im looking forward to being lazy til about jan or feb then ill be training hard again for 2012…im a pretty strong(by some standards, 2:2x half IM bike) cyclist and really strong runner…i feel i still have signifigant room for improvement on the bike…my question is this: would it help my cycling to go to the gym for 4 monthsand work on strenghtening the legs? keep in mind that once feb rolled around, i know i wouldnt have time for the gym anymore…what are your thoughts?
Triathlon/lactic threshold/time trial power has virtually nothing to do with the strength you acquire from lifting in the gym (fast twitch vs slowtwitch muscle fibers, etc…)
Lifting legs will strengthen tendon/ligament attachments and probably make you more resistant to overtraining injury, but so will riding your bike through the offseason.
For bike-only/draft-legal races, anaerobic/fast-twitch power gained in the gym can be important for being explosive up short climbs, breakaway jumps, final sprints, etc…
others can elaborate, but that is the simple physiology of it.
No, it would not help you to ride your bike faster. If you want to ride faster, you have to ride harder than you want to ride on a frequent basis.
x 2 of what previous poster said.
When I was cycling a lot I lifted legs (squats, dead lifts, cleans), I was more explosive and had a better sprint (also felt like I could climb better especially short steep hills) but it didn’t do anything for my TT.
My TT did improve though but I would attribute that to my increased focused in cycling.
Mistake #1 is being lazy til jan/feb. If it’s the only approach you can take to the off-season that lets you hit the beginning of 2012 hard then I guess it would be a smart play, but consistency on the bike is key, and there is nothing more consistent than trainer work during the winter.
To your question: I went through a pretty serious leg training block during Jan/Feb of this year–somewhere around 750 reps of leg exercises (usually at BW + 40-60 lb) twice a week. I didn’t see any appreciable gains in performance on the bike, but then again one of the focuses of the training was on stability, which helped me stay injury free on the run long enough to run my all-time 5k PR in March, off the bike. I think I would have gotten more out of the lifting had I had more time to recover from each workout, but being in school, and having to do the gym sessions on top of my other workouts really dragged me down.
That said, I’d recommend going for it, as long as you have the right goals in mind. Don’t just lift for the sake of lifting. Focus on fixing any weaknesses in your kinetic chain, and along the same lines, seek to improve balance between muscles that work together. Do exercises that accomplish a goal that you couldn’t otherwise achieve with biking or running alone. Do stability work to promote injury prevention from a strength standpoint. Decide whether you need to fully recover between sessions, or you’ll use the sessions to increase the overall training stress on your body.
god…damnit
im looking forward to being lazy til about jan or feb then ill be training hard again for 2012…im a pretty strong(by some standards, 2:2x half IM bike) cyclist and really strong runner…i feel i still have signifigant room for improvement on the bike…my question is this: would it help my cycling to go to the gym for 4 monthsand work on strenghtening the legs? keep in mind that once feb rolled around, i know i wouldnt have time for the gym anymore…what are your thoughts?
x 2 of what previous poster said.
When I was cycling a lot I lifted legs (squats, dead lifts, cleans), I was more explosive and had a better sprint (also felt like I could climb better especially short steep hills) but it didn’t do anything for my TT.
This.
When I first started riding it was after years of lifting.
I could sprint like it was nobodies business …provided the sprint was VERY short 
im looking forward to being lazy til about jan or feb then ill be training hard again for 2012…im a pretty strong(by some standards, 2:2x half IM bike) cyclist and really strong runner…i feel i still have signifigant room for improvement on the bike…my question is this: would it help my cycling to go to the gym for 4 monthsand work on strenghtening the legs? keep in mind that once feb rolled around, i know i wouldnt have time for the gym anymore…what are your thoughts?
two words - Skate Skiing
x 2 of what previous poster said.
When I was cycling a lot I lifted legs (squats, dead lifts, cleans), I was more explosive and had a better sprint (also felt like I could climb better especially short steep hills) but it didn’t do anything for my TT.
This.
When I first started riding it was after years of lifting.
I could sprint like it was nobodies business …provided the sprint was VERY short
…and on a road bike, you only sprint at the end of a long aerobic effort with many aerobic bursts, so the LT to VO2 zone is best to develop.
