The Elephant in the Room (for Masters Cyclists)

Summary

In this episode, the Cam Nicholls and Ryan Thomas discuss the critical role of strength training for cyclists, particularly for masters athletes. They emphasize the importance of incorporating gym workouts into cycling routines to improve performance, bone density, and overall health. The conversation highlights research showing significant benefits of strength training, including increased cycling thresholds and injury prevention. The hosts also address common misconceptions about gym memberships and provide practical advice for integrating strength training into daily life.

Takeaways

Strength training is essential for improving cycling performance.
Many cyclists neglect gym workouts, impacting their health.
Research shows a 14% increase in cycling threshold with strength training.
Cyclists are at risk of lower bone density compared to sedentary individuals.
Incorporating strength training can prevent injuries and improve durability.
You don't need a gym membership to benefit from strength training.
Simple bodyweight exercises can enhance bone health and strength.
Regular strength training can improve overall mobility and health as you age.
Even minimal strength training can lead to significant performance improvements.
It's important to start with a routine that fits your lifestyle.

 

Cycling and bone health:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20581701  https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7015-10-168  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3230645/  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37630821/

 

Research here suggests a 12% improvement in lactate threshold, a cycling training zone that is very commonly used while hill climbing.

Research here suggests a 5% improvement in cycling economy, which once again, is commonly the cause for people getting popped while climbing. In other words, they run out of legs.

Research here points to the ability to increase that 5 minute V02 Max power after prolonged periods of sub maximal cycling. In other words, you can still push big watts on fatigued legs.

RCA weight training package: https://roadcyclingacademy.com/weight-training-package/

Cam Nicholls (00:00.482)
Welcome back to the RCA podcast where today I'm joined by the RCA's head coach, Ryan Thomas. And Ryan, I've wanted a little bit of a rant here because we've gone on about this one a lot on the RCA YouTube channel quite a lot, our newsletter, even our podcast. We're starting to feed this in quite a fair bit. And it's to do with masters, writers, and going to the gym or...

It's just strength and conditioning. And I'll tell you why I wanted to rant about it little bit today is because I bumped into a channel supporter up here where I live in Noosa a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, he'd come off his bike, he'd fractured his elbow, had a little operation, got some time off the bike. And after I made sure he was okay and showed some empathy, I gently asked him if he was going to the gym, if he was doing any...

strength work and he said he hadn't been to the, this guy as well I should mention is probably in his mid to late 50s, and he said he hadn't been to gym in maybe 15, 20 years. while I can't confirm exactly that he would have avoided the fracture from going to the gym, there is some very compelling evidence and some science backed research which would suggest he probably might have avoided

the fracture and the break and extended time off the bike if he was going to the gym. And I just wanted to talk about that today. What are you finding with your members? know a lot of your members are kind of over the age of 45. Are they incorporating the gym into their training and how are they finding it? Because it's not just about bone density, which we'll talk about in a second, which is where I'm going with this. There is quite a significant gain you can get as well in terms of your.

you know, your cycling performance and your FTP.

Ryan Thomas (01:59.31)
Yeah, absolutely. The story you mentioned is also common. It's we talk to people and it's probably for new members who come to the RCA, it's probably 50-50, I would say. 50 % are doing gym regularly because they really enjoy the gym. 50 % were maybe have done it in the past and they've neglected it because they started riding and that's been their focus. So the 50 % that aren't doing it.

should be if they have the capacity. the capacity is a big thing from my perspective as a coach. I'm always looking at how much time available do you have? If there's time available, then absolutely you need to be doing the gym because the improvements and we talk as one percenters are a big thing, the gym isn't a one percenter. It's a it's a big portion of what you're doing. It's probably one of the biggest low hanging fruits that you can do if you're not doing it already to get an improvement in your cycling performance.

And I've even seen that recently with two or three members who I can think of on the top of my head who are in their late 40s, late 50s, who have started implementing more of a regular gym program with proper resistance training, proper weights. I've seen a big increase in threshold recently in the last 12 weeks. it's not a small improvement. It's a big improvement and everyone can feel it. It's massive.

Yeah, well we'll link to some research in the description. There's one paper in particular I'm thinking of that showed a group of cyclists that went to the gym and those that didn't under the same protocols and they were doing an FTP or a threshold test, a 20 minute test and at the end of the period the group that did or were going to the gym incorporating strength training sort of compared to the

the group that didn't saw a 14 % increase in their threshold, which is pretty significant. That's compelling. The other one that comes up a lot from a performance perspective is one that's probably a bit more difficult to measure, but it's durability. So the ability to deliver high bouts of power at three or four hours deep by going to the gym. you've got more muscular, you've got more reserves.

