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| Image courtesy of 123rf.com |
Volleyball training can - and often does – include some
physical work on the Exercise bikes. Some interesting reading about the
benefits of weights and cycling – in cyclists but still interesting.
The research done to date on the effects of weight training
on cyclists has brought mixed results. The study done by Ben Hurley at the
University of Maryland had 10 healthy men take up strength training (bench
presses, hip flexions, knee extensions, knee flexions, press-ups, leg presses,
lat pulldowns, arm curls, parallel squats, and bent-knee sit-ups) for 12 weeks,
while eight other healthy men served as controls. After 12 weeks, the strength-trained
men improved their endurance while cycling at an intensity of 75 per cent
V02max by 33 per cent and also lifted lactate threshold (the single best
predictor of endurance performance) by 12 per cent.
However, these men were untrained prior to the study and did
not carry out regular cycling workouts during the research, so the
applicability of these findings to serious athletes is questionable
The study carried out by R. C. Hickson and his colleagues at
the University of Illinois at Chicago was considerably more practical. In that
investigation, eight experienced cyclists added three days per week of strength
training to their regular endurance routines over a 10-week period. The
strength training was incredibly simple, focusing on parallel squats (five sets
of five reps per workout), knee extensions (three sets of five reps), knee
flexions (3 x 5), and toe raises (3 x 25), all with fairly heavy resistance.
The only progression utilized in the program involved the amount of resistance,
which increased steadily as strength improved.
Nonetheless, the strength training had a profoundly positive
impact on cycling performance. After 10 weeks, the cyclists improved their
'short-term endurance' (their ability to continue working at a very high
intensity) by about 11 per cent, and they also expanded the amount of time they
could pedal at an intensity of 80% V02max from 71 to 85 minutes, about a 20-per
cent upgrade.
On the negative side, we have research, carried out by James
Home and his colleagues at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, seven
endurance cyclists who averaged about 200 kilometers of cycling per week
incorporated three strength training sessions into their normal routine. The
strength program was relatively unsophisticated, consisting of three sets of up
to eight repetitions of hamstring curls, leg presses, and quadriceps extensions
using fairly heavy resistance.
After six weeks, the strength training had produced rather
impressive gains in strength (the gains averaged a bit more than 20 per cent).
However, actual cycling performances were not improved; in fact, they were
worse than before the strength training was undertaken! 40-K race times slowed
from 59 to 62 minutes, and the strength-trained cyclists complained of feeling
'heavy' and tired during their workouts.
Why did Hickson's study uncover clear advantages associated
with strength training for cyclists, while Home's work revealed the reverse?
No one knows for certain, which means it's time for a
personal observation. It seems quite likely that the strength training carried
out by Hickson's charges improved fatigue resistance in their muscles,
permitting them to persist longer both during high-intensity tests of endurance
and prolonged efforts at a submaximal (80% V02max) intensity. Meanwhile, it's
likely that Home's added strength training sent his athletes into the
overtrained - or at least 'stale' - state. The feelings of fatigue which
originated shortly after the beginning of strength training suggest that the
athletes were simply doing too much work.
Home's cyclists were averaging 124 miles of weekly riding
when they started their strength training, while Hickson's athletes were
logging considerably fewer miles, so one might be tempted to suggest that
strength training can produce major benefits for low-mileage cyclists but does
much less for experienced, higher mileage competitors who have already built up
considerable strength merely by riding. That certainly wouldn't be an
unreasonable thought, but it doesn't explain why strength training per se would
actually slow down endurance performances, as it seemed to do for Home's
performers (no other study has shown this). It seems very likely that Home's
added strength training was simply the straw that broke the camel's back; it
wasn't the strength training which slowed the cyclists but the total amount of
work they had to complete.
Another issue that was not kept controlled in the studies
was nutrition and supplementation which also would have a major impact.
One thing is for certain. As a means of supplemental training, cross training or off season training cycling can't be bad thing for all athletes -- unless the workload exceeds the athlete's overall threshhold for recovery.
