Once a week, with the proper workout, will enable gains in strength and/or hypertrophy. The issue is are you increasing in strength and/or hypertrophy at a rate sufficient for your goals? Twice a week, for most people, will generate more strength and/or hypertrophy, which doesn’t mean once a week is wrong, it just means there is a difference in the amount you are gaining. So, just because a study says you can obtain minimal gains from minimal work doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do additional work for additional gains - it comes down to figuring out what works best for you and your goals. For those who have the time to train, optimal dose > minimal dose, you just need to experiment and determine what is optimal for you, since it could be different than for someone else.
Started a new 4-6 week routine this week - needed a mental switch-up to keep my head in the game. Two intense days per week, on Tuesday VO2 max intervals instead of weights and on Saturday strength training, so weights once a week instead of twice, but with increased volume.
Strength routine:
Seated leg curls: 5x8
Pendulum squat: Ascending/descending routine, start with heaviest weight possible for 4 reps, decrease by 5 pounds and increase 2 reps each set, from 4 to 6 to 8 to 10 to 12 reps.
Leg press: Ascending/descending routine, start with heaviest weight possible for 4 reps, decrease by 10 pounds and increase 2 reps each set, from 4 to 6 to 8 to 10 to 12 reps. The last two sets involve fighting a great deal of negative self-talk.
Total sets: 5 for hamstring dominant, 10 for quad dominant.
After lifting ride 1.5 to 2 hours, steady endurance with good spin.
I get that.
Two sessions is optimal, 3 virtually never, on the same body part per week.
However, this is a cycling forum, I’m using that as true north. Combined with 12+hrs of riding, two leg sessions per week is definitely on the edge. Particularly, if you are not in the off season.
Unless you are a track sprinter a single leg session will keep you gaining for a long period and significantly reduce the risk of over doing it. Particularly if you are a masters athlete.
It really is a depends situation.
I’m merely responding to what seems like very extreme sessions that some have posted. For many cyclists a single full body strength session is entirely adequate. If cycling performance is the goal.
If hypertrophy is the goal. Go wild 
Through the fall and winter I run a modified 5x5 program as 4x4 2x per week, with a focus on maximal strength. I only do compound multi-joint movements, and Olympic lifts. Exceptions to this would be if I feel I need to address something specific, rehab, etc.
Day 1:
- Squats 4x4
- Push Press 4x4
- Deadlifts 4x4
Day 2:
- Squats 4x4
- Bench Press 4x4
- Bent Over Rows 4x4
Spring/Summer Power Mods:
- Swap one squat session for barbell jump-squats
- Swap push press and deadlifts for clean & jerk.
- Swap bench press and rows for snatch.
I combine with MV polarized, and I never lift before the hard bike day, so my schedule looks like:
| Day | Workout |
|---|---|
| Monday | Lift |
| Tuesday | Z2 Endurance |
| Wednesday | VO2 Intervals |
| Thursday | Lift |
| Friday | Off |
| Saturday | Z2 Endurance |
| Sunday | Threshold Intervals |
I like grouping the on-bike days 2 at a time and always leading with the endurance workout first. I’ve personally found that intervals the day a before don’t dramatically impact my lift, but a lift the day before intervals can be detrimental to my on-bike activity.
I’m an experienced lifter and strength/power comes quite easily to me. Right now I am squatting ATG 160kg 4x4 with reps in reserve, for example, which is far beyond any cycling requirements - I just enjoy strength training and it’s an important component of my overall health/fitness goals. Because of this, however, I will prioritize cycling work over lifting if there is a scheduling or recovery issue - it’s no big deal for me to miss a lift.
In the spring/summer when I start riding outdoors and TSS invariably ramps way up with outdoor rides (and I am less attached to a plan), I start swapping some of the pure strength movements for power/speed dominant movements like Olympic lifts. These are are easier to recover from (assuming the load is appropriate), while providing an important stimulus.
Compound and Olympic movements are really the ultimate when it comes to strength and power training. Combining coordinated, multi-joint, technical movements under load is something that pays immense dividends when you learn to do it correct - an exercise like the the snatch is probably the truest expression of this. But even inexperienced lifters can achieve some of the the key stimulus elements with simpler exercises like medball throws and jumps squats.
I cut out a set for legs so just doing 4x5 only because the extra 2 sets a week seems a bit overkill with other training. Are you ramping these sets or same weight across each?
I’m doing Jim Wendlers 531 (link below). Three sessions a week that concentrates on Bench/Deadlift/Squat with the appropriate accessory exercises after each exercise.
My lifts are going up and allows alot of spare time to ride
No - I don’t ramp sets once I’m at working weight unless I’ve misjudged what that weight should be. This would most often happen after de-loading a bit during a rest week, or if I’ve not done an exercise for a few weeks, or if I am feeling worse or better than expected.
That said, there is definitely a very intentional ramp to get to my working sets where I am starting with just the bar (20kg) and adding 20kg in warm-up sets of 1-3 reps (when I get close to working weight I am just doing singles in these warm-ups).
