Weightlifting and Sufferfest Plans

Hi @Coach.Spencer.R what are your thoughts on the olympic weightlifting exercises for strength training for cyclists? Once Melbourne gets out of a lockdown I’ll be able to go back to my gym where the coach is a specialist in weightlifting (not crossfit). I still squat a lot and I don’t have any problems performing the snatch or clean and jerk. I started these because I wanted to focus on increasing power but I don’t really know if that is the best to improve cycling ability.

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Hey @PeterG,
I really admire those that have the athletic ability to engage in olympic lifting.
The main aspect I look at when integrating strength training and endurance training is recovery.
Are you able to adapt and absorb the training load and therefore make gains? How has oly lifting affected your cycling before the lockdown?
You can get a lot of opinions on combining olympic lifting and cycling. Having a coach for direct supervision and experience is a big advantage in programming and injury prevention. Here’s an article you can review along with other suggested scientific articles:

My opinion is, if you enjoy it, do it. If you’re not seeing the results you want, do something different. There is no one perfect system and everyone responds to a training stimulus differently. Keep us informed on how it works for you.

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Thanks for the reply. I sometimes get so wrapped up in trying to do what is best that I forget to do what I enjoy.

Having a coach directly supervising the exercises has been great for me. I would never have learnt how to snatch on my own.

I completely agree with the advice to only lift 2x per week. Despite knowing better through past experience, I had a go last year doing 3x per week and it just led to overtraining and burnout. I’ve since cut it back to only the basics and have found it is actually more beneficial to do less. It starts to get scary diving under a loaded bar when your quads are toast at the end of a training block.

One good thing to come out of this lockdown is I have a clear picture of the benefits of strength training. I haven’t been able to lift weights for 5 months and the differences I feel on the bike are now quite obvious. My glutes, quads and lower back get much more fatigued and sore especially on sessions like GOAT or Power Station and the reduced core strength has made high cadence efforts so much harder.

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A quick update: I am doing the modified 5x5 routine I posted earlier in this topic and I am having so much fun!

Thank you @Coach.Spencer.R for helping out and giving me some pointers.

So far my progression is going as planned. The weight for each exercise is still quite low and I can concentrate on proper technique. Each session I only increase between 1 and 2 Kg per exercise. I still get the feeling that at the end of october it will start getting interesting.

I am excited to figure out if I can manage to keep increasing the weight and still do all my planned cycling without the one hindering the other.

At the same time I am starting to think about a strategy in case I stall with adding more weight…

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Hey @Pierre,
That’s great news! There are always ways to modify/change routines to prevent going stale both on and off the bike. Cheers!

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Looks that I am like you, looking for general improvement, incorporate biking as primal but running and strength training also. Because there is not such a builtin plan currently (that I like to very much to have) what is your current plan? I am kind of in-between now and looking or to follow again some APR or Gran Fondo but it is not 100% what I really want.

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I’m doing the All Purpose Road, with strength and yoga, and couldn’t be happier at the moment.

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Quick update: I really enjoy the weightlifting part of my training. So much that I changed up my routine, again.

At the same time, I felt I got too hung up with my 4DP numbers and ran the danger of burning out. This mix up over the winter month will hopefully bring my maximum potential of joy back into training and at the same time prevent possible overtraining.

I „hacked“ a novice APRoad plan to accommodate three weightlifting sessions and I am back on the standard StrongLifts 5x5 routine. I dropped half of the cycling workouts on the weekend to lower the training load and moved a few advanced yoga and technique driven workouts around.

I think it looks good. I am starting this month with a heavy emphasis on strength and yoga. If this means dropping even more cycling workouts or lowering intensities - okay.

To go further in my cycling journey, I need to ride less, I think. At least for a while.

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Would you also be adding some training plans to this portion of the app using TRX straps? That would be AWESOME!

What is your weight? You are lifting a lot heavier than me. I’m around 155lbs.

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