I’ve recently been reading Training + Racing with a Power Meter by Allen and Coggan and I was reading chapter 7 on “Beyond Average Power.”
For those of you that have read it, I want to make sure that I’m fully understanding some of the principles of the chapter. My understanding is that the authors are suggesting that weightlifting is essentially a waste of time and has little to no effect on cycling power.
Can anyone confirm this? Or am I completely misinterpreting this?
I haven’t read it, but if that’s the advice that weight lifting is a complete waste of time - don’t believe everything you read.
A good S&C program is essential if you are looking for peak performance, especially in triathlon.
I hope this helps,
Tim
My understanding is that the authors are suggesting that weightlifting is essentially a waste of time and has little to no effect on cycling power.
My understanding is there’s some evidence that lifting can improve cycling efficiency, possibly through some neuromuscular effect. That is not the same thing as improving cycling power. I’m not sure how strong this evidence is, or if there’s broad consensus amongst experts (probably not).
I’m older (49) so I lift heavy to help reduce loss of muscle mass, bone density, and possibly hormone levels. More a “health/wellness” choice than strictly performance. Though I like to think having good strength, flexibility, and bone health indirectly helps me perform better by letting me train more consistently and train harder when it counts.
Thanks for your replies. I’d be curious to see if anyone who has read the book in its entirety has a different interpretation other than my own.
Up until this past winter, I’ve been an extremely fair-weather lifter as far as lower body is concerned. I was more adamant and intentional about lower body strength training throughout this past winter (free weight squats, hack squats, leg press, quad extensions) with the goal of it helping me more on the bike this summer. I like how it’s impacted my perceived lower body strength, but my understanding of chapter 7 of that book is that weightlifting is a somewhat obsolete exercise for overall cycling power enhancement.
My understanding is that the authors are suggesting that weightlifting is essentially a waste of time and has little to no effect on cycling power.
My understanding is there’s some evidence that lifting can improve cycling efficiency, possibly through some neuromuscular effect. That is not the same thing as improving cycling power. I’m not sure how strong this evidence is, or if there’s broad consensus amongst experts (probably not).
I’m older (49) so I lift heavy to help reduce loss of muscle mass, bone density, and possibly hormone levels. More a “health/wellness” choice than strictly performance. Though I like to think having good strength, flexibility, and bone health indirectly helps me perform better by letting me train more consistently and train harder when it counts.
assuming “weightlifting is essentially a waste of time and has little to no effect on cycling power” is indeed a correct characterization of the point of that particular chapter, I would want qualification on the following:
-1) which type of power, both in terms of intensity and duration?
-2) under what conditions?
-3) for what proportion of active cyclists, of what type of fast twitch/ slow twitch disposition?
This forum has a tendency to take findings from that book as undisputed gospel, but at least for myself, I’ve found that resistance training to have been helpful with Z3-Z5 intervals when fatigued, even when there wasn’t a difference to performance when fully rested
Now that I no longer race, my attitude on strength training (not necessarily squatting heavy masses) is comparable to @trail’s take on all this.
I’m older (49) so I lift heavy to help reduce loss of muscle mass, bone density, and possibly hormone levels. More a “health/wellness” choice than strictly performance. Though I like to think having good strength, flexibility, and bone health indirectly helps me perform better by letting me train more consistently and train harder when it counts.
This!
Don’t look to the strength training to make you go faster on the bike. But it is important for overall health.
This allows you to operate at higher workloads when needed, and just improves you long term health outlook!
My injury rate has gone down significantly with consistent weight training. I lift 2x/wk, mostly lower body. I haven’t had anywhere near the issues with IT band, glute tendinopathy, patello-femoral pain, and Achilles tendinitis. Does it help specifically with cycling? Hard to say. Does it make it easier to keep running and run faster? Yes. P
My injury rate has gone down significantly with consistent weight training. I lift 2x/wk, mostly lower body. I haven’t had anywhere near the issues with IT band, glute tendinopathy, patello-femoral pain, and Achilles tendinitis. Does it help specifically with cycling? Hard to say. Does it make it easier to keep running and run faster? Yes. P
Same as above. I’m a pretty fragile dude for some reason and weight lifting seems to really better protect my body from overuse injuries. It’s a pain to fit into the schedule with 3 sports and also tough to lift without ruining the main 3 sports workouts, but I find it crucial for overall fitness and durability. Keep in mind you don’t have to do max squats or similar, which is maybe what the book was talking about (I haven’t read it in a long time). It should be overall full body workouts with a focus on core and functional body movements.
Most of the research I’ve read on the effects of lifting weights on cycling say there there are positive effects on increasing cycling power but negligible or no effect on VO2 Max. Makes sense, lifting heavy is an anaerobic activity. Does the book specifically say cycling power? Could it be saying VO2max, or other aerobic measures?
In sports through high school, college and into adulthood, I’ve found that I have better performances when lifting is part of my program. And…I’m less injured. Which means I miss fewer sessions and can maintain consistency in my training, which is (IMHO) king for endurance activities.
