Strength & ConditioningAnswer

WILL LIFTING WEIGHTS MAKE ME A SLOWER CYCLIST?

By Anthony WalshRoadman CyclingUpdated 26 May 2026

ANSWER

No. Two structured strength sessions a week will not make you a slower cyclist — the evidence runs the other direction. Most cyclists who add targeted resistance work see FTP hold or improve, power-to-weight ratio go up, and injury rates fall. The fear of added bulk is largely unfounded at two short sessions a week: you'd need far higher training volume and caloric surplus to gain meaningful mass.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Two sessions a week builds strength with minimal bulk — the caloric surplus needed to add mass simply isn't there.
Research on concurrent training shows that properly timed strength work does not impair aerobic adaptation.
Many cyclists see FTP improve after adding strength, particularly masters riders whose muscle mass was declining.
The 'lifting makes you slow' position is based on bodybuilding-level training volumes, not a cycling programme.

WHO THIS IS FOR

IS THIS YOU?

The cyclist who has been avoiding the gym

You've been told lifting makes cyclists slow and want a clear, evidence-based answer.

The masters rider whose power is declining

You're losing muscle mass with age and want to know whether the gym will help or hurt your riding.

THE ROADMAN VIEW

This is the question Anthony has heard from nearly every cyclist who hasn't started lifting yet. The short answer: no, it won't make you slower. The longer answer is that this fear comes from a misunderstanding of what two sessions a week actually does to your body. You are not going to walk into a gym twice a week and emerge as a sprinter.

The concurrent training concern — lifting compromising aerobic adaptation — is real at very high training volumes. At two sessions a week, properly timed, it does not apply. The research is consistent and the World Tour coaches know it: every serious professional programme now includes resistance work. Dan Lorang at Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe prescribes it. Derek Teel works with cyclists specifically to build it without bulk.

The riders who decline fastest as they age are the ones who stopped lifting. The ones who kept two sessions a week in the programme retained their power into their fifties and sixties. That's not a coincidence.

EXPERT EVIDENCE

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Derek TeelStrength coach for cyclists (Dialed Health)
The concern about lifting making cyclists slow comes from thinking about bodybuilding volumes. Two targeted sessions a week with cycling-specific patterns build the kind of strength that protects power — and the extra muscle mass added at that dose is negligible. Most cyclists find their FTP goes up, not down.
Hear it: Strength Training For Cycling Simplified | Derek Teel
Andy GalpinProfessor of Kinesiology, Cal State Fullerton; muscle physiologist
Concurrent endurance and strength training does not compromise aerobic adaptation when sessions are scheduled correctly and volume is appropriate. For masters athletes especially, the argument for strength work is overwhelming — the alternative is a slow but certain loss of fast-twitch fibre and neuromuscular function that riding alone cannot reverse.
Hear it: The Science Of Getting Faster After 40 | Dr Andy Galpin

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

DO THIS WEEK

Run a 6-week trial with two sessions a week
Commit to 6 weeks of two 35-minute sessions. Do not change your riding programme. At the end, compare your average power on threshold intervals and your perceived fatigue. Most cyclists find both improve.
Time your sessions to avoid competing with key rides
Do strength after your hard rides, not before — and not the day before a key session. This prevents the gym from blunting your quality intervals while still delivering the training stimulus.
Keep protein intake above 1.6g per kg bodyweight
Adequate protein supports the strength stimulus without pushing you into a caloric surplus that adds mass. This is the dietary condition under which concurrent training works best for cyclists.

COMMON MISTAKES

WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG

MISTAKEAvoiding the gym entirely because of the bulk fear.
FIXTwo sessions a week with a caloric maintenance diet does not add meaningful mass. The risk of doing nothing — losing muscle, declining power — is much larger.
MISTAKEStarting a 5-day-a-week bodybuilding programme and expecting good results.
FIXExcessive gym volume on top of full cycling training will accumulate fatigue and may compromise performance. Keep it to two focused, cycling-specific sessions.
MISTAKEWeighing yourself after starting strength training and panicking at any increase.
FIXInitial weight changes are mostly glycogen and water stored in new muscle tissue. The relevant metric is watts per kilo or FTP, not the scale.

FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How much muscle will I gain from lifting twice a week?

Very little, unless you are in a significant caloric surplus. Two sessions a week produce functional strength gains with minimal hypertrophy, especially for cyclists who are eating to support training, not to bulk.

Does strength training affect VO2max?

Strength training alone does not raise VO2max. But when combined with endurance training, it does not lower it either — concurrent training research shows aerobic adaptation is preserved when sessions are correctly scheduled.

Will my legs feel heavier after starting to lift?

There can be a short adjustment period of 2–4 weeks while your body adapts to the additional load. After that, most cyclists report legs feeling more robust and responsive, not heavier.

Do World Tour cyclists lift weights?

Yes. Every major World Tour team now prescribes structured strength work. This has shifted dramatically over the past decade and is no longer debated at the professional level.

What if I gained weight after starting to lift?

A small increase of 0.5–1kg in the first few weeks is common and reflects stored glycogen and water, not fat. If your power numbers are stable or improving, the additional grams are not harming your performance.

RELATED EPISODES

HEAR THE CONVERSATIONS

Strength Training For Cycling Simplified | Derek Teel

I Tried Gym And Bike For 30 Days – The Results Shocked Me

The Science Of Getting Faster After 40 | Dr Andy Galpin