Hey, I started to include weight training into my workouts and found my aches and pains have gone - great. The problem is now I’m too fatigued to complete my TR plans as my fatigue often doesn’t subside until 3-4 days after. I can happily do a base ride or run post gym but if I go near an interval I am lucky to make 20min before the legs feel like they are at the end of an FTP test.
Is there anyway you can plan TR around weight training?
Have you tried doing your interval rides in the morning and your strength training in the evening of the same day?
That way you make your hard days harder, and keep your easy days easier. And you’re freshest for your most important cycling workouts.
Periodisation. You can’t do it all. I’m in the gym 2x week at the moment, but it’s off season so I’m riding all zone 2 and getting my intensity from the weights. In the new year I will cut to once/week and introduce o/u, threshold and VO2 work ready for the UK TT season starting in April. Will hopefully keep a short session in during the summer for maintenance.
I’m trying to figure this out, too. I am currently on a polarized plan, but my thought process lately has been to prioritize the strength training during this off-season time of year, almost completely ditch the hard intervals and follow more of a traditional base approach. I can always add in an interval session if I feel like it with TrainNow. I do have the time on weekends for long base rides, though.
Also, my time during week days is very constrained, so two workouts (cycling + strength) the same day is just too stressful to manage.
You shouldn’t be super sore after a gym workout for that long, unless you’re new to it, starting a new strength phase or haven’t lifted in a while.
That’s my opinion, effective strength workouts shouldn’t give you muscle soreness for 3-4 days unless what I mentioned. Again only my opinion, if you’re that sore do less sets and lower the weight a little bit.
I phase my strength workouts and wrote my own plan that goes along with TrainerRoad plans. I’ve been lifting consistently for the past 10 years 1-3 days a week. What I realize now is form matters more than weight.
Doubling days definitely helps if you can do it and I usually do my bike workout before strength.
This is exactly what I am training for, the UK TT season. I had to take 6 months off from an operation so now building my form back up but it looks like I am too eager to do it all. My plan was to do the one weight session a week, follow TR and go from there but obviously the TR plan doesn’t know I’m doing the weight sessions so your advice is golden. I’ll keep the weights in there with a goal to increasing it to twice a week and switch to a base training plan to keep the intensity on the bike low and smash out the Zone 2 over winter as I know I can do that.
Hey thanks everyone for your feedback and help, really appreciated and definitely helped 
I think the first step is to define you priority. I did the mistakes 2 years ago of doing both bike and weight hard, and it was horrible to recover from.
Having lift a lot during my youth, I had the habit of doing plenty of sets and lifting close to failure. What I learned last year is that you should limit the number of sets and exercises if you want to do well on the bike. When doing set, always keep some in the tank e.g. doing set of 4 with the 6 RM weight. You’ll see limited impact on your weight lifting progression, but it will help massively on the bike.
Weight lifting is very benefecial to help improve muscle recrutment and coordination. However, it would transform your muscle toward more fast twich fibers. Again it depends on your goal and weakness.
If you want to maximize muscle gain you should not do cardio for up to 18 hours after lifting to maximize adaptation. If you do intensity on the bike it should be done at least 3h hours before. Zone 2 can be done right before.
If you want to maximize your bike and are doing weight lifting for the muscle recruitment and effiency, the strategy would be to do 1- 2h zone 2 right after. This will stop the signaling for muscle growth, but you will still benefit from the weight session.
Again it depends on your goals. I agree with comments above about periodising. Personnaly, I tried the hard day with intensity on the bike at lunch time and gym in the evening, and I had hard time recovering. So my number one advice is to always keep a margin on any set and limit the number of sets.
Have fun!
As others mentioned recovery from weight sessions can be tough. I pair them with high intensity days on the bike. You’re pre-fatigued, already warmed up and it gives more time for recovery between hard sessions.
The key is to keep sets and reps low (For example 3 sets and 6 reps) and use strength training as a means to maintain muscle balance, strength and coordination. If you’re training like a power lifter or body builder you’ll likely build up too much CNS fatigue.
Hi Phil, many thanks for your advice. I too lifted a lot in my youth, I did it for fun, got strong and could squat 210kg 6 reps so as you can imagine going to the gym decades later and discovering 80kg squat is near impossible my ego took a hit and I was back to my “eye of the tiger” approach to lifting, HIT style and to failure. I was just lifting on Mondays but as the sessions were so intense, backed up with a 6 sessions on the bike, my recovery was terrible. I’m definitely going to take your advice on board, I just want to lift as I have noticed with age my body is weak and just a few sessions in the gym I have felt more powerful and found aches and pains subside. So the lifting is just purely to help with riding (TT racer/mtb rider) and age associated atrophy.