How to build cycling strength with a big-gear workout

Big-gear work should be an off-season staple for all triathletes, especially if you come from a running or swimming background and find that your strength on the bike is a limiter.

Specificity – meaning that if you want to improve a particular activity you need to spend more training time doing it – is one of the golden rules of conditioning.

Although there’s no doubt that there are proven performance, injury prevention and health benefits to strength work in the gym, for cycling-specific strengthening, a dose of big gear/low cadence grinding is hard to beat.

It forces you to engage all of your key cycling muscle groups to keep your pedals turning, it necessitates a balanced, all-round pedal stroke and it demands a strong, stable platform from your core to deal with the high torque.

You’ll also find that during the intervals you’ll be working around and above threshold level, which gives bonus FTP-boosting benefits. Come race day, you’ll be able to convert this new power into speed.

Functional threshold power: what it is and how to boost it

Top tips for building cycling strength

Stable in the saddle

Really focus on bracing your trunk, keeping your back flat and your head up. Think strong, and avoid excessive hip rocking. Your upper body should be still and relaxed.

Strong out the saddle

Don’t allow your stable platform to collapse when you stand up. Transition smoothly from sitting to standing, avoid stalling your pedal stroke and don’t wrestle your bike.

100% on the sprints

Don’t sandbag the finishing sprints. Brace, drive hard out of the saddle, and imagine you’re deadlifting. Watch a top track cyclist doing a gate start and copy the technique.

A session to help you build cycling strength

Warm-up

Keep gearing low and focus on the cadence targets

3mins easy @90rpm
1min moderate@95rpm
1min moderate@100rpm
1min moderate@105rpm
1min vigorous@110rpm
30secs vigorous@120-130rpm
2:30mins easy @80-90rpm

Main set

Complete the following 3-5 times.

1min vigorous @60rpm seated
1min vigorous @55rpm stand
1min vigorous @60rpm seated
1min vigorous @55rpm stand
50secs vigorous @60rpm seated
10secs max effort @max rpm stand
5mins easy spinning recovery

Cool-down

2mins easy @100+rpm
10mins easy @80rpm

Adapt for beginners

Dial down the length of the efforts to three minutes. Stay seated for the first minute, stand for the second and then go seated into the final sprint for the third minute.

Adapt for Ironman

Five reps with sprints is about as advanced as this session needs to be. Increase the difficulty by dialling up
the resistance.

About

Nikalas Cook is a writer, author, coach and athlete based in the Peak District. He specialises in health, fitness, endurance and adventure sports. Having studied a postgraduate degree in Health and Exercise Science, he worked for eight years as a top personal trainer in London. He was the editor of Totally Active magazine and writes for numerous specialist magazines and websites including 220 Triathlon, Outdoors Magic, Trail Running and Trek and Mountain. He has also edited the British Cycling member’s website, the Insight Zone. He’s written for national newspapers and magazines including The Times, The Financial Times, The Daily Mail, GQ, Men’s Fitness and Red Magazine. But he’s probably most proud of being Derbyshire Life’s beer correspondent. Nik has written two books (Marathon Training: Get to the Start Line Strong and Injury-free; Peak District Trail Running: 22 off-Road Routes for Trail & Fell Runners) and his third, entitled The Road Cycling Performance Manual, was published by Bloomsbury in June 2018. He has also worked with Nigel Mitchell on his book, Fuelling the Cycling Revolution, and with Martin Evans and Phil Burt on their book, Strength and Conditioning for Cyclists. He’s completed numerous cycling challenges including the Trans-Wales MTB stage race, the Fred Whitton, the Raid Pyrenees and both the Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders sportives. Competitively, he likes to combine his cycling with running and has previously won gold in his age-group at the ITU World Long Course Duathlon Championships at Powerman Zofingen.