My arms look like toothpicks....

As the racing season wound down I recently came to the realization that my upper body and core were getting progressively weaker with age. Jars were getting harder to open. My t-shirts were hanging off me like a strung out junkie. Last, but not least, my arms were beginning to look like one of the Schleck brothers.

My un-shaved arm:


Now that the winter season is upon us here in Michigan I decided it was a good time to pump it up. I set up my weight set and trainer and I'm determined to beat this diminishing girth by the time March rolls around.


There is plenty of great articles on cycling based weight training.
This is a good point:

Most coaches recommend a program of strength building (higher weights, fewer reps) in the winter and then a shift to lower weights (perhaps 50% max) and more reps (3 sets, 50% max.weight, 25 reps OR 2 sets, 25% max.weight, 50 reps) as the cycling season approaches to mimic the ways you use your muscles on the bike and to decrease the possibility of injuries.

Article HERE


Roger Marquis outlines a great weight plan:

Weight Training for Cyclists

These are some of the most helpful tips for weight training I've found over 25 years of riding and lifting. Also recommended are the Weider series of bodybuilding books for sound training guidelines (as long as you ignore Weider's nutritional advice).

Warm up for 10 to 20 minutes with an aerobic exercise. The Concept II rowing machine and Turnturi exer-cycles are good if you're stuck indoors, jogging and cycling are preferable otherwise. You'll still want to start lifting with relatively light weights.

Start with a light enough weight to warmup and add weight with each subsequent set. Take weights off for the last 2 to 3 sets as necessary. This is known as pyramiding.

Maintain strict form. Isolate specific muscles as much as possible. This means not swinging the weights up when curling, not using too heavy a weight, and lowering the weight slowly after each rep. Advanced bodybuilders can 'cheat' to advantage, runners, cyclists and other endurance athletes generally cannot.

Work your weakest muscle groups at the beginning of the workout.

Train opposing muscle groups on separate days i.e., biceps and hamstrings Monday, triceps and quads Tuesday...

Train abdominals, forearms and calves daily. Other muscle groups should be worked at most every other day.

Partials are good for break up a routine. Use higher weights over a portion of the normal range of motion: the top 1/4, middle half, or bottom third of a curl for example.

As with riding the payoffs from weight training parallel the time spent doing it. Try to (gradually) work up to 4 hours per week plus cycling or 8 hours per week otherwise.

Training partner(s) will really help you stay psyched.

Don't avoid certain exercises because you need to use a light weight. In fact the exercises requiring light weight (deep squats, deltoid flys, etc.) are also the most likely to show rapid improvement. Remember, endurance athletes have different objectives and requirements from bodybuilders.

Roger Marquis

Full article HERE


Good luck!