Chris Farhood
f6dd9dfc27
Modular cycling-training skill: periodization logic, workout design, and research-backed protocols that companion an Intervals.icu MCP server (the server owns all data + computed metrics; the skill owns knowledge + reasoning). Structure: - SKILL.md router + README (companion-to-MCP architecture, install steps) - references/: durability, mtb-xco-demands, strength-for-cyclists, vo2max-intervals, periodization, data-confounds, citations - assets/: base + build plan templates, durability field-test protocol Every quantitative claim carries an inline citation; citations.md is the single source of truth with PMID/DOI, each verified against PubMed on 2026-07-20. Notable honesty flags baked in: - VO2 rep-length: running (Fleckenstein 2025) vs cycling (Ronnestad) conflict documented rather than asserted; cycling evidence favors short intervals. - 'Yu et al. 2025' (frequency > distribution) could not be found; not cited. - Under-researched doses (durability, taper TSB, CTL ramp) flagged 'track response'. - HR-confound doc forbids naive decoupling<5% / RHR+5 rules. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01TqrhBhC3GEcKyaw8RTk8G6
88 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
88 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
# Heavy strength training for cyclists (with a masters focus)
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**Load this doc when:** deciding whether/how to add strength work, designing a lifting protocol
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for a cyclist, addressing age-related muscle loss, or planning in-season maintenance.
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The MCP server does not model strength; this is prescription logic. Log lifts as activities/notes in
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Intervals.icu so the load is visible, but the *what and why* lives here.
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---
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## The evidence: heavy strength helps cycling, without a VO2max penalty
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A 2025/2026 systematic review with meta-analysis (**17 studies, 262 cyclists**) found that heavy
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strength training significantly improved **cycling efficiency, anaerobic power, and time-trial
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performance** versus endurance training alone, with **no significant effect on VO2max** — the gains
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come through efficiency and anaerobic power, not aerobic capacity, and crucially **without costing
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VO2max** (Llanos-Lagos et al. 2026, *Eur J Appl Physiol* 126(1):193–222, epub 2025;
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PMID 40632222; DOI 10.1007/s00421-025-05883-2). Authors note the certainty of evidence is low —
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the direction is consistent, the magnitude is uncertain.
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## The protocol (what the literature actually used)
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| Parameter | Prescription |
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| **Type** | **Heavy** compound lifts — *not* explosive/plyometric as the primary driver |
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| **Lifts** | Squat, deadlift, leg press (bilateral lower-body compounds) |
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| **Reps** | **3–6 reps** per set (heavy end; high load, low rep) |
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| **Frequency** | **1–3 ×/week** |
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| **Duration** | Sustained block of **5–25 weeks** to express benefits |
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| **In-season** | **Preserve it** — do not drop strength once racing starts |
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The consistent thread across the 17 studies: **heavy, low-rep, compound, sustained, and
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maintained.** Short dabbling blocks that get abandoned in-season are not what produced the results.
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## Why this matters more for masters athletes
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- Adults lose roughly **~8% of muscle mass per decade after age 40** (accelerating later in life),
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and **type II (fast-twitch) fibers atrophy fastest** with aging — the exact fibers that power
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sprints, surges, and the explosive demands of MTB/XCO.
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- The "~8%/decade" figure is widely attributed to English & Paddon-Jones 2010 (*Curr Opin Clin
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Nutr Metab Care* 13(1):34–39; PMID 19898232) but that exact sentence is **not verified in the
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abstract** — treat the specific number as commonly-cited-but-approximate, not gospel. Fiber-type
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and countermeasure biology: Volpi, Nazemi & Fujita 2004 (PMID 15192443); consensus definition
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and resistance-training recommendation: Cruz-Jentoft et al. 2019 EWGSOP2 (*Age Ageing*
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48(1):16–31; PMID 30312372). See `citations.md`.
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- **Loaded resistance training is the primary proven countermeasure** to this loss. Endurance
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riding alone does not defend type II mass.
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- **The interference effect is muted at older age**, and further reduced with **strength-first
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sequencing.** In elderly men, doing strength *before* endurance within a session produced larger
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strength gains (~35% vs ~22%) than the reverse order (Cadore et al. 2013, *Age (Dordr)*
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35(3):891–903, epub 2012; PMID 22453934). Interference in older adults is manageable except at
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high weekly volume/frequency (Cadore & Izquierdo 2013, *Age (Dordr)* 35(6):2329–44;
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PMID 23288690).
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**Practical sequencing:** lift on separate days from key bike sessions where possible; if combined,
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**strength first**, or put strength on easy/recovery riding days — never before a key VO2 or
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threshold session you care about.
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## From-zero ramp progression
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For a rider new to heavy lifting, build the movement and connective-tissue base **before** loading
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to 3–6RM. Progress by phase, not by calendar — advance only when the current phase's form is clean
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and soreness settles within ~48 h.
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| Phase | Weeks (guide) | Focus | Sets × reps | Load |
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| **0. Movement** | 1–2 | Learn squat/hinge/press patterns; bodyweight & goblet | 2–3 × 8–10 | Very light; groove form |
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| **1. Anatomical adaptation** | 2–4 | Tendons/connective tissue; higher reps | 3 × 10–12 | Moderate; ~2 RIR |
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| **2. Strength build** | 4–6 | Transition toward heavy | 3–4 × 6–8 | Heavy-ish; ~1–2 RIR |
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| **3. Heavy strength** | ongoing | The evidence-based target | 3–5 × 3–6 | Heavy; ~1 RIR, form-limited |
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| **4. In-season maintenance** | racing | Retain gains, minimize fatigue | 1–2 × /wk, 2–3 × 3–5 | Heavy, low volume |
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*RIR = reps in reserve.* Masters athletes especially should keep 1+ RIR (form-limited, not
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failure-limited) to protect joints and recovery.
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> ⚠️ **Individualize the ramp.** The *effect* of heavy strength is well established; the ideal
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> per-athlete ramp speed, weekly frequency (1 vs 2 vs 3×), and in-season dose are not precisely
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> resolved — **track response** (strength progression, riding quality, recovery) and adjust.
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## How this integrates with the rest of the plan
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- **Base** is the best time to build heavy-strength capacity (2×/week) — see
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`../assets/plan-template-base.md`.
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- **Build/in-season**: drop to **1×/week heavy maintenance** — see
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`../assets/plan-template-build.md`.
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- Strength supports the **anaerobic/explosive** side that predicts MTB/XCO performance
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(`mtb-xco-demands.md`) and the efficiency that helps steady TT power.
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