neversummer

DO cycling in the morning and workout at evening.

JoeMan

Does lifting affect my biking? Yes it makes it much better as long as I keep my BMI low too.

pchopper

Upper body workouts help a lot, especially when you strengthen the triceps and traps, reduces fatigue when riding for a long time. However, I find I have to space riding and deadlifts as far apart as possible, having a sore lower back really sucks when you're climbing.

tadawdy

Another issue with the study: 6 weeks is not enough to induce myofibrillar hypertrophy (and whatever small amount of hyperplasia might happen, if it does), which one might expect to increase endurance performance. For a very long time, the idea of hypertrophy was debated because studies stopped before 12 weeks, when these types of gains pick up as neurological gains taper off.

I'm gonna go ahead and invoke specificity of training. For a long-distance cyclist, the benefit of lower-body strength training is questionable.

It does depend on the questions you ask, though. Lifting for endurance? Probably better off on the bike. Training to sprint? Different question. Here, it makes sense to build a base of strength, and then to do power training (explosive lifts and plyometrics) to increase power output. For a crit racer, these types of repeated bursts are useful. Riding centuries? Maybe not for you.

Endurance athletes are not force-limited. Sprinters are limited by power, which has both an energy and a time component. Just being able to put out a lot of force isn't going to cut it.

Personally, I feel that lifting has had a positive impact on my riding. Part of the issue is that only doing squats also might not be that useful; typically, the feet are angled out for balance, but no one pedals like this. I'm more a fan of deadlifts, which encourage you to drive your heel more, and one-legged squats, step-ups, and lunges (the foot is pointed forward). I'm nowhere near what an elite rider might put in, so the added volume is not detrimental.

I'd also question the way in which these guys were squatting. Most of us have had it drilled into us that we're supposed to accentuate the eccentric phase of any lift. Studies have shown lifting to increase strength only over the same ROM and at the same speeds of contraction as the activity you're training for.

So, you've eventually got to make your lifts look something like what you'd do on the bike in order for it to carry over.

tadawdy

I'd go the other way around, but 3 times a week might also be a bit much. Twice will probably suffice. No one said you have to wreck yourself in the gym. Well, someone probably said that, but they don't know anything.

JMallez

I'm not a pro but I personally don't believe in squats. IMO they are one of the easiest exercises to do with bad form and to cause injury, so before I would do squats I would see if there are other workouts that are better and safer to do. If I absolutely have to do squats i would take a 1-3 weeks to build those muscles, either use low weights and focus on form or do other workouts that are similar to squats.

That being said I structure my workout routine with an A day or B day, with the second day being for opposite muscle groups (i.e. if you work the biceps one day work the triceps the other). I personally have found that i like to cycle after a leg workout that might have caused the muscles to "shorten" / become tighter (running, weights...) the cycling usually limbers me up. I also prefer lifting weights prior to doing cardio. This is just plain courteous if you're at a gym and plan on sweating a lot, and it allows you to have fresh strong muscles for a potentially strenuous effort (no fatigue = proper form and better weight exercise).

But this is just my personal experience...

neversummer

^^^^^^^

This , I'm a bodybuilder first and cyclist second . Heavy Deadlifts and heavy squats are not good for cycling. Takes atleast 2 days for your body to recover. I personally switch to high rack pulls and stiff legged deadlifts for Hammy work . Takes only a day for me to recover from these exercises .