So if I am working at 160kg, I’ve done 20, 40, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160 (for 1), before actually starting the sets of 4. Sometimes I’ll skip a few steps of this or will repeat warmups at a specific weight.
This ramp varies a bit depending on the exercises and where the exercise is in the workout. I.e., I don’t start at 20kg for deadlift, and I ramp by 40kg for the first few warmups, but regardless there is always an intentional warm-up and ramp to workout weight.
I personally find sets of 4 very different than sets of 5, where 5 reps is teetering on a hypertrophy / high-volume set, and more fatiguing into my cycling. Try seeing how you feel with sets of 4 or or event 3 reps (adjusting the load accordingly).
Why is this getting removed from the site after tomorrow?
One of the core concepts in Jim Wendler’s program/s is to keep 1 in the tank, work at 90% not 100%. If you do strain 100%, then the 4th week you’re taking a deload week (roughly 50% of the weight, just tickling the muscles really). That’s because any 100% strain on a 1-2 rep will require about couple weeks of recovery.
Also, if you’re eating in surplus, and you managed easily your +set, then increase by a maximum of 5kg every 3/4 weeks squats/deadlifts, and no more than 2.5kg shoulder/chest. (given you’re past newbie gains, which you should be if you’re using this type of setup and concepts).
I like to use www.blackironbeast.com, like I posted earlier in another post, if you like Jim wendler’s setups it’s a quite nice free website (and it remembers your setup/reps/weights everytime you go back on the website).
I just looked at the link, really helpful thank you.
RP is niching down to their core audience to simplify their site and marketing approach. Probably a good business decision overall, given the RP audience. Not so good for my small line of endurance products that they sell, for the moment. Not to worry though, I’ll get the products made available again soon on another page and I’ll get it posted here once I figure out where that’s going to be.
Had this useful article pop up today
My question on this topic of interference is: If I lift weights at 6am (which I love doing) and really nail my protein intake over the day, will my body have enough time to build at least some muscle before I ‘shut it all off’ with an evening run at 7pm?
Yes
there are athlethes such as Uchimura (several times gold medalist at olympics, rings) that fast through the whole day, while doing several hours of hard training. He only eats later at night for dinner when he’s done with everything for the day. That should pretty much destroy all those ‘‘if you don’t eat within this window you won’t get gains’’. I used to eat frequently too, then when I found out about these athletes and their dietary regimen… I figured you don’t need to eat as often at all to keep your gains.
I’m going to include my full schedule for context.
Mon 90 min Threshold TR
Tues 90 min Endurance TR
Wed 60 min Recovery TR - 20 minutes Upper Body Kettlebell
Thurs 90 min Sweet Spot TR/Outdoors
Friday 90 min Endurance TR/Outdoors
Saturday 2-3hr Free Ride
Sunday 60-90 min Recovery - 30 minute Upper Body Kettlebell.
In the offseason I will shorten my recovery rides/and lighten the intensity on days following strength training, and do full boddy Kettlebell routines.
My routine at the moment doing base, mostly for maintenance 2x a week
Morning before ride 30ish pullups
4-5 hours after ride at the gym:
Warm up goblet squats
Warm up 1x5 Romanian split squat
4x4 to 6 pistols squats 4kg weight
3x10 Overhead press
2x8-12 Romanian dead lift (alternating single leg version)
2x12 kettlebell row
2x close to max incline pushups
If I’m quick I get it done in an hour but usually a bit more.
My full winter schedule:
Mon 90 min easy
Tu Strength (squat focus) + 90 min tempo right after
Wed 90 min easy
Thu Strength (deadlift focus) + 90 min tempo right after
Fri 90 min easy
Sa 90 min upper tempo/SS
Su Strength (latt pull down focus) + 90 min easy later in the day
I work out when it fits the schedule. Which means strength training during the weekdays is just before trainer rides. Not optimal but back to some of my best numbers in the gym only 6 weeks back at it. I do only 3 sets of 4-8 reps squat, deadlift and latt pull down just switching focus (meaning what will be the heaviest relatively that day). And some random exercises (hamstring machine, hip thrust machine, facepulls).
So after a pretty good 6 months in the gym following a “Weight Training for Cyclists” by Ken Doyle I am back to a maintenance phase.
My priority for the next 4 months is interval training on the bike and following a TR plan.
My maintenance looks something like the below 2 times per week:
15 mins stretching and core to warm up.
Benchpress 3 * 6 @ 70%
Shoulder Press 3 * 6
Dumbell Bent Over row 2 * 8
Barbell Squat 3 * 6 @ 40-50%
Appreciate some advice re the squat. At the end of the power phase (4 weeks) I was squatting 5 * 5 @80kg.
For maintenance I was planning to lift 3 * 6 @ 40 - 50KG. I find even lifting this light day before a threshold workout for example impacts my progress, I just don’t nail the workouts and progress is really slow.
I definitely want to keep the core and upper body stuff for well being. Considering just dumping the squat as intervals are my priority for next few months. Should I persist with squat? Any view from experienced lifters?
Any reason you can’t have at least one day between lifting and intervals? Even when in maintenance I won’t lift the day before intervals.