I’m looking at starting with Sufferfest, done plenty of trainer work previously with TrainerRoad and Zwift along with following plans from the Yoga 15 website for the past couple of years.
I’ve never bothered wirth strength training.
Are people feeling any benefits from the SF strength training plans?
It’s summer here in the UK (allegedly!) so I’m not going to be riding a huge amount on the trainer until the weather gets bad as I’d rather be outdoors. I’m thinking of starting the strength and yoga plans, I know the yoga is worthwhile but is the strength plan worthwhile too?
@Grm Yes the sessions can be beneficial. I have done most of the beginner and intermediate sessions and would characterize them as supplementing what a rider misses from being on a stationary bike (core, balance, etc.). There is some overlap with yoga in a few of the sessions. You are not going to see any heavy lifts in the program. I have used the sessions on their own and also as a warm up before doing some additional lifting - such as deadlifts, squats, cleans, push press.
One consideration is that they do take time so if you are just looking to limit things to an hour and do a bike workout and yoga things could be challenging. I am not currently doing strength but will incorporate it into my next plan.
Here is a thread that you might find useful on the topic of strength sessions:
Seriously, the combination of strength and yoga mean my backs not felt so good / aches and pain free for a couple of years, and I’ve eased bank into running without getting injuries. All for a few 15-20 mins sessions a week that fit around the family really easily.
As you say, a couple of 15-20 minute sessions a week are easy enough to fit in around everything else if needed. I followed the Yoga 15 plans for a while and managed a run of 240 days with a 15 minutes yoga sessioin each day, the benefits from that were huge. Hopefully I’ll notice similar improvements with the strength training over time
It is really only going to help in sprints. Even then, it doesn’t take much strength. The strength you build in the gym will mainly translate on the bike when you need to put down a lot of torque (like a standing start in a big gear). Because road bikes have gears, lots of torque isn’t required. Fitness planner
Yes, it’s good. With the new videos there is more mobility work that targets the tiny connector muscles. Having a strong core, upper body and connector muscles helps reduce fatigue - if they are strong the big muscles for cycling don’t have to do double duty!
Hey @way9e0. Thanks for your post. To answer your question all of the SYSTM strength sessions are made internally. They are designed to take you through a proper progression as well as integrate with cycling and multi-sport training plans. The SYSTM strength library is made up of Full Body and Focused Sessions. We suggest that you apply one of the strength plans based on your strength training experience and follow the progression in the plan, especially if you are following a cycling or multi-sport training plan. However, you can add individual strength workouts to highlight particular body areas, ie, core or upper body, if you need a bit more work or have some specific areas that you want to focus on.
As we continue to fortify the strength and movement library we will do so in the context of endurance sports. Meaning that we want to take into consideration the specific needs of cyclist, runners, swimmers and deliver sessions and plans that will integrate with concurrent training to maximize performance and minimize overtraining. I hope this helps. Cheers!
I’d like to try and figure out a training circuit balancing SYSTM along with a 3 day a week 3x5 power lifting circuit (Squats/Deadlifts 3 days a week, alternating bench press and shoulder press). Since starting SYSTM I’ve put leg strength training on hold, as I wasn’t sure how my body would handle 3-5 days a week of SYSTM with 3 days a week of squats and deadlifts. I’d like to get stronger on the bike but it’s not my primary goal. I value strength training more than my cycling training. If it’s recommended to only do one or the other or focus on one or the other during the “off season” I suppose I’d have to suspend my SYSTM membership for end of winter/early spring training. Does anyone else here prioritize strength training over cycling and if so what do you do?
I’m in a slightly different bucket. I’m not going for “endurance guy” or “muscle guy” so much as “keeping it together in middle age guy.” Consequently, I bike and run and lift (I’ve made peace with the fact that I find swimming dull as heck.). For lifting, I use an app called FitBod at least three days per week. It incorporates the equipment available at whichever gym I happen to be in at the moment to deliver a well-rounded workout targeting my most-rested muscle groups. SYSTM strength seems like it’d be great if I were primarily concerned with cycling strength, but I do like those vanity muscles.
@Coach.Jeff.H How do you and Wahoo think about the bone density needs of many of your members, particularly older men and post-menopausal women? Does the SYSTM strength training provide enough skeletal stress or does it need to be supplemented by something else? This seems particularly important for folks who can’t (or don’t like to) run.
Great question. The bone density issue is somewhat personal, but yes, the SYSTM Strength sessions can provide enough stress to your body to maintain and increase connective tissue strength and bone density in most areas of your body. But as you hint this may not be enough for some individuals, especially in terms of vertebral areas. It is very difficult to load the spine vertically with body weight exercises and therefore not as likely to provide enough stress to the spine to increase bone density. So, the simple answer is that if you have the option to add external loads it is a good idea to do so. Holding weights in your hands as you squat or lunge will distribute the load throughout your skeleton. Nevertheless, you do get ample stress through the connective tissue with multi-directional body weight exercise to increase tensile strength in tendons which pull on bone and stimulate growth. With this said, if you have never lifted weights or have been away from it for a while I highly recommend starting with these workouts for at least 6 weeks in order to give your body time to respond to new stimulus and get it primed for higher loads. It is particularly important to focus on the speed of contraction. Emphasizing the eccentric (lengthening) phase is key and will give your body most of the stress that it needs to compliment the concentric only movements of cycling.
I also recommend that you give a look at the Dynamic Focus and Lower Body series as these have a hopping/skipping/jumping progression that are not included in the Full Body Series. These will moves increase ground reaction forces and create a greater stimulus to improve bone density and connective tissue strength.
@Coach.Jeff.H Super helpful. Thank you. I’ve been lifting weights on and off for years but the lockdowns set me back. As I get older, it seems like going back to some weights will be useful for bone health. So I will—along with all the other stuff.
