New Strength Training Progression

NEW v4.2 Strength Training Progression!

As we look forward to the 2025 cycling season to ramp up, many riders are looking for ways to enhance their performance on the bike. While riding itself is crucial, incorporating strength training can lead to improved power, endurance, and injury prevention. Here’s a look at our latest & greatest new strength training progression designed specifically for cyclists.

Why Strength Training Matters

Strength training builds muscle strength, enhances stability, and improves overall cycling efficiency. It can help cyclists:

  • Increase Power Output: Stronger muscles contribute to more powerful pedal strokes, allowing for faster sprints and climbs.
  • Enhance Endurance: Improved muscular endurance means you can maintain high performance over longer rides.
  • Prevent Injuries: Targeted strength exercises can address muscle imbalances and improve joint stability, reducing the risk of common cycling injuries.

The FOUR Phases of our new Strength Training Progression

  1. BASE PREP: General Conditioning
    • Focus: Returning to (or new to) resistance training adaptation.
    • Key Exercises: Hip-hinge & knee-extension movements, push & pull movements, and resistance band exercises.
    • Structure: High-rep, low-weight circuits designed to introduce your body to resistance training while minimizing soreness.
  2. BASE BUILDER: The Bike Strength Protocol
    • Focus: Strengthening muscles fibers of the ‘prime movers’, introducing plyometric movements, and enhancing core stability.
    • Key Exercises: Squats, deadlifts, split squats, bench press, chin-ups, overhead press.
    • Structure: A three-day a week program emphasizing compound movements, with an emphasis on reps and form to build a solid foundation.
  3. RACE PREP: Cyclist’s Functional Training
    • Focus: Functional movements that mimic cycling mechanics.
    • Key Exercises: Medicine ball throws, plyometric movements, Explosive Hex-Bar Deadlifts, compound unilateral movements, and core stability movements.
    • Structure: A two-day a week program featuring explosive movements that improve fast-twitch muscle fibers, ideal for producing maximal power that incorporates sets that cultivate power through lighter weight explosive movements that challenge balance and coordination.
  4. TAPER & RACE WEEK: Activation & Peak Performance
    • Focus: Reducing volume while retaining peak muscular function.
    • Key Exercises: Bodyweight, plyometric and resistance band movements that you can easily take with you when traveling to events.
    • Structure: A reduction program that incorporates sets that challenge balance and coordination.

Tips for Success with our new Strength Training Progression

  • Consistency is Key: Aim for 2-3 strength training sessions per week to see significant improvements.
  • Combine with Cycling Workouts: Schedule strength workouts on days you’re not cycling or after shorter rides to maximize recovery.
  • Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to how your body responds and adjust intensity and volume to prevent overtraining.

Conclusion

Integrating our new strength training progression into your cycling routine can significantly enhance your performance and overall riding experience. Whether you’re a competitive cyclist or a weekend warrior, consider adopting one or more of these new programs to take your training to the next level. Remember, strength training isn’t just about lifting weights; it’s about becoming a stronger, more efficient cyclist.

Are you looking to get your training on track for 2025?

Check out our highly ranked v4.2 Downloadable Training Plans to cover your entire training progression, including our new strength training progression, from Base to Race!

BASE PREP: 4 weeks of “off season” preparation training. Training to train. Improve your mechanics through a variety of cadence-related drills while easing into aerobic training.

BASE BUILDER: Our highly successful fitness build utilizing an effective mixture of strength training, higher-intensity aerobic training and low-intensity endurance riding to set you up for success all season long. We have our 14 week Classic Builder with slightly more volume and aggressive ramp rates; and our 18 week Masters Base Builder designed for the 45+ racer with slightly less time on the bike in trade for more strength training that yields greater sustainability across the full season and years ahead!

RACE PREP & RACE: Our event duration dependent build and peak programming. As short as 6 weeks for shorter events demanding more strength & power (less than 90 minutes of racing), to medium-duration events between 90 minutes to 3 hours (8 weeks), to longer events of 3-6 hours (10 weeks), and finally the ultra events over 6 hours of racing (12 weeks). These plans include our two week taper and peak performance progression to take you all the way up to your A-race.

