
This is where things really get interesting. Heavy strength training develops fast-twitch fibers far more effectively than light high-rep training. This allows you to reserve your fast-twitch fibers for later in a race or time trial. These fibers have great stamina as it is, but researchers have concluded that strength training improves the maximum strength of these fibers, which further increases the time it takes to work them to exhaustion. For instance, endurance training typically relies largely on the recruitment of slow-twitch muscle fibers. This has the potential to benefit you in a number of ways.
This means they have to come from teaching your body to better use the muscle it has, rather than from adding lots of new muscle. The strength-building mechanisms that help cycling performance are largely neurological.
Best for endurance athletes seeking to build strength without adding muscle. Common among Olympic lifters and powerlifters. Common (mistakenly) among endurance athletes trying to avoid excess muscle growth. Greater sensation of burn and/or pump, often by working to failure. Rep Ranges For Athletesįor Hypertrophy 8-12 reps per set and higher OTHER WORDS FOR RUNNING A TRAIN FREE
This is the recipe for building powerful muscles that will help you perform better: Train for endurance on the bike, and train for strength with free weights in the gym. This means heavier weights, low repetitions, and longer rests.
The best way to build strength is by training for absolute strength. Increasing your strength can improve your endurance, power production, and resilience to injury. You can significantly increase your strength without adding large amounts of muscle. In other words, exactly the same way endurance athletes have been taught to train to avoid building muscle. It's time to outgrow it the way you outgrew toe clips and steel frames.Īsk any bodybuilder-you're on, after all-and they'll tell you that the best way to add muscle is with moderate weights, high reps, and short breaks. Let me be the first to say that this approach is no longer valid. Sound familiar? Even if that's not you, you've no doubt heard someone use this line of reasoning to describe their approach to training. After all, I don't want to add weight in the form of muscle or induce too much leg fatigue." "I'm an endurance athlete, therefore I should stay in the endurance rep range: 10 reps and above per set, with light weights and short rest periods. And when it comes to strength training, that model has been this: However, just like any other type of athlete, cyclists who get serious about their craft are prone to following the prevailing training style they see modeled around them. Both are athletes, and they're also people, which means they encompass every body type, personality, training style, and lifestyle. "As an increasing number of recreational and competitive cyclists are discovering, training for strength allows you to use your existing muscle more efficiently, tap into power you didn't have before, and perform better in the crucial late stages of your races and time trials." Build Endurance on the Bike, Strength in the GymĪs someone who has experience in both strength training and endurance training, I'm not going to insult you with a stereotype of "the endurance athlete" versus "the strength athlete," as if the two are entirely different species.
Change the way you approach your workouts, and you'll create a whole new idea of what you can achieve on the bike! This style of work is known as concurrent training, but the version backed by the latest science isn't the same old lightweight rep-assault you may have been doing for years.