-1) which type of power, both in terms of intensity and duration?
-2) under what conditions?
-3) for what proportion of active cyclists, of what type of fast twitch/ slow twitch disposition?
This exactly. I can promise you that track sprinters are in the weight room multiple times a week all season. A pure climber probably has the least use for weights. And a spectrum for everyone in between.
Supposedly Blu and Gustav don’t lift
Take it for what you will.
For me it’s good for long term health reasons
Pick up heavy stuff, it will make you a better more well rounded athlete. Any time my wife backs off on weight lifting, injuries creep in. Last winter was my first winter of actually weight lifting for cycling and it made a huge difference in my ability to handle the early season long rides.
Very few of the fastest pro cyclist are not lifting.
If you need to power a toaster at home with a bike, yes you must weight lift.
If you are going to deliver a piece of mail before the mail truck gets there, not so necessary
-there is some benifice in strenght training
-most age group athletes have very limited time
-in the order of priority…strenght training come last after swim bike and run.
-so…if you are on a limited 10-12h budget a week… most likely strengh training should not be your priority to maximize your performance
if you have more hours on hands and can get a proper load of swim bike run…then strenght training might make sence for you.
and strengh training can be done while swimming, bike and running…those are not mutually exclusive and you dont need to go to a gym to work on that. i prefer this option for most age group athletes…
I’ve always found it curious the resistance we experience during SBR doesn’t qualify as keeping up muscle mass as we age. Same for bone density. I’m 60, and weigh the same as when i got into the sport 20 years ago. I doubt my BMI has changed. I wear the same size clothing. When the season is in full swing and i’m putting 12-14 hr/wk of training in, the last thing i want to do is hit the gym. I think it would cut into my recovery. The type of maintenance i do need more of as i age is stretching and massage, particularly trigger point massage.
In December, I had the opportunity to sit down privately with Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Eden in Taiwan for a few hours and asked this very question of about SC to Gustav.
In the past, he did a swimming test, then conducted a prescribed SC program over a number of weeks in which he said he got much stronger at completing the gym exercises, and the re-did the swim test and found there was absolutely no performance gain at all, so neither he nor Kristian do strength training other than occasionally to address a specific weakness/rehab if there is any weakness in swim bike and run movement/performance.
Does that mean that SC is a waste of time?
I think it does mean that if you are a super elite athlete who trains the volume, intensity and specificity that these two guys train at, it probably doesn’t offer more performance benefits. And that describes precisely 0% of the audience who would benefit from SC as I doubt there are 2 more committed triathletes in the world than Gustav and Kristian at this time.
For me, triathlon is a competitive hobby. I enjoy SC with a lifting coach is understands movement and triathlon and my goals. Coincidentally, at age 48, since I began SC my performance has improved back to numbers I did in 2018 and had not achieved since. SC has been part of my new training program but certainly not the only, or even largest change, that accounts for this 20% (re)gain in fitness.
SC has been shown to have OVERWHELMING benefits in health and anti-aging benefits, and if you enjoy it, how can that be a waste of time even if that doesn’t create triathlon performance benefits?
Supposedly Blu and Gustav don’t lift
Take it for what it. Send to you
For me it’s good for long term health reasons
“Supposedly”… I suppose that is potentially questionable. Would they hide information from competitors? After all they’re smarter than everyone else.
They are also 29 and 26 respectively. Most age groupers aren’t in their twenties. Testosterone and hormone levels drop as we age, so as noted by other posters it makes sense to lift especially for injury prevention and consistent training.
the key element of your post are
-you enjoy SC
-you are past 40 years old.
Both those element play a factor in the decision. My older athletes tend to do strengh training more then my younger or elite/professional. It s the way it is and i really dont get in this debat anymore other then give people both side of the story.
Part of a succesfull program is you been excited and buying into it… and somethings…as a coach…you need to do things that arent 100% optimal if it mean it gets your athletes fire up…loving it etc. Those are the key to performance.
-there is some benifice in strenght training
-most age group athletes have very limited time
-in the order of priority…strenght training come last after swim bike and run.
-so…if you are on a limited 10-12h budget a week… most likely strengh training should not be your priority to maximize your performance
if you have more hours on hands and can get a proper load of swim bike run…then strenght training might make sence for you.
and strengh training can be done while swimming, bike and running…those are not mutually exclusive and you dont need to go to a gym to work on that. i prefer this option for most age group athletes…
THIS is so awesome. And just as I remember you posting approximately 15 years ago
I was going to post that jonnyo says it doesn’t make you faster but thought if I got it wrong I would hear about it lol
The book’s comments begin on page 126 under “Strength Endurance Training.â€
“Strength, per se, plays a very small role in determining power output. The growing realization that more traditional forms of resistance training, such as weight lifting, provide little or no benefit to cyclists is possibly contributing to the increasing popularity of strength endurance training.â€
That particular statement stood out to me.