Saving the BEST for last…

For all our current v4.0 plan owners, your plans will AUTOMATICALLY update with the v4.2 new Strength Training Progression! You heard right, your plan(s) have already upgraded in your Training Plan Library in your TrainingPeaks account.

If you haven’t tried our v4.0 plans yet… now is the time. You will find a discount code in the TrainingPeaks Plan Store description to save even more and help you dial in your 2025 plans.

Happy riding and training!

WE RIDE Coffee from Black Coffee Roasting

We’ve collaborated with our friends at Black Coffee Roasting, in Missoula, Montana, to put together the WE RIDE blend of coffee to enhance your daily ritual. Perfect for drip, press, pourover and espresso setups, with a portion of the sales going to the WE Development racing program that supports young riders getting to more races.

Please visit Black Coffee Roasting to order 12 ounce, 2 pound or 5 pound bags.

New v4.2 Base Builder Plan for 45+ Masters Cyclists

v4.2 18-Week BASE BUILDER Plan for Competitive MASTERS Cyclists w/ Daily HRV Readiness Modifiers

As 45+ Masters cyclists we can still train as hard as we may have in our younger days… the difference now at 45+ years of age is that we need more recovery between workouts and more time across the progression (ie. lower ramp rates) to allow for effective adaptation.

The other big difference at 45+ years is that we are losing muscular strength & Vo2 max at rapid rates! It is critical to put extra emphasis on strength training & high-intensity training, in the right doses, to slow down the sarcopenia.

Our Masters Base Builder Plan achieves these goals by reducing the total bike volume allowing for more strength training, high-intensity rides, and “cross-training” to reduce the effects of aging to continue to get faster as we get older!!

Our 18-week Masters Base Builder plan takes the proven progression of our 14-week Base Builder to focus on low-intensity aerobic fitness while layering in progressively higher intensity work as the plan progresses; all inline with the POLARIZED TRAINING philosophy.

The weekly structure includes twice weekly energy system specific session (higher intensity), a structured Aerobic session, and a weekly endurance ride. Strength training along with optional “cross-training” is encouraged up to three times per week in addition to the riding.

If you’re 45+ years of age and not interested in slowing down, this plan can set you up with appropriate training loads and intensity progressions, recovery, and CTL ramp rates that can build your most effective base fitness for your 2024 cycling season.

You can now FIND THE PLAN on Training Peaks.

In addition, Waite Endurance coaches, Cody & Kathy, will be launching season Season 4 of the Waite Endurance Podcast this Fall that will guide our Masters listeners through this very training program with insightful information (with plenty of information for our younger cycling friends too!), and personal experiences of our own 45+ masters athlete hosts, as they follow the plan themselves towards their 2024 season.

Get the plan for yourself and follow along through your 2025 base season!

2024 WE Development Program Application Window Opens Now!

  • July 19, 2023
  • Blog

With our 9th & 10th National Championships added to the WE Development trophy cabinet, we’re eager for the 2024 WE Development program!

Coaches Cody & Kathy Waite are putting together an ever-improving program for developing the next generation of XCO mountain bike racing in the United States. Entering its 6th season, WE Development is eager to reach the goal of getting more US riders to the biggest events in Europe and across the globe!

For 2024, we will continue to offer the highest level of junior development for 15-16 USAC juniors, 17-18 UCI juniors, and U23 racers; totaling 30 riders across the age groups and genders. This will allow us to continue to offer the best coaching and training we’ve become known for; as well as expand our equipment and race day support to allow for maximum performance across the entire XCO season.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

 

Applications to join the WE Development program are available through September 20th. Team selection occurs in early October, with training for the 2024 season beginning in November.

DOWNLOAD OUR 2023 APPLICATION

NEW Body Comp Booster Plan

  • October 6, 2022
  • Blog

Work with a dietitian and optional continuous glucose monitor this off-season enhance your diet to become a fat-burning machine and improve your body composition!

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 NEW FOR 2023:

OFF-SEASON BODY COMP TRAINING PLAN.

As we head into the off-season, we’re already dreaming of longer days and PRs at our next season’s “A Event”.

