Strength Training for Cyclists Calculator

Should there be another higher category for mountain bikers since we have to throw around bikes, charge up short, steeper hills etc? Richie rude deadlifts 405 on the regular and his muscle isn’t slowing him down.

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I disagree with the statement that you have an imbalance because your single-leg strength isn’t half the double-leg strength. When you do single-leg squats/deadlifts/etc, you have to engage a lot more core to stay balanced and upright, and this takes away from your ability to lift weight. Single-leg is really good work and very important, but the expectation of being able to do half the weight of the same double-legged exercise, especially if you’re maxing out your lifting ability, is unrealistic.

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Agree to disagree.

Sounds good. I’ve edited my post to add that this is particularly true if you’re maxing your lifting weight. If you’re not maxing out, then yes, you’re more likely to be able to do half.

Thanks. I couldn’t find anything concrete, but its the same for bench press, curls, etc. Its never a 50% split.

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Besides the whole tangent on I’mbalances and single sided exercises. Leg press is simply just an accessory lift which is why I feel they didn’t include it. Major compound lifts are a better benchmark for overall strength.

One rep max in your at home pain cave/gym. What could go wrong? :grimacing:

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Came to joke exactly about this lol.

Solidly into and over the sprinter category for my weight, but by no means a true sprinter.

XC MTBer would be different than enduro/DH. I would think enduro and DH would be higher than this scale.

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This is super cool. Chin ups is a fail for me. 15 reps :rofl:
Deadlifts however… 135 3 x sets of 5.

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Single Leg Presses are a core workout for track sprinters. Its far from an ‘accessory lift’.

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Why no Off-Road love? This chart is lacking an XC MTB and Enduro MTB column. (I can hit the sprinter numbers no problem but would put myself as barely average among the better Enduro guys I’ve raced)

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Not sure why chin-ups and pull-ups are grouped together as if they’re the same thing. They are not. A pull-up I would think would be more relevant to cyclists than a chin-up.

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There are far better ways you can be working core than leg presses . Leg press is a squat accessory.

Agreed. Chin ups are more arm involved.

I agree. I think even xc riders could benefit from more than any of the numbers on this chart.

A Pull-Up Story: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-the-pull-up.html

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Ok, so while this is pretty cool and can offer some folks some insights into how they might incorporate some strength training into their cycling regiment, some caution should be added as well. What is being prescribed here is very much in the vein of power lifting.

Whenever you’re doing low reps at higher weight it’s all about building power. Deadlifts for instance are virtually all about building power in the glutes. However, you can’t just start strength training with power lifting. That’s asking for trouble…especially with deadlifts. Instead, it’s recommended that you use some periodization and build your way up to a power-based routine.

In my case, I start off with a stabilization routine with higher rep exercises (20 reps per exercise) for about 8 weeks. That helps get my body used to doing weight lifting in a safe way. From there, I move on into a strength building routine with lower reps (12 reps per exercise) to help prepare me for the power-based stuff. That’s another 8 weeks as well. After that, then and only then do I start a power-based routine, focusing on reps of 5 to 6 per exercise.

The point is that by no means should you think that this sort of routine is the only thing you do. You have to work up to something like this. Otherwise, your risk of injury goes way up.

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It says right on the page this is not a recomended plan or routine. These are simple benchmark numbers where you can stop building and simply maintain.

:man_facepalming: