Agreed, I would also spend some time getting the technique down.
This can take a surprising long time, but when you start lifting heavy, your back will thank you!
I agree. That is what most programs will do. It drives me crazy that this is what strength coaches recommend to endurance athletes.
Doing 3x10 is a bad idea for endurance athletes unless specifically gaining muscle size or losing substantial body fat is the goal. If your endurance lifting program starts out like this, Iād skip to the next phase and just run phase 2, twice. 3x10 at moderate loads creates:
- Unnecessary fatigue & soreness.
- Indiscriminate hypertrophy which reduces endurance exercise economy, and sprint power.
If your lifting program does 6-8x3-2 in their peaking/race-prep phase, cut the set number in half or more. Still too-high-volume to allow for optimal race preparation. Energy would be better spent training harder on bike, and reserving those recovery & adaptation abilities for your rides, rather than dealing with higher volume lifting.
Yeah I agree. I should have said that thatās how most powerlifting/gym bro type programs will be laid out. Not necessarily proper endurance athlete strength programs.
I usually only see 10 rep sets being suggested for maybe a preseason or transition period for an endurance athlete when your riding volume might be extra low.
Meh. 5x5 is the best rep/set for everyone.
Agreed, this is crucial. Rushing to add volume or load is a recipe for an over-use injury. Ask me how I know.
Nail the form and then add weight.
I started strength training in October and did 3 weeks of bodyweight prepācycling was second. You canāt do both at the same volume or intensity, this always throws people off.
Some form of squats (bi and unilateral), deadlift variations (I like Romanian and conventional), lunge variations (reverse and lateral) and glute bridges make up my lower body program. I do accessory work with bands and body weight to target adductors, abductors, and weak hip flexors.
Iāll let others speak to reps and sets schemes because Iām still figuring this out. I started higher (10-12) and am now in the 5 rep range for my bilateral lifts, most of my unilateral work is higher rep lower weight.
I regret not strength training sooner. Aside from a back-squat induced knee injury (remember what I said about good form?) itās been incredibly rewarding and has benefited my cycling performance.
For new to be strength trainers, I found this to be a very helpful article
This post a few months earlier would have saved me a few months of anterior hip pain and trips to a physiotherapist! So of course, I learnt the hard (and painful) way what youāre explaining here, lol. But, after months of rehab work, I for the first time today did a loaded squat with proper form. It felt truly amazing feeling the muscles firing the way they should!
Alex Dowsett deadlifting, leg press, planks etc
Just finished a 3 month block of heavy lifting! Thought Iād share some thoughts. Was hoping to get to 1000 lb total but no dice. Tested Maxes of DL 405, BP 265, Squat 305 @ 201 lbs bodyweight.
I made the mistake of trying to keep up some TR workouts at the start. That didnāt last long, as I was following a very high volume lifting plan that was absolutely torching me. Was doing 4 workouts of about 1.5 hours a week. I did keep up with a bike or a ski 2-3 times a week, just because I enjoy them too much not to.
After 3 months, I was getting VERY bored of all that time in the gym. I am stoked to call it quits and hit TR hard to get in shape for the summer. I prob lost 10% of my FTP, and down to 300 ish. Hoping to lose 10-15 lbs over next few months (I am a hard gainer, so this should be easy). I also have a 14 day backcountry ski trip coming up, and I know I will lose at least 5 lbs on this trip.
Overall, I enjoyed changing up and focusing on lifting. If you can maintain a high FTP and keep training while lifting heavy, tell me your secret! Because it is just so hard to handle all the leg work. Once you hit intermediate numbers lifting, I think you need major focus to hit the next level. Lots of mobility work, lots of focused recovery, and prob no other intense exercise.
Congrats on some nice gains. I doubled my squat and then injured my left knee. Really bummed to hurt yourself in the gym. The deadlift has been amazing though.
Re: fatigueā¦Itās so difficult. Just the peripheral fatigue is crushing.
Iām doing one hard day per week and then a lighter day later in the week to work on some single leg stuff
Do you know what caused the injury?
My feeling is either sub-optimal form or over-use.
Although, Iāve been very diligent about watching form videos (Rippetoe, Squat University) and doing my best to repeat what was said.
My left knee was quite swollen on either side of the joint line for a good month, which has reduced, but isnāt back to normal. Itās been difficult to flex w/o discomfort, only about 80% of the range of motion compared to what my right knee has. I can bike, deadlift, do single leg squats and pretty much everything else with no pain. I just avoid heavy squats because thatās what brought on the problem.
I saw a PT and he said Pes Anserine Bursitis, but I wonder if it might be a meniscus thing. Although, I donāt get the classic knee locking or pain from knee rotation that shows up in meniscus injuries.
Thanks. I had a bit of quad tendon pain when flexing. This got resolved with some eccentric tension (snowboarding) and a improvement in form, specifically, knees outward in line with toes.
However, yesterday I notice some swelling (no pain) in my right knee, not visible but when locking the knee, the range of motion is limited relative to the left knee.
I had some knee pain mid last year after introducing heavy weights on top of bike training and completely solved it with a period of Weighted Isometrics. They were absolutely brilliant, I would look up Keith Barr on YouTube and The Jacked Athlete podcast. Canāt recommend them enough.
Nice numbers!
A 14 day trip!? Is that an epic traverse?
Yup! Have a crew that we do an annual trip, so this year doing bugs to Rogers in BC. Hopefully less than 14 days but really tricky weather. Usually end up being a bit of a vision quest but definitely make some memories on these trips!
Did u do the isometrics on top of the heavy loads + biking?.
Bench inside the powercage with spotter bars
So I finally tried to kill myself, but my kit and prep saved me 
Iām nearing my bench limit, watching Press form clips while working out, did my warm up, checked the spotter bars were in the right placeā¦then loaded the bar 20kg heavier than I meant to! 
Yeah, I though it felt heavy but figured it was the first set, so the bar went downā¦no way in hell it was going up again. I rested it on the bars and crawled out with my pride intact.
Iām guilty of not doing this. I know I should, and Iām thankful of every time I finish a bench set and Iām still alive. But my bikes are hanging right next to the cage and so that doesnāt work and Iād have to replan the pain cave, and that just takes away training time.