More so than any training program, interval sessions, increased volume, or lightweight equipment you could attain, your biggest time gains in an endurance cycling event come from improving your body composition. Put more directly, unless your percent body fat is already in the single digits (or mid-teens for females), losing fat mass will make you faster, period.

SLOW DOWN TO GET FASTER. 

In between seasons is the time to make changes to better yourself. Because you don’t have to perform in the off-season, there is room to be far from a peak performance; this allows you to slow down your training intensity to develop your fat-oxidizing energy system and emphasize lean-tissue development through resistance training.

TRAINING THE OXIDATIVE SYSTEM: 

“Low-Intensity Structure” is the key to igniting your fat oxidizing aerobic energy system. Each week includes training your aerobic system through a combination of short, structured Aerobic Threshold sessions (perfect for mid-week trainer sessions), slightly longer “zone 2” indoor or outdoor rides, and optional cross-training activities on the weekends. This is the off-season after all, and training loads should be kept to a minimum with fat-burning at a maximum during this time of the year.

SIGN ME UP!

IMPROVE YOUR DIET WITH A PRO. 

We’ve partnered with a registered dietitian, specializing in metabolic efficiency, to include personal support to assist you in optimizing your eating habits for improved body composition and performance.

Through the optional use of a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) and four private video-consultations you’ll learn how to manage your diet & nutrition to support your training efforts leading to improved lean body composition and PRs race days!

Christine Zimmerman 

MPH, RDN, CDCES

Christine is a registered dietitian/nutritionist (RDN), certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES), Metabolic Efficiency Training Specialist, and Certified Intuitive Eating™ counselor in Colorado. She has a Bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University and Master’s in Public Health from UNC-Chapel Hill. Christine provides Diabetes Self Management Education, Medical Nutrition Therapy services, and Metabolic Efficiency Training for endurance athletes through her private practice in Morrison, Colorado. 

YOUR OFF-SEASON TICKET TO RACE DAY SUCCESS! 

Improve your diet while emphasizing aerobic fat-burning training and lean tissue promoting strength training to improve your body composition. Utilize your off-season to get leaner, healthier and faster in 2023!

8-Week Off-Season Body Comp Booster Plan
$419

  • Four Consults with a Dietitian
  • Optimize Your Diet Strategies
  • Utilize a Continuous Glucose Monitor (optional)
  • Increase Lean Body Mass
  • Improve Aerobic Function
  • Gain Off-Season Structure
  • Improve Metabolic Health Before Next Season!

Once payment is made, we’ll be in touch via email within 48-hours to deliver your training plan via Training Peaks & Train Heroic, and schedule your metabolic efficiency video-consultations.

Our 2022 Race Prep Program Begins in April!

  • March 8, 2022
  • Blog

Spring is in the air and event season is right around the corner! Are you prepared?

Get your 2022 race preparation dialed in with our Race Prep Program. With your base fitness established we’ll work from high intensity out towards longer and lower intensity energy systems that you will rely on come race day. Our 2022 coach-led Race Prep Program will get you prepared for long steady power events like gravel, fondo, and marathon & ultra marathon MTB events.

Our program includes a custom plan designed around you and your event & life schedules, along with:

  • Optimized training loads to meet your volume goals
  • Structured cycling workouts delivered via Training Peaks
  • In-season strength training workouts delivered via Train Heroic
  • Coach-led bi-weekly ZOOM calls to discuss training related topics & education
  • Special guest Dietician to assist in nutrition planning
  • Bi-weekly podcasts providing additional insights
  • A group forum app to allow for unlimited Q&A throughout the process
  • Special discounts from partnering brands
  • Opportunities for Leadville meet-ups in July & August as you prepare for your big day!

Our program revolves around the Leadville 100 MTB race, but easily applies to any/all mid-Summer endurance events including gravel races (like SBTGRVL, Gravel Worlds, etc.), Gran Fondos, and endurance MTB events (Breck Epic, Park City, Telluride 100, etc.).

Train, learn, interact and succeed with our 2022 Race Prep Program for a peak performance this summer!