Cam Nicholls (04:23.486)
at a muscular skeletal level, obviously, it makes a lot of sense. But the one that's really alarming for masters athletes, and this actually go, and once again, I'll link to some research in the description, is that there's been some research done on elite riders who are riding pretty significant. And I know we're not elite riders, but this particular study was done on elite riders doing 15 to 20 hours per week that weren't doing gym, and a lot of them were developing osteopenia.

which is basically the pathway to osteoporosis versus a group that were going to the gym who didn't suffer from anything at all. And really what the research indicated was that cyclists compared to sedentary individuals are actually worse off from a bone density perspective, which is really surprising because you would think people that are

fit, healthy and active, so people that ride a bike would actually have good bone health compared to somebody that's sitting on the couch watching Netflix. But it turns out that cycling is just not a great activity for bone density from the very beginning of elite level riders, so late teens, early 20s, and obviously that becomes more severe as you get older, because we know everything deteriorates as you get older, unfortunately, and bone density is a big one.

You know, I think it's you know that research which I'll link to in the description and then anecdotal story recently It's just I feel like it's a bit of an elephant in the room for for cyclists. It's unfortunately it's just one of those areas which you know, it goes against what we're doing and ironically The probability of us hitting the deck harder than somebody who's jogging or somebody who's swimming. They're not going to hit the deck

you know, the risk factor is a lot more significant because you know, we're riding typically on bitumen and you know, falls can happen. So I think it's just a, it's a consideration that, you know, I wanted to put out there for all our listeners, people, particularly in the masters category. And I think, you know, you can get caught up in the world of, you know, okay, what do I need to do? Do I need a gym membership? I had that email recently from a subscriber.

Cam Nicholls (06:47.598)
You know, I can't afford a gym membership and I don't have time to go to the gym and as Aaron Turner, our strength and conditioning partner has mentioned many times in previous content, just move stuff around. Are you better off just moving stuff around than going to the gym and focusing on I've got to do three sets of, you know, eight repetitions with four minutes rest in between each and I've got to do deadlifts and I've got to do squats and I said to somebody recently,

go to your sports store, buy one kettlebell, and with that kettlebell, you'll be able to do squats, you'll be able to do lunges, you'll be able to do a deadlift with a kettlebell deadlift, I should say. You know, better do pull-ups so you can get some upper body in there, couple that with some push-ups and some ab work. You can actually create your own workout pretty easy. And that in itself,

you'll go a long way in, you maybe that's less performance orientated. I'm sure you'll get some performance benefit out of that, but it's going to go a long way in supporting, you know, your bone health as you age, as a master's cyclist. Anything to add to that?

And even not as a master's psych, I'm even thinking about it, I'm 30. I'm thinking about bone density and overall health. think the impact on overall health. there's other benefits aside from the bone density as well. I recently had an athlete who did a blood test and they had low testosterone levels. the best way to increase your testosterone is to do strength and conditioning because it promotes...

it promotes the anabolic muscle building and that you need testosterone to do that. So there's a lot of other benefits that's from a male perspective, it's obviously similar for a female as well, testosterone is still beneficial for a female. So both sides of that equation are really beneficial. the overall impact on strength and conditioning and just moving stuff around and even just moving your body around from a weight.

Ryan Thomas (09:03.852)
bearing perspective, we're actually, general health, the beneficial and bone density, we need to move more weight than you're carrying on your body. So if you had two kilos or five kilos or you do jumps instead of, don't even need weights. doing a jump squat, landing on that, you're putting more force through your bones than you are doing standing still. That's all you're trying to do. You're trying to put more pressure.

more force, more impact through your bones than you are in a stationary position. So you don't even need your kettlebell. Go and do some jump squats, do some pushups, do some pushup like claps, do so many little things and simple movements that you can do even without weights that are gonna support bone density and testosterone and general mobility and movement.

