Stop fearing strength training!
There are many myths associated with strength training for Riders:
“ Weights will make you big and bulky.”
“ Weight training promotes arm pump.”
“ Don't lift heavy, only lightweight high reps.”
The list goes on, and these couldn't be further from the truth.
Generally speaking, you’re hauling around on average, 100kg of a motorbike plus your body weight.
Let’s say you weigh 80kg. That’s 180kg you are wrestling around for at least 10-30 minutes.
No amount of cycling, running and bodyweight circuits will prepare you for that, so strength training is a must.
Developing a better base of strength will not only make it easier for you to handle the demands of the bike and reduce the arm pump but allow you to last longer in your rides and improve your overall results.
Here are five critical tips for training correctly and safely;
Ensure you are training movements, not body parts.
Bodybuilders train body parts. We are not bodybuilders, we are athletes and need to train like one, and this is where most of the myths and issues stem from.
We want to focus on key movement patterns such as;
Knee flexion (Squat)
Hip hinge (Deadlift)
Horizontal Push
Horizontal Pull
Vertical Push
Vertical Pull
Grip Strength
Core Strength
These movements will help us build strength in positions we find ourselves in regularly on the bike.
2. Train in all rep ranges!
There's a misconception that to improve your “endurance” on a bike, you need to do high reps with light weights. I can understand why people think this, but when you understand strength, you will see why this isn't true.
Strength is the foundation of power and muscular endurance. It is the slab of your house, and without it, you have a very inefficient starting point.
When we increase max strength, we can then produce higher forces for longer durations, which increases our muscular endurance.
To build strength, lower rep ranges with heavier loads is key.
I would recommend training in the 3-6 rep range for this.
Higher rep ranges still have their benefits and are placed in a training program for hypertrophy purposes (adding muscular size), improving blood flow and improving tendon and connective tissue strength and health.
3. Focus on technique first before loading.
We all love riding, and being injured from going too heavy too soon in the gym and unable to ride is going to suck.
If your form is breaking down under heavier loads, then you haven't built the foundation there yet to handle that load, so it's essential you regress a little, so good technique and range of motion can be maintained and allow you to continue progress from there.
We don't want to sacrifice mobility. The better mobility and range of motion you have, the better you will produce force and be more resilient to injuries.
Remember, strength training is a skill; just like riding, it takes practice and time to improve and become better at it.
4. More isn't always better.
Your training is only as good as what you can recover from.
The goal should always be to get the maximum results by doing the minimum amount of work, not the other way around.
This makes it easy for you to increase and improve over time and avoid burning yourself out.
If you currently don't do any training, don't start hitting the gym five days per week.
Maybe start with 2-3 days and make the absolute most out of that before you look at adding in a 4th or 5th day.
Start small and build from there.
5. Don't neglect your recovery.
Your sleep and nutrition play a massive role in your training performance and your results.
Nutrition fuels both your ability to perform and improve in the gym as well as your body's ability to recover from training sessions. If you aren't fuelling yourself adequately, then your training efforts and results will suffer.
The same goes for sleep. Sleep is where the recovery process is being done. Inadequate sleep will leave you feeling sore, tired and just struggling through your sessions.
Be sure your sleep and nutrition efforts match your training efforts for the best overall results.
