Benefits of Strength Training for Cyclists
Strength Training brings many unknown benefits / training-effects for Cyclist who want to optimize there performances on the bike.
Many Cyclists and Cycling-Coaches still have limiting believes about Strength Training. They think Strength Training is mainly for sprinters and maybe a bit for pucheurs. The reason why the think like this is most likely because the think in the training effect Hypertrophy.
But if they knew all the (other) benefit, I think many will add strength training without being afraid that it will limit there performances on the bike.
The benefit of Strength Training go way beyond Muscle Hypertrophy. One of the biggest effects Strength Training has is on the Neuro-Muscular System. Good thing to know about the Neuro-Muscular System: It’s one of the most responsive systems in the body to repeated stimulation of training.
Next to sprints and short punches on the bike Strength Training does also positively effect VO2max, Aerobic Power and Aerobic Capacity. Let me explain how and why.
- Neuro-Muscular improvement
- Increase of Motor-unit recruitment
- Synchronization of Motor-unit in function
- Connection optimalization between motor-neuron located in the spinal cord
- improved rate of force development
- increased frequency of nerve firing rates
- increased frequency of muscle tentioning and relaxation
- redoced neural inhibition
- Golgi pees
- Spierspoel