How Triathletes Can Build Cycling Power On and Off the Bike

As we are now deep into the triathlon off-season with frigid temperatures, this is a perfect opportunity for triathletes to become stronger on the bike. You see, while outdoor miles are extremely valuable, we can be more well-rounded, balanced athletes, and even stronger on the bike with strategic strength training. 

In this article, we will dive into some of the strength training you can do in the gym like your classic squats and deadlifts, as well as your on-the-bike sessions that you can do on the trainer, such as simulating hill climbs and max effort intervals. 

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned triathlete who hasn’t included much strength work into your training cycles, integrating some of the following exercises, workouts, and drills, will help you become more robust and efficient.

Endurance Athlete’s Approach to Strength Training

Before we delve into the intricacies of strength workouts, we need to address the elephant in the room. 

Will strength training pack on muscle mass? Endurance athletes often worry that this increase in strength training will increase muscle mass and potentially affect their watts per kilogram ratio. 

With strategic and periodized strength training, gaining muscle mass is slim to none for an endurance athlete who’s training over 6 hours per week. The key lies in tailored exercises focused on building functional strength targeting muscle groups used in cycling which we will discuss later. 

Another elephant I recently heard is, why do I need to strength train, which is mostly anaerobic when what I do is mostly all aerobic training? 

I see this is a valid concern, and in fact, since we do so much aerobic training, we don’t need to spend a lot of time lifting light weights and high reps (there’s a time and place though – as it’s a building block to lifting heavier). 

The weight training we generally should do is heavy and short reps. This is mainly done when you are lifting about 85-95% of your 1 rep max for 5-6 reps or less. This is very anaerobic, but we are looking to mainly increase the myofibril strength of the muscle groups lifting. This, in turn, will improve your efficiency across all distances, so in other words, you could use less oxygen for the same amount of watts.

So, let’s get on with understanding that our aim is not to pack on muscle mass but to increase our myofibril strength and unlock the potential for more powerful and efficient riding. I believe strength training is crucial for triathletes to build power and improve efficiency during, not just during the off-season but year-round. 

5 Off-The-Bike Lifts to Boost Cycling Power

Here are 5 key lifts you can use in the gym to improve your cycling power and efficiency. 

Squats

Squats target the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and the lower back. In addition, it’s also a great core exercise as you should also brace your core as you’re squatting. Stand approximately slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, lower your body by bending your knees and pressing your glutes down and back, then press back up by pressing your feet hard into the floor. 

These muscles are essential for generating power during the pedal stroke, especially during the downward phase of the pedal stroke. There are a variety of ways you can do squats without a barbell as well, including goblet squats and you can also incorporate Bulgarian split squats, which are single-leg.

Deadlifts

Deadlifts target your hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and core. Stand with feet hip-width apart, bend at your hips to lower your torso, keeping your back straight, and then lift back up. This is a particularly good lift to strengthen your lower and mid back when you’ve been in your time trial position for a while or down in the drops on a road bike. 

Deadlifts work on the posterior chain, including the hamstrings, glutes, and lower to mid back. Strengthening these muscles aids in maintaining proper posture and stability while cycling. A strong back is vital for overall cycling efficiency. 

Lunges

In my opinion, lunges may be the most specific strength exercise we can do to improve power and efficiency on the bike. Lunges target the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. 

You simply step forward with one leg until both are bent near 90 degrees, then press back up. While this is a single-leg exercise, it can activate more core and stability muscles contributing to better balance on the bike. In addition, it’s great for your running too. 

Leg Press

The leg press is a compound movement that targets the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Sit on a leg press machine and press the platform away from you by extending your knees then slowly lower yourself back down to bent knees. 

This machine is an excellent way to build strength in these muscle groups to help improve your power and efficiency. 

Heel Raises

Heel raises are an isolated movement that only targets the gastrocnemius muscle, also called the calf muscle. Stand on a solid flat surface and as an added option, you can let your heel hang off an edge. Lift your heels by pressing through the ball of your foot then slowly return. 

Starting out, you can do these with both legs at the same time and then progress to single leg. This exercise is important in cycling for ankle stability throughout the pedal stroke. Having strong calves contributes to efficient power transfer from the legs to the pedals. 

Additionally, you should consult with a strength and conditioning coach who has experience working with endurance athletes or your triathlon coach who has experience in strength training as you will want to periodize your strength similar to the way you periodize our cycling and triathlon training.

5 On-The-Bike Drills to Cultivate Cycling Strength 

I’m not one for saying you should trade in your bike sessions for strength training sessions. I am far from it but managing two to three mini-strength sessions per week will go a long way. 

On-the-bike strength workouts for cyclists and triathletes focus on building muscular endurance, power, and efficiency specific to cycling. Here are some on-the-bike strength sessions, drills, and exercises you can incorporate into your training. 

Hill Climb Repeats

Many races contain hills and therefore you must include hill climbing into your training to be race-ready. Hill climbing improves your muscular endurance, strength, and helps increase your power. 

You will also become faster on the flat roads. You can do multiple hill repetitions where you go up and down and include hills in your everyday cycling routes. If you don’t have access to long enough hills in your area then I suggest incorporating big gear workouts. 

Big Gear Workouts

These are similar to hill climbing that can be done indoors or outdoors but are usually done indoors to simulate hill climbing. To do these you ride in a harder gear than normal pushing a much lower cadence, typically 50-70 rpm. 

Focus on keeping a smooth, continuous, and controlled pedal stroke. You can typically work these between Zone 3 to Zone 5. An example would be an introductory 5 x 3 min at 50-70 rpm in power zone 3. 

Seated & Standing Climbs

In addition to our hill climbing reps and big gear workouts, you can also combine those with seated and standing climbs. As you can imagine, standing climbs are going to come at a greater cost of oxygen utilization than seated climbs because you are using more of your leg muscles and upper body. However, you can also get over the hill faster and produce more power with it. 

Sprints

Sprints on the bike develop explosive power. Occasionally you should incorporate short and explosive sprints in your workouts as they help develop explosive power when accelerating or coming out of a turn. 

An example would be 8 x 10 seconds as maximum effort with a 3-minute recovery between each. These can be combined into other sessions as well. 

Single Leg Pedaling

Last but not least is single-leg pedaling. While not technically known to be a strength workout it is more difficult to pedal with one leg, especially for newbies or riders that have less than efficient pedaling technique. 

Single-leg pedaling can be used as a way to improve your pedaling efficiency as it forces each leg to work independently of the other by addressing the dead spots in your pedaling stroke. Simply unclip the unused foot and let your leg hang or rest. 

An example would be 10 x 30 seconds, alternating each leg with 30 seconds between each with both legs focusing on stroke. In addition, these can be combined with other bike workouts. 

Bottom Line

Winter weather during the off-season is a perfect time to focus on your strength training. By integrating strength exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges, leg presses, and heel raises, athletes can improve their strength in key muscle groups to boost their watts per kilogram ratios. 

While strength training should not overshadow many of your bike sessions, integrating two to three focused strength sessions weekly that are less than 30 minutes long can yield significant dividends in performance gains by improving your power and efficiency. I recommend that athletes adopt a balanced approach to strength training on and off the bike.