Riding and lifting dont go together. To much upper body muscle weighs too much and makes you slower going uphill. There is a reason that pro cyclist have no upper body muscles at all.

What works for the pros typically doesn't apply to us folks on MFP, so, I have to respectfully disagree and offer what my experience has been. When I started doing Crossfit which includes a lot of lifting, both low reps and heavy weights as well as high reps and lighter weights, it was a total game changer for my cycling. I didn't gain weight at all. The lifting was a vital part of a fitness regime that helped me drop about 20-30 lbs and this was while adding muscle to my upper body and legs. I went from the last guy up the hill on B rides to one of the first guys up the hills on the A/A+ rides. On solo rides, the upper body strength helped me to comfortably stay in the drops adding 1-2 mph to my average speed at the same effort levels. Also, as a mountain biker, the added upper body strength helps me control the bike with much more confidence, especially when having to quickly pop the wheels off the ground to overcome obstacles.

Other benefits: my IT band irritation on long rides disappeared almost immediately when I started lifting. Also, I can spin and at a broader range of cadences more comfortably and take long uphill pulls out of the saddle with ease. My 10-20 second sprints and short 1-2 minute anaerobic efforts got a huge boost. Finally, what lifting (and Crossfit) has done for me is that it allows me to keep up with guys that spend 2, 3, or 4 times/miles on the bike as I do. As a married guy with a baby, I just cannot get out much on the bike but it is nice to know that when I do want to catch the occasional group ride, I won't embarrass myself too badly.

So you lost weight and got better at cycling? Well no kidding. From a strictly scientific standpoint for distance/aerobic riding you use type I muscles. Lifting uses type IIa and IIb muscles. There is VERY LITTLE crossover. So what you're really experiencing is an improvement in general fitness and you power/weight ratio went up because your weight went down. You cadence improved again because you are more fit overall and you weight went down. Lifting weights is great for addressing muscle imbalances (see you IT band issue), it's great for body composition, and it's great to address injury prevention. It will not fundamentally make you a better cyclist. Hill repeats will make you stronger. Low cadence intervals will make you stronger. Threshold intervals will make you stronger.

Again being a competitive cyclist isn't the goal of the majority of this site, general health and aesthetics is so work in lifting as you like.

I have just started incorporating weights in to my routine. At the moment I am just making sure my body will adapt to weights, and am on "adaptation" period - low weights, high reps. I am doing leg flexion, hip flexors, leg extensions and hip extensions after calculating my RM - and I am pushing about 40% of that.

I am doing this three times a week, and following that session (about an hour) with a z2 ride.

I am also doing work on my upper body, but to a lesser degree. I will still need some muscle, shoulders, curls, lats for climbing - though I won't be looking to build, but strengthen without the bulk.

So, Tuesdays, Thursday, Saturday - Gym

And Monday, Wednesday, Friday - pure core work.

I think that there is this understanding that gym means bulk, which, if you are a track rider will follow a cycle of that means a long hypertrophy stage - whereas I am looking a lower hypertrophy as I am looking to do hill climbing and TTs next year.

Does anyone know if the "fact" that WT doesn't really take an effect until some 12 weeks later is correct?

I do a lot of riding - 5 to 7 days a week. In winter and early spring, I do legs at the gym 2-3 days a week to build strength. It made a huge difference in my hill climbing this year, and make a huge difference in my technical mountain biking ability, especially uphill.

I skip the weights in the summer and substitute strength intervals on the bike because I find lifting makes my legs feel weak for a couple of days. Instead, I do stuff like seated steep hill intervals pushing 300-400 watts for 1-3 minutes.

As for upper body lifting, well, I skip it.

Have fun riding!

Cycling is just one component of my fitness program.

Cycling was originally used as part of my cardio program in my weight loss programming due to its low-impact on my knees (and my weight). As the weight began to come off and my cardio improved, I was able to go for longer rides and began attending a spin class. I also began a strength and conditoning program. Once again, as the weight came off, I began to push myself to new distances and speeds. I also began to wak/run and even swim from time to time. It was at about 80 pounds gone, I decided to run my 1st 5k and I did great. And then I heard about a local sprint triathlon and thought . . . hmmm - why not ??? Along the way to training for the sprint-tri everyting changed (and accelerated) for me: eating, adding a lifting/strength program (via CrossFit) and working on faster times and even greater distances. **II won't bore you with the details of the last year, but will say that once I added an intense strength & condtioning program, all aspects of my life changed for me.

Here's my "Winter" schedule:
Monday - Spin (morning) and then CrossFit (evening).
Tuesday - Swim (morning) and then CrossFit (evening).
Wednesday - Rest day or maybe a swim or run.
Thursday - CrossFit (noon or evening).
Friday - Spin or Swim (morning).
Weekends - Long run.

*My "Summer" schedule has long bike rides instead of the runs - because cycling it my favorite :-)


And I have noticed a difference/improvment in all aspects of my swimiming, running and cycling. Better times, longer distances, ease of hills and spints/flats, etc. I've even been told I'm more foccused and at times get a little moody if I miss a workout. I've noticed that though my weight-loss has slowed, my clothes are looser and I'm leaner and that can be the best part !!!

Good Luck to everyone and stay safe on the roads, trails, lakes or where-ever you choose to run, ride, swim or train !!!

Seeing as though I can't stand the boredom of free weights I attend a Les Mills Body Pump class twice a week as part of my routine, which is a full body weights workout..

Monday - Run on treadmill, rowing machine, stationary bike (went MTB ride this week)
Tuesday - Pump class
Wednesday - Just started Step class
Thursday - Pump class
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - MTB ride 30+km
Sunday - Rest Day

Does the fact that lifiting weights of any type consistently is going to help with bone density figure into this discussion at all?

http://anthonycolpo.com/cycling-and-bone-health-why-cyclists-must-lift-weights/

Does the fact that lifiting weights of any type consistently is going to help with bone density figure into this discussion at all?

http://anthonycolpo.com/cycling-and-bone-health-why-cyclists-must-lift-weights/

That's a really awesome article...

Except the freaking boobie lady with the glammed out mountain bike. WTF? He couldn't find an image of a REAL mountain biker? Why throw boobie lady in there?! Those things would give her a black eye if she actually got on that bike.

Whoa, almost NSFW!

@ Busylady - ROFL!!! I was cracking up when I read your post. I never scrolled down on the article. I had to go back and look. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I do have to agree with you on this one. What?!!! It's a nice snow bike but why not put in something like a picture of a mountain bike competition.

@ Verdemujer - True, sex sells. Research into sex selling shows it works both ways. Guys see a set of breasts and can't quit thinking about the picture which engrains the product in their brain. Women look at a picture of breasts and wish they looked like that model and subliminally by the product so they can look like that too. Neither is a valid reason to buy the product but advertising research shows it works.