Weights training to increase max sprint power

mickthomas

Now that its the end of season I am thinking of a program to help increase both my max instantanious power output (my jump) and also my 5 second power in preparation for next year.

Is weight training any benefit and if so what type of training is required?

NomadVW

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Roadie_scum

Are you a track sprinter?

velomanct

Stay on the bike. Sprint. Sprint a lot. That's all you need to do.

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mickthomas

No, I want to increase my "road sprint" power i.e. the one that you typically start from 25+ mph

Roadie_scum

In which case, you won't want to be training with weights. There are plenty of on the bike workouts to increase neuromuscular power. I would recommend focusing on them.

velomanct

Again.

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mickthomas

Can you be a bit more specific regarding which workouts. In particular I am interesting in improving my initial jump.

Roadie_scum

This is a good session for improving your jump:

Try rolling off a hill so you are already at speed without pedaling too hard, then when you hit the bottom, sprint all out for 10-15 (max) seconds at a fairly high cadence. Rest/recovery pace for strictly more than 5 minutes, anywhere up to 10 minutes, then repeat. Do sprints until you experience ~10% drop in the power you are achieving for the session. One way to monitor (if you have a powertap) is to set a new interval each time you sprint and then check the max power whilst still in interval mode. Do up to about 10 sprints in a session.

Also, if you have a powertap, don't be overly concerned with small variations in peak power. Because gear selection and other influences of drivetrain loss can affect power readings at high wattages, look for trends across sessions or gross changes, not the fine detail (10W here or there between sprints).

See how you go with this and let us know if you need more ideas.

velomanct

Be creative.
-Aim for that real estate sign 200 meters up the road.
-See that sharp 30 foot rise in elevation up the road? Explode right before you hit it and follow through over the top.
-Get a rabbit (passing car), and imagine closing the gap they get on you as they pass. (works best with ~40mph traffic)
-Ride with another guy and play around, make it fun.

Or as roadiescum said, do more structured sessions. Some days do overgeared jumps, other days do undergeared sprints. Downhill, uphill, standing starts. The key is to accustom your body to sprinting, which it likely knows nothing about, since most road cyclists are endurance minded, not explosive minded. You can make big gains very quickly because you are likely very untrained to begin with, concerning such explosive efforts.

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tonyzackery

I'm going to stir the pot here and say that to summarily dismiss using weights to improve sprint power is incorrect. The anecdotal evidence (i.e. track sprinters) demonstrates that sprint power and weight lifting power have some correlation. Now the question is are you willing to trade some endurance in order to achieve that potentially greater power?

I'm not an expert and I don't know if it's possible "to have your cake and eat it too", meaning I don't know if an increase in ultimate strength via weightlifting can be accomplished without losing some endurance fitness. However, what doesn't work for one person may work for you - it may not, but you don't know unless you give it a try. Besides, to a great extent the variability in magnitude of adaptation to a training stimulus and performance is due to genetics. It is possible your genetics will allow weightlifting to beneficial for you where for others it is not...

Flame away, if you may...

Roadie_scum

With track sprinters, it isn't anecdotal.



Not if you are a road cyclist who understands the physiological demands of performing well in the sport.



No



You can know if you look at the evidence.



True false non sequitur



Not really a flame.

tonyzackery

And your point is...?

Roadie_scum

To reply to your post. I think that's how these things work right?

My point is that weights training for road sprinting isn't effective or intelligent. Weights training for sprint track events is both effective and intelligent (if it is appropriately constructed). The OP asked about road sprinting.