Courtesy of Association of British Cycling Coaches
(With
additions by David Prior. BCCS coach and BAWLA coach.)
Weight Training is very much a generic
training method. It is one of the few training methods that is used in most
sports where strength is a factor in achieving an optimum performance, and
cycle racing is such a sport. Weight Training is used not only by racing
cyclists but also by athletes, swimmers, tennis players and many more so it is
important that riders include weight training in their training schedule.
Why use weight training?
The discussion on the merits of weights as
part of a racing cyclists training programme has been with us for a long time.
Many riders have used weight training as part of their training and gone on to
achieve success at National and International level, however, it is also true
that some cyclist’s have achieved similar success without lifting a weight. One
can only speculate that those riders who chose not to do weight training were,
possibly, naturally strong and also that they may have achieved more success
had they included weight training in their training schedule.
One
thing without dispute is that a strong muscle will tire less than a weak one
and that weight training can and will increase the strength of a muscle.
Riders,
generally, fall in to three broad groups:
1. Riders who do weight training because
they are convinced that it is beneficial.
2. Riders who do some weight training
(occasionally and reluctantly) because their coach has advised them to do so.
3. Those riders who do not do weight
training because they are not convinced that weight training is beneficial to
racing cyclists.
Other reasons may be that weight training
facilities do not exist conveniently for them to use on a regular basis,
although those riders who want to do weight training will usually find a
suitable facility.
Power
To appreciate the benefit of weight
training it is necessary to understand a simple mechanical equation:
POWER = FORCE
x DISTANCE
/ TIME
with the FORCE in this case being the force
being applied by the rider in pedalling, which is in fact the rider’s STRENGTH.
As the POWER is directly proportional to this force then an increase in force (or
strength) will result in an equivalent increase in POWER. So it is to increase
the rider’s POWER that weight training is recommended.
The Principles
All muscles, in training, respond to two
main principles:
1. The SAID principle, that is, ‘Specific Adaption to Imposed Demand’
2. The ‘Progressive Overload’ principle.
If we look first at the SAID principle and
break this down, in reverse, we see that the Imposed Demand will cause
the muscles to Specifically Adapt. This is because when muscles are
used, the muscle tissues break down and when we rest, after the effort, our
muscles regenerate to ensure that they are better able to repeat the effort.
The Imposed Demand may be:
1. A light weight moved many times, or
2. A heavy weight moved a few times.
The result of (1) is that the ‘Specific
Adaption’ will mean that muscles will adapt to carry out this light weight
moved many times more efficiently and therefore improve endurance (stamina).
(2) will have a different result: that is,
our muscles will regenerate to enable them to move a heavy weight (resistance)
more efficiently, and thereby improve the strength of the muscles.
We can use weight training to work specific
muscles, or groups of muscles, and work them through a specific range of
movements, for example, we can select lifts that simulate the leg movement of a
racing cyclist to ensure that strength is developed to suit the needs of a
rider (more about this later).
In the light of the above we are able to
determine the type of weight training that is most beneficial to racing
cyclists and work done by the Italian Cycling Federation established which
groups of muscles are used during cycle racing and using this information the
BCCS (now the ABCC) working with the British Amateur Weight Lifters Association
(BAWLA) produced a set of lifts which are recommended for racing cyclists which
will develop not only the legs but the upper body, back, arms and shoulders.
The second principle “Progressive Overload”
is well established in all forms of training and is essential if a rider is to
make progress in his or her level of fitness, and in weight training this
progressive overload is equally important and in following a set programme of
lifts it is essential to increase the workload progressively, as it is only by
doing this that riders will progress towards a higher level of fitness and
strength.
Riders
do not always appreciate that the upper body muscles must be as strong as the
lower body muscles, because,
as the rider pushes down on the pedals an equal and opposite reaction threatens
to lift him off the saddle. This does not happen because of two things:
1. We lock our upper body muscles using arms,
shoulders and back muscles as ‘fixators’, and for this reason these muscles must
be, collectively, as strong as the leg muscles (note, muscles which are not moving
are still working and need to be strong too).
2. By pulling on the bars the rider
increases the resistance against which his legs thrust, therefore, arm strength
is also important.
Weight training: how?
The ABCC does not recommend that a coach
give weight training instructions without first being
qualified to do so. This is because the
technique for lifting heavy weights (especially free weights) requires
specialised knowledge, which is not part of the ABCC coach qualification
course.
Only those with proper qualifications
should attempt to instruct in weight training and before contemplating running a
weight training class a coach should practice weight training as a student,
under qualified instruction, until completely adept and fully capable of
understanding correct and safe weight training techniques. Coaches should then
consider attending a course
organised by the British Amateur Weight
Lifters Association and then taking the examination for the Teachers Weight
Training Certificate.
