{"id":575111,"date":"2026-04-01T12:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/575111\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T12:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:22:10","slug":"why-mental-strength-matters-as-much-as-watts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/575111\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Mental Strength Matters as Much as Watts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated4 min read<\/p>\n

Performance coach, martial artist, and author David Lipscomb knows what it\u2019s like to go from being at the top of your sport to struggling to keep up. As a former Cat 2 racer, he was happily racing in the elite field, but when he was struck by a car on his bike in 2015, he was forced to reevaluate his relationship with the sport.<\/p>\n

That relationship was already evolving\u2014he was 45 years old at the time\u2014but the long hospital stint brought about more revelations than simply dropping from the Elite category to the masters field.<\/p>\n

Now, he blends the mindset skills that he learned from martial arts with his own racing history and on-bike coaching to help other riders reach their goals. The biggest piece of the puzzle? Redefining what strength means as a mature cyclist.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just about how many watts you can push. It\u2019s not just about how much weight you can deadlift. In fact, the biggest unlock is on the mental side. Here is some of Lipscomb\u2019s best advice for older riders.<\/p>\n

Build Mental Strength First<\/p>\n

Sadly, there is no magic interval set or series of strength training exercises that will make you the strongest version of yourself. \u201cIf we want to improve, we have to look within ourselves,\u201d Lipscomb explains. \u201cMost of us make the mistake of thinking that there\u2019s a missing piece, and once we get it, everything is going to fall into place. We think there\u2019s the one missing perfect workout or interval set, or that we just need this one new piece of gear like a certain power meter or heart rate monitor.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if we lack mental resilience, even the best workouts won\u2019t help us meet our full potential as riders. \u201cIf people have a weak mind, they\u2019ll have a difficult time improving, because if our minds are not in the game, we can\u2019t get through,\u201d says Lipscomb.<\/p>\n

Take a 20-minute FTP test<\/a>, for example. That 20 minutes can feel like the longest 20 minutes of your life, and it\u2019s easy to crack halfway through.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Lipscomb has riders do the test regularly. It\u2019s not about the test results. \u201cIt\u2019s about what happens between the two ears,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen people hit 11 minutes and think, \u2018I got another nine minutes of this test to go,\u2019 where does their mind go? How do they handle emotional stress? Do they have a calm mind or a chaotic mind? That\u2019s what I test for. I don\u2019t test for the number. I test for how you executed the test.\u201d<\/p>\n

Develop a Calm Mind<\/p>\n

His secret to getting through tough workouts, putting in the big miles, and pushing through hard moments on the bike? Quiet. \u201cYou need to calm your chaotic mind,\u201d he says. \u201cQuiet the noise that\u2019s happening around you and inside of you. If we can\u2019t get quiet through the noise, we lose traction mentally. But it\u2019s not about cutting out the noise entirely, it\u2019s about learning to endure it, and ultimately, to control it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what you\u2019re aiming for when you\u2019re in the middle of that 20-minute FTP test, for example. \u201cNumbers are just a reflection of where you are at a snapshot in time,\u201d he says. \u201cIn order to improve that number, it\u2019s about the mindset that goes into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Focus on Consistency and Discipline<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one wants to just do the basics and put in the work, they want this complex answer,\u201d Lipscomb says. \u201cDiscipline and consistency are the two things that martial artists do and they learn to do.\u201d It\u2019s fun to do a new interval workout or try a new strength set in the gym, but the real strength comes from putting in the reps on the bike and in the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what age you are, when it comes to wanting to improve in cycling, a lot of it comes down to discipline,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have the discipline and accountability for yourself, you\u2019ll never get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Ignore the Details<\/p>\n

Lipscomb is always looking for the prime level performance standard. \u201cIn the detail is where the learning comes,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery little thing that you do either makes or breaks how you perform said effort or said technique.\u201d<\/p>\n

That guy in the gym who\u2019s squatting an ungodly amount of weight, but his back is hunching under the load and his knees are caving in? That\u2019s not a show of strength; it\u2019s doing a lift with poor form and risking injury. The 90-year-old woman who\u2019s squatting holding a 10-pound dumbbell but has a perfectly straight spine, engaged core, and excellent form? She\u2019s building real strength.<\/p>\n

Details like proper form, whether it\u2019s the lifts you\u2019re doing in your cross-training or your pedal stroke and riding posture on the bike, matter and impact the performance benefits you\u2019ll reap from training. As Lipscomb notes, \u201cIt\u2019s about control. It\u2019s not about how much ego you have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cyclist<\/p>\n

Emiliano Granado<\/p>\n

Be Real With Yourself<\/p>\n

You need to be honest about where you are at this moment. This is especially true for masters cyclists who are comparing themselves to younger riders or\u2014worse\u2014to younger versions of themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive yourself grace for where you are. But then, decide what you\u2019re going to do about it,\u201d Lipscomb says. \u201cNo matter what age you are, you can do things that help you improve your cycling, and ultimately, your lifestyle and overall health. How will you take where you are right now and do your best to improve it?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4 min read Performance coach, martial artist, and author David Lipscomb knows what it\u2019s like to go from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82,144087],"class_list":["post-575111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-supes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}