Of course it’s possible. It just might not be optimal.
thanks. I dont do intensive workouts on strength days. So only endurance Z2/Z3 and maybe some sweetspot, but not for sure.
Then I think the answer to your question will be: it’s optimal to do the strength workouts in the evenings but if you want to switch them around then the difference will be almost negligible so go for it.
I.e…if strength in the morning and Z2/3 or sweetspot in the evening works for you then do that. I doubt you’ll be missing out on significant performance gains from doing it that way around.
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I’ll admit to being amused with this cohort’s obsession with optimizing training to the nth degree.
Whatever training schedule you can do consistently, for years, will be the optimal one.
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Yes i dont have the possibility to ride in the morning, so a strength workout for 45-60min will be the best for me.
@TriSherpa hehe i’ll get your point. i know sometimes iam obsessed for optimizing details, while i drop other important stitches. 
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Didn’t Amber say on the podcast that too many are so focused on the marginal gains on the bike that they miss the big gains from proper training? I’m getting the same vibe on pretty much every thread here that discusses strength training. Too much focus on worrying about interference and inhibition; which only seem to apply to highly trained people and/or under pretty extreme training conditions, see the Hickson article that is so often cited.
According to the experts, endurance training first, with 3-6 hours rest before strength training is optimal due to signalling issues with concurrent training. That said, pro racer Kate Courtney does strength training before endurance training … in the TR podcast with her, she mentioned it simply works better for her. She’s obviously been VERY successful on the bike, so all of these “concurrent training” studies may not be as black & white as it appears?
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Thanks for sharing.
I think i will get 9 hours rest between strength training in the morning and cycling in the evening. So i said i will do only Z1/Z2/SST on days with Strength.
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It’s not just that. I’m coming at this late in life and trust me there are other issues trying to lift and do intervals on the same day. Still experimenting over here, just trying to get it done without impacting key workouts.
I think that strength and intensive workout in one day never is a good idea? In my opinion is a strength workout a intensive interval, so why 2 times a day? When you do 2-3x a week strength, you dont have to do much intensity on the bike.
Except for early in the off-season, I wouldn’t do 3x a week strength. The exception: during hypertrophy I did 4x a week for a couple/three weeks. Here in base I’ve settled on Tuesday and Thursday strength and cycling. The cycling on both days is endurance + “stuff” which has generally worked well. However I’m pushing new boundaries on the strength side, although here in base its generally 60-70% 1RM and not too hard.
With respect to results, all I can say is that a) I’m “zipped up” more than ever on the bike and no wasted energy anywhere in any situation (improved economy), b) its easier to put down hard (over FTP) efforts, and c) core stability is higher than at anytime I can remember in the last 20+ years. Haven’t done any long threshold work, its too early in the season for that. This morning on the bike at 6am I was very happy doing some “stuff”, and tonight I’ve got a hard session in the gym.
YMMV.
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Question for the hive mind with much more experience than me: Is it better to do a HV plan with two strength training sessions a weak but the strength training sessions are squeezed in and basically just maintenance, or to do a MV plan with much more plan & structure to the strength training? I’m not sure if this matters, but one of my A “events” is coming up in late December, so I won’t be going into base training until after that.
And just to clarify, by “better” I’m mostly curious on how you would decide between the two options, not some sort of platonic ideal “better.”
Depending on how long that base phase is starting after your event I would lean more toward the HV plan and minimal/maintenance strength leading into your event and then raise the volume of strength after the event.
Just because you generally want to get more specific as you get closer to your event and unless that event is DH MTB or something like track sprinting then I wouldn’t consider increasing strength to be event specific.
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I would agree here. Strength seems to be a good addition during base phase but any where near the event I’d expect training intensity in build and specialty to be plenty without the gym.
My plan is to consider once a week strength during parts of my base but it will simply be 30 mins in and out as a way of maintenance
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Option 3 - Best would be to do a 10 week or so strength program in the off season where it takes precedence (you can still ride though) then shift to maintenance.
Everybody has 10-12 weeks a year where you don’t need to hammer on the bike. Make use of it.
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Nice. That’s pretty well in line with what I was thinking. My events are just really long gravel rides that I do solo, kind of randonneur style, so definitely no need like there is in DH events or anything.
Not sure how the rest of you respond, but I just did the first day of hypertrophy on Tuesday and I’m absolutely whacked today yet still. I was supposed to do my second day of strength today, but I have to push it out till tomorrow–it’s incredibly taxing. I’m not sure how anyone could follow a Mid Vol plan and still get quality strength work in.
Right now Tempo feels like high Sweet Spot. I’m cool with letting my cycling fitness take a back seat for 8-10 weeks while I prioritize my strength work.
you might be surprised what is possible after doing 3 months of that plan… Maintenance is a lot easier at 50-70% 1RM.
There is no way I could do a TR mid-volume plan during resistance training. During the 10-week plan I got thru the lifting sessions just fine, well with one minor setback (lower back strain) so it became a 12-week plan, but did dial back some of the zone2 cycling. Also was doing “easier” lifts with kettlebells and dumbbells instead of barbell lifts. So there’s that.
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Thanks @bbarrera for this eyeopener… This morning i start a Zwift session at 6:45am. After 15min with closed eyes waking up, i enjoyed the session really much. Maybe i’ll become a morning person someday
My body is still very much adjusting to moving weight. But, I believe there will be a time when I can do both (lifting and riding) and feel good.
I did an outdoor road ride yesterday for the first time in a month (really bad weather lately) and was still pretty waxed from the strength session I did two days prior. Goal was to do 90 min @ Tempo. Did it and was just as fast as I had been all season, despite being sore and gassed from lifting.
I even set unintended PRs. RPE was a good 1-2 points higher than it would have been mid-season, but it was a nice surprise given I’ve reduced my weekly time by 50% in the last 4 weeks and haven’t done any intensity in at least 6 weeks.
I’m kicking myself for not getting on the strength wagon sooner.