Note:
David Prior holds the BAWLA wt training certificate which is Cycling Specific.
How heavy should the weight be?
Initially, just heavy enough to lift
correctly as lifts must be done correctly every time to avoid
injury and once the correct technique is mastered the number of reps. can be
considered. Many weight training schedules recommend pyramid lifting where the
number of lifts is reduced as the weight increases while others will recommend
,say, 4 sets of 6 reps of one lift and 3 sets of 8 reps of another lift etc. and
further complications of what should be a simple programme.
These regimes are, primarily, aimed at
achieving 1RM ( one repetition maximum) which could win a weightlifting
competition; but racing cyclists need to
apply their strength over and over again while pedalling.
Ideally for racing cyclists a rationale of three
sets of 10 reps, for all lifts, is recommended which works very well and
will produce significant gains in strength over the winter period of, say, five
months, November to March.
Weight training is only recommended to gain
strength, as heavy weights will be lifted progressively.
The weight-training regime
Free Weights are better than working on a
weights machine. This is because, with free weights, auxiliary muscles are used
to maintain balance and give a better all-round result. Weights machines have captive
weight (for safety) and the muscles required for balance are not used or
developed. However, if no free weight sessions are available then working on a
machine is fine, and such machines can be quite muscle specific.
With a proper warm up and a session of
lifts each session should only take about 45 minutes, and although 11 lifts are
listed below a full session will normally only enable a rider to complete just
some of the lifts in any one session and, to ensure that all the lifts are
used, the next session should start where the last one finished.
The first lift on the schedule is a
combined lift that links a Power Clean lift with a Press taking the bar from
the floor straight up to a position above the head providing an excellent
starting lift as this gives all parts of the body a work out and for this
reason it is recommended that every session starts with this Power Clean and
Press and then continues as suggested above.
Working to the recommended lifts, shown
below, the rider should complete the details of his weight training schedule
during each session which will enable him/her to see their progress over a
period of two months, with two sessons each week.
Increasing the weight progressively, will
ensure increased muscle strength and in turn increased
power. Eventually the progressive increases
of weight will not enable the rider to lift three sets 10 reps, maybe two sets
of 10 and one of 6 or 7 reps only. At this point staying with this weight will
ensure that the muscles adapt to the resistance that this weight provides.
When the rider can complete three sets of
10 reps then the weight must be increased again and
so on.
Once the rider is able to complete 3 sets
of 10 reps the weight must be increased. This may be a 10% increment,
initially, but as the rider reaches his limit this increase in weight may only
be 5% or less.
The following Starting Weights are
recommended:
1. Power Clean and Press 20kg All muscles.
2. Two Arm Curl 15kg Arms
3. Squats 35kg Legs
4. Straight Arm Pullover 10kg Shoulders
5. Leg Press 40kg
Legs
6. Bench Press 20kg Arms (push)
8. Leg Extension 15kg Legs
7. Upright Rowing 15kg Arms (pull)
9. Dumbell Raise 2 x 3kg Shoulders
10. Leg Curl 15kg Legs
11. Press Behind the Neck 10kg
Arms
In
addition to the above schedule a year round programme of exersizes to build,
maintain and condition core muscles of the abdomen is strongly recommended.
These can be quite simple, ie sit ups and press ups, trunk curls, plus side
bends with a small weight (dumbbell), and can be incorporated into a riders
daily stretching routine. The aim is to improve the overall athleticism of the
rider – this in turn aids his on the bike training and racing, helps reduce
thelikeylhood of muscle strain/tears, aids recovery and facilitates the bodys
normal functions, giving an overall sense of well being.
Weight training provides a structured
method of increasing strength and power, resulting in improved performance. Riders
should record all lifts, both weight, sets and repetitions. They should enter
on the sheet the weight that they plan to lift at the next session, while they
have fresh in their memory how they lifted in the session just completed.
Although the above schedule is shown for free weights, the equivalents are all
pretty well standard on wt training machines. I personally now favour using a
machine/s as a good gym is usually equipped with a range of ‘state of the art’
facilities which are both SAFE and SPECIFIC. Most towns have either a council
run gym with weights, and or some sort of fitness club, often connected to an
hotel, together with showers and changing facilities.
I do not advocate riding to and from a wt
training session, cycling and other physical activity should be kept separate
for maximum benefit. As with bike
training, you should avoid weight training when physically tired.
David
Prior.
ABCC Coach.
BAWLA Cycling
Coach.
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