Question: I’m a long-time cyclist, and I’ve heard that we riders ought to also be strength training. I’m now in my late 70s, but I still ride every day that weather permits. I dislike working out other than cycling itself, and frankly, I no longer have enough energy to both ride and do other exercises on the same day. As long as I keep riding, is strength training really still important at my age? —Harv R.
RBR’S STAN PURDUM REPLIES: The fact that you are riding regularly does put you ahead of seniors who spend their days on the sofa. But cycling, while keeping you moving, does little for your upper body. And as we age, without some strength training, we can lose four to six pounds of muscle per decade, especially evident in the parts of our body that we don’t exercise as much. This doesn’t mean that we necessarily lose weight, however, since we may be replacing that lost muscle with fat.
My doctor says that many people who end up in nursing homes are there because they can no longer get out of a chair on their own, and that, of course, means they need help to prepare meals, dress themselves and get to the bathroom. That loss of strength also increases the likelihood of falling, which can result in new problems, especially if they break a hip. In short, they have lost the ability to function independently.
Chris Carmichael, who was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Cycling Team and went on to be a professional bicycle racer, became a nationally known coach after retiring from racing. He recently wrote, “Coaches have been debating the effectiveness and necessity of strength training for endurance athletes for many years, and even my own view has evolved considerably. Ten years ago, I would have told you that if you’re a cyclist, strength training is a waste of time and effort. Not anymore” (italics added).
Carmichael goes on to talk about a phenomenon he calls “the cyclist’s paradox.” He explains, “Cyclists have extremely well-developed aerobic engines, yet very underdeveloped musculoskeletal systems for any sport other than cycling. You have the aerobic engine to run pretty fast for a prolonged period of time, but because cycling is weight-supported, many cyclists can ‘outrun’ their skeletal system’s ability to handle the stress of either the speed or duration their aerobic engines can support. Similarly, lifelong cyclists frequently have severely underdeveloped upper body strength. This limits the exercise and activity options cyclists feel prepared to participate in.”
Fortunately, studies indicate that we can slow and even reverse these muscle losses with strength training. I personally go to our local fitness center and workout on their resistance machines, largely because I find it too easy to skip exercising when I plan to do it all at home. But there are a variety of excise programs that can help you achieve strength-training goals without specialized equipment. Here is one from Road Bike Rider and another from Bicycling Magazine.
As a senior rider myself, I can identify with your comment that you no longer have enough energy to both ride and do other exercises on the same day. But I believe the payback from strength training is important enough to cut back on how many days you ride so that you can engage in an exercise program a couple of times a week, which most coaches say is enough to benefit from the effort.
Stan Purdum has ridden several long-distance bike trips, including an across-America ride recounted in his book Roll Around Heaven All Day, and a trek on U.S. 62, from Niagara Falls, New York, to El Paso, Texas, the subject of his book Playing in Traffic. Stan, a freelance writer and editor, lives in Ohio. See more at www.StanPurdum.com.