The common one that I get on get for riders all the time is I've got a sore back and sore back. that's one of the cause that's the cause like the that's the effect of maybe a weak core or weak glute. So it's all of these things that you may feel on the bike. I'm getting sore arms or I'm getting a sore neck or getting sore back on my knee. I would guarantee almost guarantee that all of it can be fixed with strength and conditioning.

and mobility and that's proven and almost everyone who you talk to about it and you start implementing it regularly, it's like, well, within a week or two, I'm not feeling that pain anymore. It's like, all of my muscles are working properly. All of those neuromuscular connections, I'm actually turning my core on or I'm turning my glute on before I ride and all of those muscles are working out equally as opposed to ones that you only work.

quite often, so if you're sitting at a desk all the time, you're always in the same position, you need to move in different ways to incorporate different muscle groups and I guarantee you that you'll just feel better on the bike, even without the performance improvement, you'll feel more stable, more comfortable, less pain generally on the bike if you're incorporating some sort of movement, strengthening, conditioning work two times a week.

Cam Nicholls (11:20.27)
Yeah, and there has been a lot of research done on just increasing core musculature and that improvement on climbing. A lot of people would improve their climbing. Just start doing some more sit ups. That'll help with your bone density, particularly around your lumbar spine and around the central. It'll also help with your climbing. And that's free. You can do that anywhere. So I guess the...

You know, the question that some people might have then all this, how do I incorporate it? How often do I need to do it? You know, according to the science, you want to be going to the gym, you know, twice a week to build strength. And then you can maintain that strength that you've developed in the gym for up to 13 weeks by doing a maintenance session once a week. That's according to the science. I know personally, I can maintain the same level of strength that I've developed over the years by just doing one maintenance session.

a week. That just works for me. And I think if you're looking to incorporate something, just start with something once a week. Work out a little routine that works for you, whether it's doing what Ryan says, just incorporating some free body weights, push-ups, squat jumps, things like that. Impact stuff. Set up a little routine, do it for half an hour, and just incorporate that once a week for four to eight weeks. And then just to note how you feel on the bike after that.

outside of the fact that you're going to be doing yourself a lot of value in terms of bone density longer term, heaven forbid if you have a fall. And start there and maybe you can progress for there. But that is all it takes.

Yeah, you don't need a gym membership. mean, a lot of people are like, I don't want to go to a gym or you don't like the atmosphere at a gym or it's too expensive. It's too hard to get to. You don't need a gym. It's very, it's a lot simpler than you think. And I think a lot of people will overcomplicate strength and conditioning. It's a lot simpler than you think.

Cam Nicholls (13:24.194)
Yep, exactly. So yeah, that's my rant over and done with. just, you know, I'm just trying to make sure that everyone's aware if you ride a bike and you're not going to the gym, you've got to be aware of bone density, particularly as you get older. And I know a lot of our members and a lot of our listeners are, you know, in that master's category. So it's something that needs to be front of mind, something you need to be considering and something that you should be doing.

And it will help with the muscle density as well. Like just having a better musculature as you age, everyone's going to benefit from that. Aside from the bone density, you're going to be able to sit up and out of a chair, sit down in a chair for maybe a couple extra years as you get into your 80s maybe. That's another extra added benefit that not a lot of us want to think about right now, but it is there.

Yeah, well, I mean just a quick anecdote I actually have been pushing my my father who's 76 to go to the gym for years and it took him to have some weird thing that was going on with his arms he was getting pins and needles and he couldn't figure out what it what it was this is probably three years ago and this is despite the fact I've been at him for years to go to the gym he doesn't ride a bike by the way he's just like it doesn't do anything I'm like that bone density bone density because it's you know, you know, it's

It deteriorates as you age no matter what and if you're a cyclist, you're going to be worse off unfortunately than sedentary individuals. The sedentary individuals are still not good. Anyway, he finally took the doctor's advice after I'd been banging on for years about it. Goes to the gym, gets rid of the tingling sensation in his arm. yeah, it's gone away now. A few months later, he's like, you know what? He's got a Mustang which is low to the ground. He goes, it's so much easier to get out of my car these days.

Even the small things like that, you know, it can help with.

Ryan Thomas (15:11.552)
Absolutely.

Cool. All right, well look, if you're listening to this and maybe you wanna go a little bit further or a little bit deeper on the strength and conditioning side and you do have a gym membership or you're willing to invest into a gym membership, we do have a program on our website. So you go to www.roadcyclingacademy.com. There's something there called the weight training package. It's got a beginner, intermediate and advanced downloadable programs all with video.

tutorials and each exercise has a video demonstration as well and you get lifetime access to this. It's put together by Aaron Turner, the strength and conditioning coach. So that's a resource there if you wanna have a look and we'll catch you in the next podcast.