How to get more results on the bike from strength training

If you've been following a strength training routine this winter, you should be feeling it by now.

Your on-bike fitness is rising.

Rides that felt heavy a few weeks ago are starting to feel smoother. You're settling into efforts more easily. Power is coming on with less mental friction. That's not accidental; it's the result of the work you've put in over the winter.

Now that many of us are moving further into the base period, ideally you've shifted into more specific strength training.

This is where a lot of riders make a mistake.

So read this carefully.

From this point forward, the goal of strength training is not to see how much weight you can move. It's not to chase PRs. It's not to feel destroyed when you leave the gym.

Your job right now is to train how you want to ride.

That means quality first. Every rep. Every set.

Yes, the effort should still feel medium hard. You should feel engaged. You should feel like you're working. If everything feels easy, you're undercooking it.

But the moment heavier weight causes you to rush reps, lose position, shift load into the wrong muscles, or "muscle through" the movement, the exercise stops doing its job.

At this phase of training, that's a problem.

Specific strength training exists for one reason: To make the force you already have more usable on the bike.

That only happens when movement quality is non-negotiable.

Your Pre-Workout Checklist (Read This Before You Start)

Before every strength session, I want you to run through the following:

• Today is about execution, not ego. You are not here to prove how strong you are. You are here to reinforce movement patterns that carry over to the bike.

• Can you control every rep? If you can't slow the rep down and stay in control, the load is too heavy for today's goal.

• Can you own the positions? Stable feet. Quiet hips. Strong trunk. If your form degrades as the set goes on, the set is over.

• Does rep one look like rep six? If the quality drops, stop. Sloppy reps teach sloppy movement.

• Are you working at medium hard effort (not all out)? You should finish the set feeling worked, not wrecked. There should be something left in the tank.

If you can't confidently answer yes to all four questions above, adjust the load before you start.

Some days, when you're holding more fatigue or perhaps life is just getting at you, you will need to lower the weight (sometimes by as much as 20%!) in order to get what you need from your strength work.

Good. Leave the ego at the door and reap the benefits of showing up and doing the right work.

What to Focus on During Each Lift

First: Control the rep.

If you don't control the eccentric, you don't own the movement. Feel where the load is going. Are you able to stay connected to your hands and feet and keep your trunk stiff enough?

Second: Own the positions.

Joint stacking, posture, and stability matter more than load. If your spine or hips start compensating, you've crossed the line.

Third: Be intentional with every rep.

This isn't filler work. Every rep is practice for how you want to apply force on the bike.

Heavy weights build gym strength.

Clean, controlled, repeatable reps build transferable strength.

At this stage of winter base training, your aerobic engine is already improving. The strength work is here to reduce energy leaks to help you apply force with less waste. That's how we ride stronger without feeling like we're working harder.

That's also why, when this phase clicks, riders often tell me their gains feel almost unfair.

Not because they're lifting heavier, but because pedaling starts to feel more efficient.

So here's your directive moving forward. Choose loads that allow you to:

• maintain full control

• hit the same positions and feel every rep

• finish the set feeling worked, not crushed

If you're deciding between "a little heavier" and "a little cleaner," choose cleaner.

Every time.

You're not losing fitness by doing this. You're sharpening it.

Execute well here, and this phase pays dividends on the bike.

If you want a personal program built for your specific needs, availability, and desired outcome, we're here to help.

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