WHO THIS IS FOR
IS THIS YOU?
The rider deciding if the gym is worth it
You've got limited time and want to know whether lifting actually shows up in your numbers.
The rider whose power fades late
Your FTP is fine fresh, but it collapses in the back third of long rides and races.
THE ROADMAN VIEW
The Roadman view
This is where a lot of riders get sold a story. Strength training will not, in most cases, magic up a higher 20-minute test the way a block of threshold work can. If you only judge it by a fresh FTP number, you'll conclude it did nothing and quit. That's the wrong scoreboard.
Derek Teel makes the point on the podcast that strength work for cyclists isn't about getting strong for its own sake — it's about making each pedal stroke cheaper and protecting the engine over time. Andy Galpin's physiology backs the mechanism: more force capacity and better neuromuscular recruitment mean you sit at a lower percentage of your maximum to produce the same power, so you fatigue more slowly. That shows up not in the lab test but at hour three, on the final climb, when the rider who lifts still has watts and the rider who doesn't is fading.
So the honest answer is: strength training defends and extends your FTP rather than inflating it. For a masters rider it's the difference between holding your number for a decade or watching it erode. Judge it by durability and late-ride power, not by a rested test, and it's one of the best uses of two half-hours a week you'll find.
EXPERT EVIDENCE
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
- Derek TeelStrength coach for cyclists (Dialed Health)
Strength work makes you a more durable, efficient rider rather than instantly raising threshold. The payoff is fatigue resistance and protected power over a long ride — not a bigger number on a fresh test.
Hear it: Strength Training For Cycling Simplified | Derek Teel - Professor Andy GalpinMuscle physiologist, Cal State Fullerton
Greater force capacity and better neuromuscular recruitment let a rider produce the same power at a lower percentage of their maximum, which slows fatigue. The benefit is most visible late in efforts and in long-term muscle preservation.
Hear it: The Science Of Getting Faster After 40 | Dr Andy Galpin
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
DO THIS WEEK
Keep lifting alongside intervals, not instead
Two strength sessions a week sit on top of your threshold and VO2max work. The bike work builds the number; the gym work protects and extends it.
Measure durability, not just a fresh test
Track your power for the final hour of long rides, or your normalised power deep into a race. That's where strength work shows up — not in a rested 20-minute test.
Give it a full block
Strength adaptations build over months. Run it for at least 8–12 weeks before judging whether your late-ride power has improved.
COMMON MISTAKES
WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG
MISTAKEExpecting a quick FTP jump from lifting.
FIXStrength rarely moves a fresh test fast. Look for better durability and held power late in rides instead.
MISTAKEDropping strength when the test number doesn't move.
FIXYou're reading the wrong metric. The gain is fatigue resistance and protected muscle — keep going through a full block.
MISTAKEReplacing bike intervals with the gym.
FIXThreshold and VO2max work build FTP; strength protects it. You need both — one doesn't substitute for the other.
FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Will lifting weights raise my FTP?
How long until strength training helps my cycling?
Does strength training help time-crunched cyclists?
Is strength training more important as I get older?
Should I lift heavy or do high reps for FTP?
Can strength training make my cycling worse?
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