STRENGTH TRAINING FOR CYCLISTS: HOW TO LIFT WITHOUT LOSING WATTS | Dialed Health's Derek Teel | Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast 557

Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast
1

Great to have Derek back on the podcast to discuss strength training and this new study by Vikestad, et al.

We went through the study’s findings as to the motives and practices of strength training in the pro peloton and found some surprising insights, and we went through a whole list of suggested movements and exercises from Derek, including videos of each exercise showing proper form and technique.

Hope you find this one useful!

Here’s the study: Strength training among professional UCI road cyclists: Practices, challenges, and rationales. Vikestad, et al, 2025.

// TOPICS COVERED

(0:00:00) Intro – Strength Training for Cyclists with Derek Teel

(0:01:19) What Pros Actually Do in the Gym

(0:04:15) Should Cyclists Train Their Upper Body?

(0:07:03) The Truth About Gaining Muscle Mass

(0:12:09) Injury Prevention and Why Strength Matters

(0:17:09) How to Periodize Strength Training for Cyclists

(0:24:50) The Right Rep Ranges for Cycling Performance

(0:29:43) Best Strength Movements for Cyclists

(0:43:47) Why Cyclists Need to Lift for Bone Density and Durability

(0:50:44) Core Training That Improves Bike Handling

(0:59:35) Lower Body Strength Without Hurting Ride Quality

(1:08:15) Year-Round Strength Training Tips and Takeaways

9 Likes
3

Where’s @Nate_Pearson . This is his passion and in his wheelhouse! Miss that guy!!!

15 Likes
4

Agree…. but still really enjoyed this podcast…. very relatable

5 Likes
5

This episode was really, really good. I’ll listen to it again, as there was tons of relevant and actionable advice.

6 Likes
6

Excellent podcast, brilliant timing. I’ve used Derek’s program in the past, I should look at doing it again. I’d really like to hear more about how to integrate functional strength exercises into a TR program. Yes, twice a week would be good, periodization of strength training makes a lot of sense. But how do we go about keeping both together so that one doesn’t give us the DOMs that Derek was describing?

6 Likes
7

Copenhagen side planks are pure evil if you’ve never done them before. My PT assigned them to me a while back. I was truly humbled by these variations of the side plank.

I quit them when PT was over - I should do them again (key word being “should”, LOL).

1 Like
8

I’ve never found DOMS to be an issue once lifting regularly. Can get it quite badly if I start again after a long break, but if I’m consistently lifting twice a week then at most I’ll get a mild bit of soreness if I ramp the volume or weight up too much in one session or add in a new exercise that hits a different muscle group.

3 Likes
9

If I’m on a 4 days per week masters plan, on what days are the 2 strength workouts recommended?. Say it hard intervals on Tuesday and Saturday, and Endurance on Thursday and Sunday.

10

This is where optimal vs reality comes into play. I don’t follow a strict plan but I’m riding 4-5 days/week with a similar structure. I try to keep one rest day a week, usually Mondays, strength almost always on Wednesday. You could choose to do strength on Friday or double up on Saturday, if time allows. Just don’t torch your legs on strength days.

1 Like
11

Solid episode, that was informative and really well done.

12

They say to make your hard days hard by doing the interval and strength on the same day but only if you have a rest day the next day.

1 Like
13

Will there be in the future partnerships with strength training coaches along with Trainer Road subscribers?

5 Likes
14

Hi, great episode with loads of actionable information. The one thing I was hoping to hear discussed, is whether or not easier weeks are recommended for strength training, similar to TR programmes. I am over 50 and I am prioritising strength more and more, as a result I continue strength training in my easier weeks, at a similar level to all other weeks. I would love to hear peoples experiences on this.

6 Likes
15

Yep strength needs a deload week also. Very often the week after a deload week lift numbers go up. That week I tend to spend more time on mobility work.

1 Like
16

Just now getting to this. Mind blown that most cyclists don’t do upper body. I would have expected the opposite. More doing upper body in the gym since they do so much lower body work on the bike. I know that’s different from lifting, but still, I’d think you’d do upper body first to balance out your fitness.

1 Like
17

Great episode and well timed as I’ve been looking for a strength routine reset. After listening to this episode, I tried signing up for Dialed Health, but the app repeatedly crashes after every attempt to sign up. I’ve even tried on multiple devices. Hopefully this gets resolved soon.

1 Like
18

Same problem for me.

19

@epierce and @hotlasagna

I don’t use his programming but from what I understand the legacy app is just up for a few more months for existing customers. Derek is transitioning to Train Heroic platform to take dealing with an app off his plate | TrainHeroic Marketplace

20

Was hoping for some discussion of the effects of strength training on endurance as it’s been shown to be beneficial for this, even if ftp remains the same. Some discussion of if, for example, an extra 2kg of muscle helps with glycogen storage/lactate ‘buffering/processing’ from upper body muscle would have been useful. Perhaps in the next podcast?