It would be absolutely amazing if we could just change our training program to get off the bike and go straight to heavy weights, but that’s not how the human body is built.
The way the body is designed is to adapt to ONE primary training stimulus at a time and restructure the body to be better aligned with the demands we constantly place on it.
In the case of cycling and triathlon, this means we are pushing the body to its limits when it comes to providing energy to drive us down the road, to go further, faster.
Yes, this also applies to those of us, myself included, who are not active “runners” or “performance-oriented.” The body doesn’t care whether you’re trying to win a race or just hanging on at the back or the front of the weekly Wednesday night group run.
It just understands that you need energy for this thing, and everything should be geared to make that possible.
The fact that the body can only be really good at ONE thing at a time is really important when it comes to strength training, especially for those who have only done “core” or strength training. “maintenance” all summer…
As Dr. Stuart McGill and world record holder Brian Carroll talk about in their co-authored book “Gift of Injury” recovery and tissue adaptations MUST be respected in the process of developing strength, and especially when recovery from injury.
Failing to give tissues the time and resources needed to recover and adapt appropriately will significantly increase the risk of injury in some children in the future.
Unfortunately, for many well-meaning cyclists and triathletes, this can mean a lower back injury from deadlifting or intense squatting, long before the tissues are ready.