THE SHORT ANSWER
Dr Andy Pruitt, pioneering bike fit expert, founder of boulder center for sports medicine, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Pruitt lands on strength training for cyclists. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
WHO IS DR ANDY PRUITT?
Dr Andy Pruitt is the founder of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and the godfather of modern bike fitting. He developed the Specialized BG (Body Geometry) Fit system that is now used in thousands of bike shops worldwide, and has worked with US Olympic cyclists, professional teams, and World Tour riders for over four decades. His work matters because he turned bike fit from a craft into a measurable, repeatable, evidence-based discipline. For amateurs dealing with knee pain, lower back issues, or numb hands, his frameworks for fit-by-injury are the most thorough in the field.
PRUITT ON STRENGTH TRAINING
Pruitt’s key positions on strength training for cyclists.
- Lower-back pain is usually a core/hamstring strength deficit being unmasked by the bike position — fit is part of the answer, not all of it.
IN PRUITT’S OWN WORDS
Verbatim from Dr Andy Pruitt’s appearances on the podcast.
“bike fit is not a one and done it is not um so how often do you think uh right or over the age Authority should be getting bike fit non-professional oh I think a once a year look is like and you should go back if you if you have faith in the guy that you the guy gal you know generic guy um that who fits you um they should be keeping really good records of what your flexibility was what how things feet flatten as we age so your need for more arch support more forefoot varus canting is probably going to go up as you age so once a year to have somebody look at you who has known you through this process is a is a superb idea”
“I would suspect that that you've got too much weight on your hands that's number one so the bars probably ought to come up so how do you how do you determine bar height so that there's this Sweet Spot between being too far forward flexed and being too upright if you're too upright there's too much weight on your on your saddle if you're too far forward flex there's too much weight on your hands there is this sweet spot in the middle say let's call it 45 degrees of torso angle where you're splitting you're Distributing the weight saddle feet hands and your core is responsible for you to maintain that balance and keep the pressure off your hands”
“comfort and speed go hand in hand”
HEAR IT ON THE PODCAST
Episodes where Dr Andy Pruitt covers strength training for cyclists and related ground.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
What does Dr Andy Pruitt say about strength training for cyclists?
Dr Andy Pruitt, pioneering bike fit expert, founder of boulder center for sports medicine, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Pruitt lands on strength training for cyclists. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
What is Pruitt's main point on strength training?
Lower-back pain is usually a core/hamstring strength deficit being unmasked by the bike position — fit is part of the answer, not all of it.
Which Roadman Cycling Podcast episodes cover Dr Andy Pruitt on strength training?
Pruitt discusses strength training for cyclists in this episode: "The Correct Bike Fit Simplified | Dr Pruitt".
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EXPLORE THE TOPIC
Strength & Conditioning— The Complete Guide →OTHER EXPERTS ON STRENGTH TRAINING