Originally Posted by
gtrob
This goes for more than lifting. The act of riding, lifting, working out, making your body hurt, is not what actually makes you stronger (if anything it makes you weaker). Its the trigger I suppose, but not the action. Its the recovery and over compensation that your body is trying to build stronger for next time. Rest, and really sleep, is where you get stronger.
Only thing you need on race day is to warm up. If you can lift and race on the same day, you are not doing them right
Definitely agree with all that has been said on this so far.
I'd even recommend that you avoid lifting or hard training in the two days running up to a race, unless the race is not your main focus/ just another 'hard' training day. I tried to race on a sunday after lifting on the friday - bad idea. I'm sure a lot of folks on this forum can do it, but definitely if you are new to lifting, its going to seriously compromise your legs for the racing