Strength and conditioning for cycling

www.nwconditioning.com

Strength and conditioning for cycling

Prevention strategies for injury and overtraining


Session overview

• A bit about me

• What is strength and conditioning?

• Common injuries and methods of prevention

• What is overtraining and how to avoid it


Neil Welch MSc ASCC• BSc Sports science and physiology

• MSc Strength and conditioning

• Worked with snowboard-X and ski coaches in Canada

• Experience with premiership rugby teams

• S&C coach for the the British alpine development ski team

• Work with athletes from multiple sports including rugby, rowing and triathlon

• Founder of nw conditioning strength and conditioning consultancy


What is Strength and Conditioning?

“The physical and physiological preparation of athletes for sport

performance”


The role of the Coach

A strength and conditioning coach will design a bespoke training program based around your individual goals.

This program will be aimed at:– Maximising competition performance

– Increasing strength and power

– Improving metabolic conditioning

– Developing movement patterns

– Preventing injury


Training for L’etape du tour

• Distance: 181km

• Total ascent: 4100m

• It is an aerobic endurance event

• Training is aimed at increasing your VO2 max, lactate threshold and tolerance to cope with time in the saddle

• The high training volume required means a lot of time in the saddle and a lot of pedal turns.

• A 2 hour ride at 90rpm is 10,800 revolutions

• A small malalignment or imbalance repeated this many times can lead to overuse injuries


Iliotibial band (ITB) Syndrome• ITB is a band of fibrous tissue running

from the lateral hip to the lateral knee

• It can become inflamed because of friction with the femoral condyle (hip bone)

• Often due to tightness in ITB

• This tightness can be made worse due to weak hip abductors

• Risk factors include being new to a sport and large increases in volume


Preventing ITB Syndrome

• Increasing activation of the hip abductors

• Achieved by applying a lateral resistance in order to activate

• Stretching

• Monitoring training volume


Quadriceps and patellar tendonitis

• Inflammation of the tendon

• The tendon is the connective tissue joining muscle to the bone

• Tendonitis caused by overuse of the muscle or too much load being exerted through it.


Preventing tendonitis

• Increasing lower body strength - this will increase your ability to generate and tolerate forces

• Stretching - reduces the tension on the tendons

• Monitoring training volume


Lower back pain

• Reported by up to 70% of cyclists

• Caused by prolonged flexion of lumbar spine

• Can be caused by a lack of core strength to maintain a neutral spine

• Incorrect saddle position can also be a factor


Preventing low back pain

• Bike setup - get it done professionally!

• Core strength - activation needs to become automatic

• The ‘big three’ core exercises– Curl ups– Side bridges– Bird dogs


Muscle tightness

• Hamstrings• Hip flexors• Quadriceps• Glutes• ITB


Stretching

• This is an often overlooked aspect of performance

• Regular stretching can help to reduce injury and improve your performance

• Static stretching as well as PNF best for increasing range of motion

• Stretching should be done post training or even as a session on its own

• Stretches should be held for between 45s - 1min


Exercises for injury prevention

• 6 exercises that can help prevent injury

• Videos for all 6 injury prevention exercises and stretches can be found at:

www.nwconditioning.com/sky


Overtraining syndrome

Process Training Intensified training

Outcome Acute fatigueFunctional overreaching

Non-functional overreaching

Overtraining syndrome

Recovery Day(s) Days-weeksWeeks-months

Months

Performance IncreaseTemporary performance decrement

Stagnation to decrease

Decrease


Overtraining symptoms

• Insomnia• Reduced appetite• Drop in performance• Constant fatigue• Irritability• Increased respiratory infections• Muscle soreness• Headaches


Preventing overtraining

• Keep a note of your training volume

• Be on the look out for the symptoms

• Easier to keep track using our app

• Don’t be afraid to rest, it’s an important part of training…but don’t use it as an excuse!


Exercises

www.nwconditioning.com/sky

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Strength and conditioning for cycling

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