How much weight do you need to be lifting?  Try checking the torque.

This is the time of the year when most riders are (or should be) gradually transitioning into some off the bike training, and although there still some (well, more than some) debate about it, one of the cross-training classics is weight lifting.  But how much weight should one lift?  Some argue that high weight/low reps is the way to go; others that low weight/high reps better mimics the demands of cycling.  Most coaches, however, recommend a progressive combination of these approaches (for example, the plans laid out in Joel Friel’s Training Bible books).

But what is often missing is a way to determine how much weight should be lifted that correlates with the actual demands of riding, rather than some percentage of the weight that can be lifted once (the one repetition max, usually abbreviated 1-rm).  If you have a power meter and some analysis software such as wko+, however, you can quite easily come up with an estimation using torque values.*

The formula is (roughly) Torque/(crank length (in cm)/2.54).   So for a rider with 175 mm cranks who puts out 1600 lb-in of torque, an equivalent weight would be ~232 lbs.  Now, no matter what your weight, that is no where near the massive weights I often see cyclists squat, certainly below the 1.8-2x body weight that I would shoot for when I transitioned from soccer to cycling — the thought being stronger legs = faster cycling. But what has become increasingly clear to me is that once you reach that max weight (or perhaps a few percentage points more) there is little to be gained by continuing to pile on the weights.  You’ll just never be producing that much torque — the rider cited above has a really strong sprint and regularly cracks out 5″ averages of ~1500 watts or ~19.5 w/kg, and even he is pushing a relatively low weight.

Once you’ve reached that max weight and can lift it comfortably for ~ 10 reps, it is time to focus on explosiveness, lifting that weight as quickly as you can safely do so or perhaps switch over and focus on plyometrics (see this link for a description of some possible exercises).  You may feel like something of a wimp with only a few plates on the bar, but in the end I think you’ll find  your time spent in the gym much more effective in reaching your main goal – going faster on the bike!

*Note that this is only an estimation as it leaves out the acceleration component of force; that is, you can estimate the force you’re putting out, but not whether you’re producing that force by either moving a heavy mass slowly or a lighter mass more quickly.  But as I suggest above, it is really the latter method that cyclists should be focusing on.

Technorati Tags

So what explains the disappointing day?  Well the most obvious (and probably sufficient) answer is that I lined up in the back row, and on a course as tight and twisty at the one at IX, with that starting position, unless you’re a real stud, you won’t be seeing the front. But because I try to treat each race as a learning experience, I cast around for a further explanation, and it occurred to me that I may not have been breathing as hard as I usually am because the course didn’t really contain enough straights for me to reach VO2max.  What it did have was constant sharp turns and short steep hills, the kind of course that puts a real strain on your neuromuscular power.  My body’s response bears this out — I may not have been panting as I am after a race or a hard interval, but my legs were tired, the kind of tired I associate with a hard sprint workout (or when I lifted more regularly, a hard session in the squat rack).

During my V02 block, I’ve essentially neglected neuromuscular power, beyond what’s required to get over the hills that abound here in Virginia.  This neglect is borne out by the numbers — my 5″ power over the past month is nearly 10% lower than my season peak.  Just to double check this decline, I did a few sprints today as part of my race prep routine and 5″ power was down even more, nearly 20% from my season peak in May.

Cyclocross requires quite a bit of neuromuscular power because of the constant slowing down and accelerating after dismounts and tight turns.  The course at IX was just a more extreme example of this principle and really emphasized the truism that the three most important words in training for cycling are specificity, specificity, and specificity.  So, while it’s probably too late for training I do now to have an impact on any but the last few cross races, I will certainly be including some nm workouts from now on, and if I decide to focus on cross again next season, I’ll be sure to make sure I start them earlier because Sunday’s experience confirmed once again that you need to maintain that “burstiness” that comes with a well-developed neuromuscular system to succeed at cross.

Oh, and being sure that you weasel your way to front on the start line…

Technorati Tags     training,cycling,cyclocross