WHO THIS IS FOR
IS THIS YOU?
The rider who's noticed their power dropping year on year
You're training consistently but each season your numbers are slightly lower than the last.
The masters rider who's never lifted weights
You've been cycling-only for years and wondering why recovery feels harder.
THE ROADMAN VIEW
The Roadman view
The honest picture of aging and cycling has two parts. Part one is real and not fully reversible: VO2 max falls, fast-twitch fibres shrink and disappear, recovery takes longer. Anthony has unpacked this with Andy Galpin and Joe Friel on the podcast, and neither of them sugar-coat it — the physiology changes, and the change accelerates through the 50s.
Part two is where most riders lose unnecessary ground. Grey-zone riding that never gets easy enough to recover from. No strength work, so the fast-twitch fibres that cycling barely touches just disappear. Recovery gaps that are too short because you're comparing yourself to the training you did at 32. Fix those and you don't stop declining — but the rate drops sharply and there are still gains to be had.
Andy Galpin's research on fast-twitch fibre loss is particularly useful here. After 40, the fibres responsible for snap and power go first. Cycling, being a low-force repetitive motion, barely stresses them. Strength training is the direct intervention — and without it, the fastest-declining part of your physiology gets no stimulus to hold on.
EXPERT EVIDENCE
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
- Andy GalpinProfessor of Kinesiology, Cal State Fullerton; muscle physiologist
Fast-twitch muscle fibres are disproportionately lost with age, and endurance exercise alone does almost nothing to preserve them. Structured resistance training — with meaningful load — is the direct stimulus needed to slow that decline and maintain the power that cycling depends on.
Hear it: The Science Of Getting Faster After 40 | Dr Andy Galpin - Joe FrielAuthor of Fast After 50 and The Cyclist's Training Bible
Decline after 40 is partly biological and partly a training error problem. The two are often conflated — riders blame age for what is actually recoverable through better structure, adequate recovery, and consistent strength work.
Hear it: The Training Secret To Going FASTER After 40 | Joe Friel
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
DO THIS WEEK
Audit your intensity split this week
Pull your last 14 days of ride data. Colour every ride by zone. If your easy rides are sitting in zone 3, slowing them is your first intervention — easier than any training block.
Start strength training now — two sessions a week
Split squats, hip hinges, single-leg deadlifts, press. Meaningful load, 6–10 reps, progressed over time. This is the highest-impact intervention a masters rider who doesn't lift can make for fast-twitch preservation.
Add two easy days between hard sessions
Recovery capacity at 50 is roughly 25–50% lower than at 30. Two easy days between hard efforts is the default, not the exception. Running hard sessions back-to-back compounds fatigue and undermines adaptation.
COMMON MISTAKES
WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG
MISTAKEAttributing all performance decline to age and accepting it.
FIXCheck training structure first. Grey-zone riding, no strength work, and inadequate recovery cause far more slowing than unavoidable biology.
MISTAKESkipping strength work because cycling is your sport.
FIXCycling doesn't stress fast-twitch fibres sufficiently to preserve them. Without two structured strength sessions a week, that fibre is just disappearing.
MISTAKETraining with the same recovery gaps as you did in your 30s.
FIXRecovery takes longer after 40. Build in an extra easy day between hard efforts and a full deload week every third or fourth week.
FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How much slower do cyclists get with age?
Is VO2 max decline inevitable after 40?
What happens to muscle after 40 in cyclists?
Can I reverse performance decline after 50?
Does sleep affect cycling performance more as I age?
Should older cyclists do more or fewer intervals?
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