Every October the same thing happens. The clocks change, the evenings close in, and a rider decides that this winter they'll skip the gym and just ride more. It sounds disciplined. It feels safe. It might be the wrong call.
That's the argument behind this week's episode, where I've pulled together what I've learned from Dr Andy Galpin, Art O'Connor and Derek Teel. This article is the practical version: what to do, what to skip and how to keep it up.
Why "just ride more" isn't free
Riding more builds the things you already train. Your aerobic engine, your pedalling economy and your durability all improve with miles. What the bike doesn't do is load your muscles heavily. Pedalling is repeated low-force effort, and it asks very little of the tissues around it.
That's where strength work earns its place. A 2025 meta-analysis of 17 studies and 262 trained cyclists, with sessions one to three times a week, found benefits for cycling performance, efficiency and anaerobic power. The limits matter here. The authors rated the evidence low certainty and couldn't say which programme works best. So the research supports including strength work. It doesn't hand you a schedule.
There's also the age point. After about 40, adults lose roughly 3-8% of muscle mass per decade. Cycling does little to slow that. If you're in your 40s or 50s, skipping strength work isn't neutral. You're letting something go that the bike won't give back.
The three mistakes
Too much volume. Four sessions a week in November looks impressive and lasts until Christmas. If your legs are sore for the bike, you've done too much. One or two short sessions is enough to start.
Wrong selection. Some exercises look like athletic training and do nothing for pedalling. Others are fine in the gym and a poor trade for a rider who needs fresh legs on Saturday. Choose movements for a reason you can say out loud.
Bad timing. A hard leg session the day before your key bike session is a self-inflicted problem. Put strength on days that already carry low bike demands, and keep the day before your important ride clear.
What I'd actually do
I'm going to be careful here, because I don't know your history, and the advice depends on it. These are principles, not a prescription.
- One or two sessions a week, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Movements you can control: step-ups, hip bridges, calf raises, carries, press-ups and pulling work on a cable or band.
- Load that builds slowly. If a session leaves you unable to ride well the next day, the dose was wrong.
- A standing rule that you stop a set when form slips, not when the weight runs out.
And one thing I'll say plainly. For the 35-55 rider I don't prescribe heavy barbell lifts. The injury risk outweighs the gain for most people, and you don't need them to get what the research describes.
If you want a fuller plan, the minimum effective dose sets out the smallest amount that works, and Art O'Connor's approach shows how a coach fits it around training.
Fitting it into the week
Most riders get this wrong more than anything else. Strength training isn't an extra. It's a session in the week, and it competes with the others for recovery.
Look at your hard days. Put strength on a day that's easy on the bike, preferably not the day before your hardest ride. If you only have six hours a week, give up some easy riding for it and keep the intensity you already have. The best and worst cycling sessions is the framework I use for that trade.
When to back off
Two cautions. If you're returning from injury, or you're new to lifting, get someone to watch your movement before you add load. And if your bike sessions are getting worse, not better, cut the strength volume before you cut the bike work.
The point
A small dose, done every week, beats the big plan you drop by November. That's the whole message. Two sessions, controllable movements, sensible timing. If it's boring, it's probably right.
Tell us what your winter strength plan looks like in the free Roadman community on Skool: https://www.skool.com/roadmancycling
If you want strength built into a full plan, applications are open for the "Not Done Yet" coaching programme at www.roadmancycling.com/apply.
