flushed:

Understandable, @PeterYock, and I’m sure you’re far from alone.

The single best resource out there right now is https://revival-strength.com. If you subscribe to their newsletter, you’ll get frequent mailings with workouts (free of charge, btw) that often include short YouTube videos of the exercises listed. Here’s a good example:

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@chad, @Jonathan, I’d also be curious about the number of sets for each exercise. And another question: you recommend 2-3 sessions during base, 2 heavier sessions during build, and 1-2 sessions during specialty. But you also say that once you have reached the target weights, there is no added benefit. Does this mean that at that point one can switch to maintenance mode year-round?

Hey @cyclhist. How you get there can be accomplished in a number of ways, and our aim wasn’t to prescribe the conditioning so much as give you measures of what we consider sufficient strength relative to your gender & cycling discipline.

Like nutrition, there are so many ways to ‘skin the cat’, but unlike nutrition, there are so many good, arguably better, resources than us on this matter since these resources make it their primary, and often only, focus.

But let me state that if you’ve achieved our recommendations, it’s then up to you to decide if you agree with them. “Am I as strong as I want to be?” “Could I justify a little more mass, or perhaps a little more strength sans any added mass.”

Remember, these are recommendations, and they’re largely based on what I saw over several years of strength-training endurance athletes.

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Exactly. :slight_smile:

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I have spinal fusion in C spine, lumbar, and SI joint due to Ankylosing Spondylitis. Heavy lifts are a no-go, but kettlebell training is a good fit. The weights are lower and there is a more “functional” aspect to the movements that agrees with my mobility issues. I can’t do a barbell back squat, but KB front squats are doable. Same with overhead press. Barbell deadlifts are a struggle, but KB swings I can go pretty heavy.
I mix in shoulder mobility exercises, my back problems seem to put more stress on my shoulders for overhead movements.
I am 46 and trained with coaches at an orthopedic clinic/gym. Give kettlebells a try, but for your back’s sake don’t go to a crossfit gym. Those people are, in general, clowns. Hire an expert.

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Ah, fair enough! Blog post gave off a few slightly mixed messages e.g. a section titled “How to use this Strength Plan” and an intro that said:

“we’ve created guidelines to address these strength-related shortcomings and make you faster.”

So I was reading it and expecting a bit more. Kind of like if you wrote an article saying it would tell you how to be a competitive cyclist, then you got to the meat of it and it just gave W/kg targets for 1 minute, 5 minute and 20 minute power :wink:

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I’ve just restarted using SL 5x5 app. Using it previously I got lifting some relatively heavy weights. That is, relative to my previous life as a proper wimp.

This time round I’ve modified it so I do both A and B workouts on the same day, without repeating the squats, and I’m also doing more sets of deadlifts as I feel one set isn’t enough.

Two gym sessions a week for now, although as I’m in a base phase on trainerroad I might add another as per Chad’s suggestions until it’s time for build.

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I personally think the upper body lifts are a little low for Gravity/Enduro. I’ve always thought you’re BP should be more like 87% of your high bar squat, and Press more like 67% of your BP. As cyclists, and especially gravity cyclists, we take hard crashes and our shoulders need to be bullet proof, so a strong Press should be requisite. But as a former “captain upper body” maybe I’m biased, plus I just love military and push pressing…

I ruptured a disk at L3 in 2015 while squatting, only body weight on the bar. No surgery, and occasional back ache. I avoid high bar squats due to the compression of the spine.
I do Low bar squats as per Starting strength or Barbell Medicine. Before I returned to squatting, I made sure that I had personal instruction on proper form. I was fortunate to book a session with Alan Thrall of Untamed Strength. This puts your back at more of an angle and “in suspension”. Have never done barbell rows, I checked out the Athlean web site. Given my back issue, I will avoid this move and stick with seated rows. If you have back issues that preclude squats and deadlifts, Leg press is a good alternative and can be done single legged. For the back, the Nautilus Back Machine is a good one.

Ah! Right you are, @cartsman. We’ll address that. Thanks!

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I’ve been inspired by Chad’s blog posts and started a strength routine last fall. I train at home and am thus limited by equipment. I do an upper body TRX routine, dead lifts and a few core exercises. (New to dead lifts - love them!) “Program” would be overly generous as the whole thing takes less than 15 minutes - 10 minutes if I am in a hurry.

Its been great. The biggest benefit is it has taken care of some back issues I had both on and off the bike. Based on my early struggles, I clearly had some core strength issues. Not sure I’m any faster but I am definitely more comfortable both on and off the bike.

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If you reach your goals and you do not want to gain any extra strength or mass, do you simply continue to use the prescribed weight over and over to stay at that same level?

i.e I hit BW deadlift for 5, thereafter I just stay at BW to maintain all the time? Do I then focus on rep speed? Perhaps reduce rest?

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For those with back issues, if you have sufficient core strength, front squat is an option to help alleviate spinal compression and stress on the lumbar region. You’re not likely to squat as much raw weight, but I’ve found it effective and easier on my back. As mentioned, it requires significant core strength to execute properly.

Kettlebell goblet squats are a solid alternative to any barbell squat as well. And Kettlebell swings are a decent alternative to deadlifting, though deadlift is king for posterior chain strength.

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At that point, it becomes about maintenance. You can reduce your sets to once a week, and just maintain the same weight/rep structure if maintenance is all you are interested in.

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I think this is worth emphasizing. Without a caloric surplus and high protein diet, the risk of adding muscle weight is extremely low. Yet, especially at these levels (at most 150% of body weight for deadlift), the chance of seeing your numbers continue to rise with ongoing training seems high. And what maybe this article doesn’t emphasize is that strength and bone density are definitely in the “use it or lose it” category, so ongoing training is definitely the prescription.

Doesn’t that suggest that maybe these numbers, rather than a stopping point, should be an inflection point? If you’re not up to these numbers yet, then perhaps it’s worth gaining a couple of pounds of muscle to hit them. If you are up to these numbers, then gaining mass is probably not worth it, but continued training is still recommended and strength gains are just gravy.

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Thanks, Coach Chad! I appreciate having these benchmarks as a way to inform strength training goals.

While I’m hopeful that I can better incorporate strength sessions with my TR workouts, I find it difficult to plan and adhere to those efforts separately. The TR app has been helpful as a way to increase my workout consistency / adherence for cycling training. Would you ever consider adding a blended cycling and strength training plan to your product road map? You have at least one user that would be all in!

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I know this may be a silly question @chad …but does anyone have a link to what these exercises/lifts actually are?

May seem obvious but I’m not 100% sure!

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