This article will give you an introduction to weight training for cyclists, focusing on the most important mechanism for cyclists – the legs!
Adding weight training to your cycling regime can make a real difference to your overall performance. Not only will it give you more strength but it has also been shown to raise the metabolism for up to 36 hours afterwards, meaning you will burn fat more quickly.
I have recently started weight training having had a fantastic weights and diet program set up for me by Lee at Lee Freeman Fitness. I have already noticed the difference, burning fat quicker than before and having more power on the bike.
This workout is split across three weeks and the only needed is dumbbells and a barbell.
- Week 1 is fairly low reps which should increase your strength
- Week 2 is medium reps increasing muscle
- Week 3 is high reps which increases endurance
At the end of the three week program you go back to the beginning again and increase the weights on each workout by 2-5% which should continue to push your body into making gains.
In order to keep making these gains it’s important to track your workouts so you know how much to increase you weight by each time. I use a fantastic app called ‘Strong’ for iPhone which makes this really easy.
Week 1
4 sets of 6-10 reps with 90 seconds of rest in-between.
- Barbell Squats
- Goblet Squats
- Barbell Lunge
- Weighted step-up
- Split squat (back foot raised on bench)
- Straight leg dead lifts
- Standing calf raise
Week 2
3 set of 14-18 reps with 90 seconds of rest in-between.
- Barbell squats
- Front Squats
- DB Lunges
- Step ups
- Split squats
- Straight leg dead lifts
- Standing calf raise
Week 3
This week the reps are high, but super sets are introduced. What this means is you do one exercise immediately followed by the next with no rest in-between. You will then take a longer rest than normal at the end, this week is 120 seconds. There are two supersets with 2 exercises, and the third one has 3 exercises.
4 sets of 25 reps with 120 seconds of rest in-between.
- A) Barbell Squat superset with
- B) Split Squats
- A) Walking Barbell Lunges
- B) Step ups
- A) Straight leg deadlifts
- B) Squat jumps
- C) Standing calf raise