LEARN MORE

REGISTER HERE

Train With Us From Base to Race For Leadville 100

  • December 12, 2021
  • Blog
Who’s excited for August 13th, already?
We’re thrilled to release the complete details for our 2022 Leadville Base + Race Program. We have many new great updates and additions for 2022. We hope you’ll find an option that looks interesting to you and choose to join us for the new season ahead!
The biggest addition this year is the Endurance Race Prep Program that follows our tried and true Base Builder Program to form a complete season of training, coaching, learning and motivation leaving you with peak fitness come your A-race this Summer in Leadville.

Here are the quick details:

BEGIN WITH BASE…

Build a solid foundation of strength & cycling fitness over the winter months via structured cycling & strength workouts, a coach-led training program and group-based community structure for support, motivation and accountability.
  • Begins January 3rd (we’ll have a pre-kickoff zoom call the week before on Monday, Dec. 27th @ 6:00pm MST)
  • Runs 15 weeks through April 10th
  • Includes cycling workouts via Training Peaks & strength workouts via Train Heroic
  • Training Program is optimized to your fitness and goals
  • LOTS of education on all things training
  • Weekly ZOOM coaching calls (Mondays @ 6:00pm MST)
  • Group Forum for Q&A via Slack
  • Partner discounts TBA

FINISH WITH RACE….

Continue your summer preparation with our Endurance Race Prep Program with a focus on preparing for the big day in the mountains in August.
  • We’ll focus on the Leadville 100 and Lifetime series qualifiers (but any endurance events in mid-summer can be compatible) 
  • a CUSTOM Training Plan built for your event schedule and fitness 
  • Optimized training loads included as part of the customization
  • Bi-weekly zoom coaching calls (more frequent as we get a month from Leaville!)  
  • Q&A out the wazoo
  • LOADS of education on all things endurance racing
  • Partner discounts TBA

COST:

$999 for the 8-month virtual coaching program  (REGISTER HERE)

In-Season Strength Maintenance

Strength Training, that is training with weights in the gym (or at home), has become more widely accepted in the endurance sport world over the last 5+ years. There are still some hold-outs on the subject, but most athletes and coaches will agree there are valuable benefits to be gained from lifting heavy weights within an endurance sport training program. Improving your strength from season-to-season only occurs if you perform Strength Maintenance sessions year-round.

The intent of this article is not to spew out the benefits of Strength Training (you can read a previous post that covers all those points); rather my intent with this article is to point out the value of YEAR-ROUND strength training. More specifically, focus on lifting weights within your competitive racing season.

Don’t Lose your Gains, Bro

If you’ve gotten this far, I’m going to assume you’re on board with Strength Training, at least as part of your off-season training program. The majority of endurance athletes do some form of strength training in their off-season. Then what seems to be very common is many athletes cease their Strength Training program once their competitive race season begins. The reasons I hear for dropping the strength training from their training programs are often:

  • Wanting to spend more time on their primary sport (“get more miles in”)
  • Lifting weights makes them slow (“legs too sore/tired”)
  • Don’t want to gain weight (“too much muscle”)
  • Getting bored with the strength training (“same old routine”)

I’m here to encourage you to not stop your Strength Training once your race season begins. In fact if you do stop, I can tell you you’re leaving performance gains on the table!

You may be thinking, “Whoa! Hold up. You want me to lift weights during my race season?!”

Yes I do! And here’s why…

When you Strength Train for 2, 3 or even 4 months of your off-season, you spend the first few weeks working through the soreness of training the muscles. Only then do you begin to make some gains in actual strength of movement. These improvements to your health & performance as an athlete include:

  • Increased muscle fiber recruitment (use more of the muscles you have)
  • Increase top-end power (raise the ceiling of your power curve)
  • Increased anabolic hormone production (balance the catabolic nature of endurance training)
  • Improve range of motion/activation (offset imbalances)
  • Improve the overall “durability” of your body
Read More

Our Two-Phase Approach to Peak Performance

  • April 28, 2021
  • Blog

WE at Waite Endurance prefer to use a TWO training phase model to reach a peak performance for an “A” race. We call them: Base Builder & Race Preparation.

