Your on the correct path.
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Over the fall/winter...
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Quoted post said:Originally Posted by Chapeau! [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]  I would certainly suggest strength training to increase your power on the bike along with increasing your core strength. Building stability in the gym can translate to improvements later in the cycle when specific training becomes dominant. All said, weight-assisted training should be a supplement to your training, not the core of it, but there is some correlation, because of the force-velocity curve. Where training relative strength here; (positive power-to-weight ratio) as its more important than absolute strength for functional movement & in no way is developing hypertrophy (muscle mass) advised throughout any training program for a cyclist.
Anyway, you will be wanting to place most of your emphasis on strengthening your Posterior chain, mainly the (Glutes, Hamstrings, Hips, Legs, Erector spinae & (quads) aka the most powerful muscles used in Cycling, the muscles at the back of the body propelling you forwards. “A strong man is strong on the back of his body.†Emphasis should be placed on strengthening them particular muscle groups, but DON'T forget the core, inner/outer abs/obliques/hip flexors/lowerback, which generates a lot of power & delivers it to the extremities at a greater rate & efficiency. ALL human movement begins at the core of the body ie. the muscles in the core of the body all contract/generate power before the extremities (legs).  It's always easier to operate at a lower percentage of one's peak power the stronger you are. Your using comparatively lower percentage of your available strength to complete the SAME task and therefore have extra energy left over for all the other parts of the task.Â
A total body strength exercise at the gym would be a deadlift. Performing deadlifts will hit pretty much everything in your posterior chain. There are many variations to the DL, the best variation IMO is the [censored] Grip deadlift.
 Sumo Deadlift. Dominant back/posterior/quad exercise. Â
 Another exercise I rate very highly are weighted hip thrusts. Again, another posterior chain exercise which also puts emphasis on strengthening the core/abs also. You probably won't see many people performing these at your local gym, but this exercise activates the glutes greater than any other exercise on the planet (according to EMG data) Dispelling the Glute Myth including deadlifts, squats, olympic lifts etc.
All my lowerbody weight training comes before I go out & ride, usually in the morning, when I'm fresh. I lift year round, not too maintain but to increase my strength. This relates back to increasing power output on the bike, particularly on the flats. I perform lowerbody workouts 2-3x per week. Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday.
Maybe...
Conventional Deadlifts: (3-5 sets of 3-8 reps)
Weighted Hip Thrusts: (3-5 sets of 3-8 reps)
As the sets increase, so do my poundages on the bar. I conclude my deadlift workout with a few back-off (lower weight) sets working exclusively on explosiveness, pausing at the bottom then exploding up, usually with the conventional deadlift.
I 'usually' use 5 reps per set. A set of 8-12 reps, your form will usually deteriorate along with bar speed (important). So using this method takes care of both. Even if your form stays perfect your bar speed will most likely slow down. If only doing 4 reps at a time (per set) your bar speed will remain more constant.
I have recently done away with squatting, never been a fan of leg pressing & I'm concentrating mainly on hip thrusting & deadlifts as my main exercises this winter for my lowerbody. Having had a argument with fergs on how certain variations of the deadlift complement the conventional deadlift, I will also be adding theses variations into the mix: [censored] Grip, Sumo, Romanian, Sumo Stance Stiff Legged & the Halt deadlift.
Conventional Deadlift... (Lower back/Spinal erectors, Gluteus, Quadriceps)... Total body exercise...
Sumo Deadlift... (Quadriceps, Gluteus, Hamstrings, Hip adductors)... Decreased lumbar stress, total body exercise...
Romanian Deadlift... (Hamstrings, Spinal erectors)... Essential learning movement for Olympic lifts and variants...
[censored] Grip Deadlift... (Upper back, Spinal erectors)... Increased scapular stabilization...
Wide Stance Stiff Legged Deadlifts:Hip strength.
I'm doing away with lifting straps also, working more on grip & making my forearms look stronger.
Exercise & Muscle Directory; exrx.netDirectory.htmlOpen ↗
So yeah, don't make it too complicated. On one day, Pick 2 compound exercises (Multiple-joint exercises that involve the posterior chain) per session for the lowerbody, you choose the intensity and volume of your workout based on how you feel on any given day, shoot for 20-40 total reps of each exercise in a session, if you feel crappy, then maybe shooting for the minimum of 20 reps is fine. If you feel good, you might shoot for 35-40 total reps per exercise. 3-5 minutes recovery rest between sets to let the CNS recharge itself.
Why 20-40 reps? The answer to that is 20-40 reps @ 70-85% 1RM is the range that many athletes have found to work best for strength gains & avoids significant CNS stress and burnout (before my ride). I personally don't go any higher than 8 reps for any given strength exercise (usually 5 reps is my mainstay & not too failure).
The core exercises I highly regard; Planks (front, back & side planks), dumbbell side bends, hip thrusts, Standing Russian Twists, Numerous Push Up Variations etc. The core I believe should be worked isometrically; isometric exercises such as; (planks, supermans etc), & do away with dynamic movements such as (sit-ups, crunches etc).
So make sure your working the posterior chain, the core & slightly some upperbody work. Not all the sameday, but throughout the entire week. Listen to your body.
I ride after my lifting session (1-2 hours). This is due to the fact my rides are far more intense (on my CNS/Energy systems) than my weight sessions. I couldn't possibly perform weight work (to the standard of where I would want it) after coming back from an intense aerobic workout (30-70 miles).
You could also be setting yourself up for injury doing weights after cycling as the muscular system loses strength, particularly in the back, which is prone to damage. Anyone performing deadlifts/exercises involving the back, from putting 50 miles into there erector spinae/back (weakening all the time) is on the road to injury.
The days I'm not lifting I'm working mainly on my core strength/little bit of upperbody & relaxing. I'm riding around 4-5x per week depending on how I feel. Usually 1 day for recovery.
If you start lifting, don't start too heavy, adapt & it will become much easier. If your progressively increasing (staying dedicated) you should feel much better on the bike.
Remember, your gunning for relative strength (positive power-to-weight ratio) not hypertrophy (mass) & building up the road mileage come good weather & if your hardcore enough, throughout the winter too if you can get out onto the road.
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