Strength training isn't a luxury add-on to cycling—it's a practical tool that fixes pain, improves efficiency, and keeps you mentally fresh. Derek Teel breaks down exactly why cyclists should lift, when to fit it into a packed schedule, and how to actually integrate it without burning out. Whether you're a time-strapped amateur or someone just wanting to feel better on the bike, this is the straightforward guidance you've been looking for.
Key Takeaways
- Strength training solves problems you literally cannot fix on the bike—muscle compensations, lower back pain, and weak glute activation require off-bike work in a controlled environment
- In-season strength training is about maintenance at lower intensity (RPE 5-6), not building; dial back intensity but keep frequency at 2 days per week to preserve off-season gains
- Two strength sessions per week minimum is required for true maintenance; one session per week is theoretically sufficient but doesn't work in practice for most cyclists
- Space your strength training 2-3 days apart from high-intensity bike efforts to avoid digging yourself into an unsustainable recovery hole
- Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) can hit 48-72 hours after a heavy strength session, so understand your own recovery pattern before scheduling back-to-back hard efforts
- For time-crunched cyclists with other commitments, cutting 60 minutes of bike volume per week to do two 30-minute strength sessions yields better results than simply adding more bike time
Expert Quotes
"You have to be comfortable prioritizing maintenance which I find that a lot of people have a hard time doing—Derek Teel"
"If you don't just dial it back and keep going [in-season] you're just going to lose those gains like probably by the time you get to your race you'll probably have lost that strength gains"
"The truth is you have to look at different parts of a program to validate it and to justify it so that it can make sense in their head"