Base Builder Phase

Base Builder (or your base phase) is about establishing a general aerobic & strength foundation of fitness. Our Base Builder Plans are 12-24 weeks in duration. The duration is dependent on time until your next “A” race. Our Base Builder progression goes from low-intensity to high-intensity. Building through the six major energy systems in a block periodization format with 2-4 week blocks based on duration of plan and intended rate of progression:

 1. Aerobic Endurance 

2. Aerobic Threshold 

3. Anaerobic Threshold

4. Vo2 Max

5. Anaerobic Power 

6. Peak Power 

Overall volume is dependent on rider age, experience, time availability and level of goals. More experienced, higher level athletes will carry moderately-high to high levels of volume within their Base Builder; where as lower level riders and/or time constrained riders will carry lower levels of volume. Regardless of total volume goals, volume will gradually increase (at low intensity) over the course of the riders Base Building Phase.

Power Testing occurs at the beginning of the Base Build to set baseline training targets. Within the Base Builder testing reoccurs approximately every 8 weeks to check for progress and reassess training targets. Lighter recovery weeks typically occur concurrently with testing weeks to de-load fatigue and reload the enthusiasm.

On the strength training side of things, the first half of Base Builder Strength focuses on developing maximum strength (while aerobic intensity is at its lowest). The second half of Base Builder shifts towards a stability & power focus in the gym as intensity ramps up on the aerobic side.

The goal upon completion of your Base Builder phase is to be “generally fit”, able to handle a high training load, and ready to focus on becoming more “specifically fit” for your target event.

Race Preparation Phase

The Race Prep phase picks up where Base Builder phase leaves off. This time working backwards down the “ladder” of energy system model (above). The duration of the Race Prep phase is event dependent. Shorter, higher intensity events (such as criteriums, XC mountain bike) require a shorter Race Prep phase, moving only a few energy systems down through to the energy systems most used in the event. Longer, lower intensity events (such as road/gravel races, endurance mountain bike races) require a longer Race Prep phase to move down through to the lower intensity energy systems (the dominant systems used in the target events).

5. Anaerobic Power 

4. Vo2 Max (crits, CX, often end here)

3. Anaerobic Threshold (XC MTB, time trials, short road races here)

2. Aerobic Threshold  (3-6 hour endurance events end here)

1. Aerobic Endurance (ultra 6+ hour events go to here)

A typical strategy is move through these energy systems in 2 week blocks. Often we’ll allow for more focus on the higher intensity work through additional intervals, or sets of intervals, compared to the equivalent Base Builder block from the previous phase. As intensity lowers from block to block the volume will typically rise to extend endurance as needed for longer events.

Peak & Race

Upon completion of your last energy system block within Race Prep, we often wrap things up with a testing week to identify progress. Follow that with a Taper Week and final Race Week of training to “sharpen the sword” for race day. This allows for shedding of accumulated fatigue, while maintaining the high power output capabilities you’ve trained for.

Following race day is a recovery week of little to no training to allow for a mental & physical break. From there what you do is dependent on what’s next in your season… Another build towards an “A” race. Or perhaps a second week off for transitioning between seasons and then back to Base Builder training.

The Waite Endurance Race Preparation Plans

  • March 20, 2021
  • Blog

With Spring around the corner it’s time to think about Race Preparation. Most athletes are putting the final touches on their off-season Base Builder training. Following our Base Builder Plan Programming, athletes have gone through an extensive strength building program in the gym combined with a progression through the six primary aerobic energy systems we utilize on the bike; from lowest intensity to highest intensity:

  1. Aerobic (all day power)
  2. Aerobic Threshold (2-4 hour power)
  3. Anaerobic Threshold (32-64 minute power)
  4. Vo2 Max (8-16 minute power)
  5. Anaerobic Power (1-4 minute power)
  6. Peak Power (5-20 second power)

Depending on when they got started with their Base Builder training and how much time available for building Base, athletes went through a 12, 18 or 24 week progression; in 2, 3 or 4 week blocks dedicated to each energy system mentioned above. Regardless of your exact base training protocol you may have followed, as you come to the end of your base phase you may be asking yourself this question:

With my Base now built and general cycling fitness established, what comes next?

Race Preparation Training

Where Base Building is general fitness development; Race Preparation is specific fitness development for your A-priority event(s) of the year.

Read More
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