As more and more cyclists head to the weightroom in search of strength training to "cure what ails them," we've actually had more folks doing a "cure that Ales them"...or simply drinking the Kool-Aid, but missing the forest for the trees.
Any singular movement is not going to get you the results you want or need.
Performing deadlifts and squats won't make your sprint or climbing all that much faster.
Holding endless planks and doing more core work alone won't help your back feel a whole lot better on those long efforts.
The returns and rewards are all in the details and how you perform the movement.
It's learning to put your body into positions that are extremely advantageous for the muscles and joints to work more effectively and efficiently that will get you the big rewards and returns that you're after.
This past week I shot a new video about how to improve box squats, as I had seen a numbr of folks really struggling to feel better, or even just feel pain free, from their box squats: back pain, hip pain, and even upper backs. All of these issues were fixable by making a simple (and surprisingly overlooked or ignored) change to the setup.
The results you are after will come by learning to focus on the things that matter:
Your setup
What you think when you perform the movement
Focusing on keeping the weight in a range that is appropriate for your technique abilities
"Leaving a little on the table" each session
Simple.
Easy to do.
Yet overlooked or flat-out ignored for bigger weights, more reps, or the feeling like you "did something" in the gym that day.
As we quoted in the group coaching strength training class last week, "Don't tell me what program you're doing now; show me how many days you missed over the last six months, and I'll tell you where you're headed."
Skip the glory, and go for the focus on the small things that matter instead. They ain't flashy, but the results sure are!