Hi,
In terms of increasing strength, I'm not a big fan of low-cadence work since the actual force production isn't that far above and beyond the amount of force exerted during higher-rpm spinning, and it's nowhere near the force created when weight training. I also think the repetitive nature lends itself to injury if the biomechanics aren't just right.
But I also understand the arguments behind weight training and its carryover (or lack thereof) to on-the-bike strength and I try to avoid that endless controversy whenever possible. Instead, I prefer workouts that push your ability to create strength during muscle actions more similar to those you're trying to strengthen, and I even include a handful of these workouts in several of the Triathlon Build plans, e.g. Shasta, Haku & Fuji.
The basic theory behind these short, highly intense efforts is that by pushing watts
well above those that you're used to sustaining, different types of muscle activity leads to positive and useful forms of strength adaptation in turn leading to greater work capacity, i.e. greater strength.
And while these are set aside as single workouts dedicated to this end, you can add efforts like these just about anywhere, indoors or outdoors, flat road, gentle to extreme grades, beginning, middle or end of ride/workout all depending on what you're looking to achieve.
In your case, I'd recommend starting with just three or four 20-second efforts at 150% FTP after you've warmed up but well before you've accumulated any real muscle fatigue - try to be as fresh as possible for these. Where you go from there depends on how well you respond to them, how quickly you recover, and what type of fitness you're chasing. In prep for road races, I've personally worked up to 8-10 of them in the 225-250% FTP range sprinkled throughout a 3-4hr ride where I cut them off when my power falls below 200% FTP during the closing 10 seconds, a couple times in a row.
Head Coach at TrainerRoad
Co-host of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast
