Putting down the weights -- When to transition out of off-season lifting
(Originally published in Velonews) by Kendra Wenzel

Starting weight training during the winter is easy. When November rolls around, the crummy weather practically begs you to seek your training fix in the gym. But while weight training can be an integral part of the yearly training plan, once the season kickoff approaches, it’s time to begin the transition to more riding-specific training.

Figuring out exactly how to time this transition can be challenging. Because regular weight training can have a significant impact on immediate performance, when you phase it out will depend upon where your racing goals fall on the calendar.

Most coaches and trainers agree that racers need three to six weeks away from consistent weight training before they can perform at their desired level in an “A” priority event. Following a weight-training program designed for cyclists can help you move to new levels in your racing, but the accompanying muscle fatigue and damage can be significant, and the body needs time to recover.

While the soreness from lifting can last less than a week, studies of muscle biopsies have shown that typical muscle damage from consistent, demanding weight training can last up to three weeks. Anyone who has lifted consistently and ridden in the same training period knows how heavy the legs can feel. You’ll likely have trouble keeping up when the pace of group rides goes near your anaerobic threshold because your legs and lungs need several weeks to adapt to the lactic overload of that intensity. Simply put, intense riding and weight training don’t mix well.

Lifting may also have you feeling as though your legs have no “snap,” the ability to make strong, swift jumps or spin efficiently at sprinting cadences. Although weight training can be made to mimic cycling’s range of motion, it is still not cycling; the speed of lifting is much slower than that of pedaling.

For example, lifting using a three-second count (1.5 seconds up, 1.5 seconds down) for each repetition produces 20 reps per minute. Most cyclists rarely pedal under 70 rpm. When you have spent the winter months training your legs at the rough equivalent of 20 rpm, they aren't trained specifically for 70 rpm or higher. There will be a transition period during which you re-adapt to the faster speed. This is mainly a neurological matter, and the conversion of strength from the weight room to the bike won't result in a great deal of lost strength.

TRAIN FOR RACING, NOT FOR TRAINING

When it comes to phasing out weight training, keep your eyes on the line. In other words, unless your goal is to win early-season races, focus your goals on the races that actually have finish lines, and don’t get wrapped up in dropping your weight training too early in order to “win” the February training rides.

You will feel lousy during your more intense rides or first races of the season if you are still lifting or have just discontinued lifting, especially when climbing. Don’t assume that the weight training you put in over the winter should have been traded for interval sessions the first time you falter in an early-season race. Your legs will come around soon enough. The snap you are accustomed to having in the summer months will come back within weeks with speed training and the accelerations in racing.

MAKING THE TRANSITION

While regional climates will affect season-kickoff dates, a typical road or mountain-bike cross-country racer who will begin racing in March and wants to come into good form around May will want to lift all the way into mid-March. Coming to form earlier or later simply means a shift in the date at which weight training ends. Up to that point, a transition period using big-gear work can help to transfer weight-room gains to the bike. Your coach or club mentors should be able to help you find the best way to make this transition with the terrain and training time you have available.

If your priority races don’t happen until later in the season, but you are committed to doing early races, you may consider lifting even further into the season to take advantage of strength gains closer to your peak events.

For trackies and downhill racers, whose performances are based more on explosive power and short periods of stamina, lifting may continue into the season and phase out closer to the three-week range of recovery. Many short-event specialists feel that the strength and power from lifting outweigh the drawbacks of potentially not overcoming muscle fatigue and reduced snap in time for competition.

Of course, athletes with the most experience will have figured out through trial and error exactly how many days it will take to feel their best on the bike after ending weight training.

Once you move away from regular lifting, you have the choice of going cold turkey from the weight room or continuing with a once-a-week maintenance session. If you recover quickly from weight-training sessions and enjoy your gym time, a maintenance session can be a rewarding way to keep up your strength throughout the season. Maintenance work in the weight room doesn’t have to be fatiguing to be beneficial. Particularly for women who don’t carry upper-body bulk, continuing to perform regular lifting exercises, such as bicep curls, bench presses, rows, and tricep extensions throughout the season can bolster upper-body strength for climbing and sprinting.

All riders should continue doing core strength work such as sit-ups and back extensions, with or without weight, throughout the season. Still, anyone who lifts regularly should take at least a month’s break from lifting entirely in conjunction with the regular end-of-the-season break. Your joints and tendons, as well as your brain, will benefit from a rest from the lifting routine.

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