To give you the edge you need to optimize your cycling!
Muscular preparation: trunk and stabilizers, leg strength, in the gym and on the field.
Your efficiency and power depend largely on your cardiovascular system, but also on the muscular strength applied in the right place at the right time.
The trunk acts as a stabilizer to avoid lumbar torsion caused by the push-pull movement on the pedal – a movement that cyclists repeat on average 85 to 90 times a minute.
What’s more, developing your strength will generate greater wattage, which means more speed on the flat and on climbs. In short, it’s worth it! ( Your physics teacher may have taught you: the work done by a motor can be expressed in kilojoules (kJ), and the power it develops in watts (W). It doesn’t matter whether the motor is mechanical, electric or… human!)
Exercise of the week
This week, I’d like to suggest a particularly rewarding exercise to do on the bike, which will stimulate your muscle fibers.
On a gradual gradient of 5-7%, pedal upwards at a cadence of around 40 RPM, always in a seated position on the bike. No dancing!
Of course, you should also do some work in the gym, giving priority to exercises that will challenge your gluteal muscles, quadriceps, hamstrings, and so on.
Likewise, don’t forget to prioritize sheathing, i.e. the core muscles of the trunk. To do this, work with a Swiss ball, a medicine ball, etc.
To prepare effective muscle-building routines, I suggest a good book focusing on strength development in cycling: Cycling Anatomy by Shannon Sovndal (Human Kinetics, 2009, available from Amazon.ca). You’ll soon see that after one or two strength training sessions a week, the results will be very satisfying.
Enjoy your training!
A lightning bolt from ACE
Gilles Lefebvre, Head Coach of the Académie Cyclisme de l’Estrie (NCCP Certification Level #4 #806547) offers our customers a complete road bike technical training program: physical and physiological training plan, pam (or other) test, lactate test, nutritional advice, bodybuilding program, private technical session, conference and clinic and training camp.
