This Guy’s Got the Secret to Speed
This workout program involves lifting weights. But not like you’ve ever done before. “ The key to being faster on a bike is not necessarily just going faster, but also not slowing down,” says Jacques DeVore, CSCS, a Los Angeles–based strength and conditioning coach. Most strength training plans improve power. But DeVore’s program, detailed in his new book, Maximum Overload for Cyclists, coauthored with Roy M. Wallack, aims to boost what he calls Maximum Sustainable Power (MSP), which he says allows you to stay fresher longer. “ You’ll feel as good on the last climb as you did on the first.”
DeVore initially developed the program to help improve his results as a longtime masters road racer and to fight age-related slowdown. He chose weights because they build strength—the foundation for producing watts—by concentrating an extreme stress on the muscles beyond what’s possible on the bike. This is called overloading, and it creates microtears in the muscles. When the body repairs this damage, the muscles become stronger and more resilient.
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The key to Maximum Overload is a nontraditional approach to weight training for cyclists: more weight, fewer reps, and more sets, with more rest in between. DeVore calls these shorter sets “ mini-sets.” The resting periods between them enable you to avoid hitting the point at which your muscles overheat and fatigue, so you can do more total reps at higher resistance. “ You’re extending the period of time that you are at or close to your maximum output,” he says. By forcing the body to spend more time at its all-out effort level, you are training it to be more resistant to fatigue, boosting your MSP. His program prescribes lifting progressively heavier amounts (safely, of course), in a series of exercises that targets cycling muscles like your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. As you get stronger in the gym, DeVore says you get more return out of your rides, too: “ You will produce higher wattage—and bigger overloads—resulting in greater adaptations each ride.”
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DeVore says that a 40-minute Maximum Overload workout can replace hours of saddle time, making it an effective way for time-crunched riders to get faster. It’s worked for elite athletes, too—former pro cyclist Dave Zabriskie saw a 15 percent increase in power output in four months using DeVore’s program while riding less in the early season. And DeVore promises you won’t gain weight: “ This is not bodybuilding. This is increasing muscle efficiency.”
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