31 Aug 09 Gaining muscle without weight or bulk – a cyclist’s guide

For a lot of cyclists the gain in strength from weight training is really appealing.

Those sessions down the gym can really give you an extra punch when it comes to climbing that tough hill, keeping the break away from the pack or getting that half inch in a group sprint.

But at the same time most cyclists are also pretty concerned about the aero impact of the additional bulk or the weight that usually comes along with muscle growth.

In many cases they are right to be worried. Jesper over at Training4Cyclists did an interesting test on the impact extra weight had on climb times on one of the world most famous climbs, Alpe d’Huez. From his test. 1.8 litres of water (i.e. two full water bottles) added nearly 2 minutes to the climb which is around about an extra 5% of the 50 minute climb.

So how can you get the value of weight training without the extra bulk that could slow you down.

Firstly you can do some strength training on your bike – shift down a couple of gears and make the climb at little bit harder than it normally would be. The advantage to this is the strength will come just where you need it in the muscles to turn the cranks.

Use your own body weight – Everyone I know is scared of doing dips, but they are one of the most low tech but high reward types of training for strength.

Do transferable weights – When using free weights or machines try and use the machines which most closely mimic the movements while on the bike. While there is some upsides to an all-round weight plan you’ll get more bang for your buck on the most similar movements.

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