Presentation notes for Quinn Wellness Center, Eastern Oregon University
co-sponsored OregonTrailRacing.com
Feb 2008

I am a competitive cyclist. I quit upper body strength training 3 years ago in order to lose arm and chest strength/bulk because it is needless weight. This year I abandoned weight training altogether. This is a general health sacrifice I made for being competitive.

Factors in strength development:

• Neural coordination: intra- and extra-muscular tissue stimulation patterns
• Inherent muscle fiber types: fast twitch, fast twitch glycolytic, slow twitch
• Specificity of training: Training should be specific to the intended purpose within the sport.
• Overload: For strength gains to occur, extra stress must be placed on a muscle. Given adequate nutrition and recovery, strength will increase by repetitive muscular stress.

Energy Production Systems

• Creatin Phosphate: up to ~10 seconds
• Anaerobic: Up to ~4 minutes
• Aerobic: Up to multiple hours

Weight training for endurance athletes

• Arguments against: Endurance sports are sub-maximal efforts so strength training for maximal power is needless (specificity principle).
• Argument for: In endurance sport competition, short bursts of intense efforts are needed to be successful. Weight training allows one to accommodate this demand better than regular training workouts.

Planning strength training:

• Mode: Resistance, weights, plyometrics?, workouts within the sport.
• Frequency: 1-2 times a week
• Sets: 1 or 2 especially since many of the target the same muscle groups.
• Repetitions: High repetitions or low?

Recommendations for strength training

• Gain strength in the off season or early season.
• Maintain during race season with 1 hard workout per week.
• Increase strength training frequency during recovery weeks.
• Do exercises that mimic the sport.
• Go for explosiveness with the lift.
• In most endurance sports, the core strength is the most important. Focus on abdomen and back strength.

My reasons for abandoning weight training

• To get better intensity from my on-the-bike workouts.
• I have done strength training my whole life so I had achieved a certain level of strength that wasn't disappearing. For example, each year I was quickly squatting 400+ lbs right away.
• I wasn't increasing nor decreasing strength with my workouts, just holding steady.
• I do specific on-the-bike strength training.
• It is a efficiency matter. Getting the most out of my time, and I'd rather be spending it on a bike instead of the weight room.

Personal impressions so far:

• My legs have felt much more fresh in my training this year. Avoiding the dead fatigue feeling.
• I start time trialing and racing this weekend. Check my results.
• Time will tell. I'll have more introspective feedback later this year.

Recommended Resources

Jeukendrup, A. E., Ed. (2002). High-Performance Cycling. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Friel, Joe. The Cyclists Training Bible.

Carmichael, Chris. The Ultimate Ride.