However, in a triathlon, LT and sub LT are what matter. You improve those by working FTP. You improve FTP by doing a lot of work between 92% and 115% of FTP.
two words - Skate Skiing
a former teammate once did a winter of heavy xc skiing (skate). When spring rolled around he was super-fit. For skiiing. But he was disappointed to find that he was behind those of us who just rode all winter.
works for Svein Tuft, Heinriech Haussler etc… doesn’t hurt your swimming either
Yeah, sport-specific work can’t be ignored. Cross-training should be done in addition to, not to the exclusion of the sport in which you expect to improve.
im **looking forward to being lazy til about jan or feb then **ill be training hard again for 2012…im a pretty strong(by some standards, 2:2x half IM bike) cyclist and really strong runner…i feel i still have signifigant room for improvement on the bike…my question is this: would it help my cycling to go to the gym for 4 monthsand work on strenghtening the legs? keep in mind that once feb rolled around, i know i wouldnt have time for the gym anymore…what are your thoughts?
This means you really don’t **want **to be a “strong” cyclist.
two words - Skate Skiing
a former teammate once did a winter of heavy xc skiing (skate). When spring rolled around he was super-fit. For skiiing. But he was disappointed to find that he was behind those of us who just rode all winter.
But your skiing friend maintained great aerobic fitness, general leg strength, probably helped ensure muscle balance, maybe even had fun getting out of the basement. Riding all winter is a recipe for burning out in July, which is fine if your focus event is in June.
Yeah, sport-specific work can’t be ignored. Cross-training should be done in addition to, not to the exclusion of the sport in which you expect to improve.
agreed. Over the last 6 years I’ve started running more and more over the winter. But it’s been “in addition to” rather than “instead of” time in the saddle. To the other poster … not sure what Tuft and Haussler’s programs are, but my guess is that they don’t sacrifice time on the bike. Then again those guys have 30k kms in their legs at the end of the season, so a little time off to ski probably doesn’t hurt.
But your skiing friend maintained great aerobic fitness, general leg strength, probably helped ensure muscle balance, maybe even had fun getting out of the basement. Riding all winter is a recipe for burning out in July, which is fine if your focus event is in June.
I think the burnout issue depends on your mentality. I ride outside as much as possible in the off season (and it gets pretty cold and snowy here), and don’t mind it. I ride the trainer when I have to … because I want to be fit when the racing starts (in March, around here). Being fit when the season starts is always in the back of my mind.
I just finished my 18th season of road racing and have not ever had a problem of burning out in July because I rode a lot over the winter. I just like being on the bike, all year 'round.
god…damnit
For some reason, the ‘n’ is dropped when going from damn to dammit… and I do think, no matter how it’s spelled, you hit the nail on the head!
im looking forward to being lazy til about jan or feb then ill be training hard again for 2012…im a pretty strong(by some standards, 2:2x half IM bike) cyclist and really strong runner…i feel i still have signifigant room for improvement on the bike…my question is this: would it help my cycling to go to the gym for 4 monthsand work on strenghtening the legs? keep in mind that once feb rolled around, i know i wouldnt have time for the gym anymore…what are your thoughts?
Do the Birkie!!!
im looking forward to being lazy til about jan or feb then ill be training hard again for 2012…im a pretty strong(by some standards, 2:2x half IM bike) cyclist and really strong runner…i feel i still have signifigant room for improvement on the bike…my question is this: would it help my cycling to go to the gym for 4 monthsand work on strenghtening the legs? keep in mind that once feb rolled around, i know i wouldnt have time for the gym anymore…what are your thoughts?
if your over 40 it can help (or close to that age) as several studies have shown that some weight lifting decreases the amount of muscle loss as a result of age. Not to mention it helps prevent injury, gets you a nice 6 pack and adds variety to your schedule.
Riding all winter is a recipe for burning out in July, which is fine if your focus event is in June.
This is an oft-perpetuated myth that I see all the time. I’ve been doing hard, interval-based training for 15 months and counting with a fairly steady upward climb in FTP. It is all about how motivated you are and what you are trying to accomplish. Plus, you have to know how to listen to your body and do just the right amount and no more. If you don’t listen to your body, then all sorts of bad things happen.
Chad