All The riders we interviewed over the course of this winter told us they had increased their gym training. Not only that, but many, and not necessarily the sprinters, also told us that they intend not to give it up completely during the season.
It was clear in recent years that we were moving towards change, but this turning point is quite decisive. We're talking about it with Marco Compri, which is part of the Performance staff of the FCI and works across all national teams.
Marco, what's happening then?
Perhaps the training culture is changing. When it comes to preparation, the metabolic aspect is no longer the only consideration; strength takes on a greater importance. This is especially true when an athlete has a certain type of muscle fiber and can maximize its potential.
Other ideas, in short…
More than any other idea, it's that you can't work on what you don't have, but rather enhance the qualities you already have. This is why more and more athletes are joining and consistently working on strength in the gym. The prevailing idea, especially among road riders, is still to train by performing many repetitions: few sets and low loads. This may work well initially, but you must be aware that this way you're ultimately training endurance, not maximum strength. The next step, therefore, is to think: I go to the gym to train what I can't do on the bike: maximum strength, which determines all other strength qualities.
Many have told us about recalls during the racing season. What will they do?
Let's make a distinction: what specialty are we talking about? Endurance track? Road? Track speed? Everything needs to be contextualized... If the area is road, then I train strength like any other skill throughout the season, but I have to do peaks in work volume.
Do you mean more intense periods?
Periods with higher workload. It's called tonnage. The total weight load lifted during the year. Over the course of the 12 months, I observe periods (loads) in which I must concentrate 20% of the tonnage. If, for example, I have two peaks in form, I must plan for two periods of high tonnage. These are very significant moments in the overall preparation work on general strength (the same applies to other metabolic qualities).
And how is this loading carried out?
It's a nonspecific workout. Squats and deadlifts, for example, or presses for those less experienced or less capable of handling heavy loads with complex exercises. The workout involves loads close to maximums. When you get closer to competitions, you try to work more on explosiveness. Although it wouldn't be a bad idea to do a non-specific booster with heavy-duty weights in addition to those with natural load even during the season.
Why?
Because even though I'm near top form, maximum strength must be stimulated. This concept might be "negligible" for a rouleur or a climber, but not for a sprinter. The sprinter should resume them with a certain continuity, otherwise within two months there is a significant decay in strength.
Marco, you mentioned non-specific work: what do you mean?
By non-specific work I mean that which is not done on a bike. Standing starts, or SFRs, are specific strength training for cyclists. Lifting weights, squatting, and jumping jacks, on the other hand, are non-specific.
How do you manage to work out during the year between races?
As mentioned, non-sprinters can do naturally loaded squats year-round, performing exercises like jumps, pistols, or squat jumps, but sprinters can't. They still work with 80% of their maximum, although they slightly reduce the tonnage (remember, the total weight lifted). This solution, in my opinion, is also suitable for long-distance riders and climbers. And these boosters should be done twice a week.
Twice? But isn't that the height of the season?
Why is it so much? If an athlete has been doing it regularly for 7-8 years, if they're familiar with certain tonnage volumes, they won't have any problems. The important thing is to increase tonnage at certain times and reduce it at others. And how long do you think a gym session lasts? It shouldn't last more than 40-50 minutes.
Why?
When talking about strength, two aspects must be considered: training the hormonal system and the nervous system. The latter is the one that is primarily stimulated above a certain load percentage. However, after 40 minutes the hormonal system begins to decline and strength work is no longer productive. A bodybuilder, for example, works out in the gym for two and a half hours, but he's looking for hypertrophy, not strength. He's looking for a muscular aesthetic. While the cyclist needs functional strength.
There's a point when maximum effort in the gym stimulates a certain hormone production that maximizes that very effort, in short. And in light of all this, what do you think of the transformation? Because what seemed like a dogma is no longer true. We've heard from those who, after the gym, didn't go out on their bikes or use the rollers...
It depends a lot on the athlete's history. In my opinion, it's very effective to hit the gym first (non-specific work) and then continue with maximum strength on the bike (specific work). The subsequent bike ride is short and should include standing starts, at low speed, or even fast.
And in this outing, no SFRs are done? If you're talking about maximum strength...
It's It is universally recognized that SFRs train mainly the resistance component. And I prefer to distinguish between the two types of strength in training: maximum strength in one session and endurance in another. So after the gym I'd do sprints, standing starts, or slow speed starts... While I'd do the SFR at another time, on another day, perhaps moving the metabolic work forward to the day before.
We've mainly talked about road cyclists, but what about a Viviani who has to commute between the track and the road?
Elia Viviani He's a sprinter, so even during the season he can go to the gym twice a week. And then the concept of a week needs to be clarified. It would be better to talk about a microcycle, which is the shortest period of periodization, rather than a week. The microcycle can coincide with the week, but that's not a given. Returning to Elia, he does endurance track training and has no major problems with two sessions. A track sprinter, on the other hand, should also do three or four gym sessions during the microcycle.
But is it true that recalls are made even during a major Giro or is it an urban legend?
During no. At least I've never heard of it. During a big Tour of Italy It's a significant effort, but perhaps there's an aspect to consider for sprinters. In a three-week stage race the demand for resistance becomes exponential and this flattens explosiveness. If the sprinter feels the need, he can do some naturally weighted jumps or something less stressful in terms of nervous/hormonal demands. And then it depends on the sprinter's goal. Is he someone who goes home after a week? Is he someone aiming for the final sprint of the last stage? In the first case, there's no problem; in the second, it's a bit of a question. Ultimately, if he were to do some jumps, it would be a short effort. But it's certainly not easy.
