My favorite question is, “What’s the least I could do here and still be successful?” and constantly chasing the answer in new domains is what’s kept my professional and athletic careers interesting.

I’m…atypical…for a cyclist.

Actually, I’m a bit atypical for identifying as a cyclist at all. I sort of hate rides longer than 3 hours, my bikes are minivans next to most folks’ supercars, and I go wildly out of my way to avoid wearing a jersey, especially one with bright colors and especially especially one with logos on it.

Also, I have a background as a pretty serious lifter and not-so-secretly love sprint-jump-throw way more than go go go.

So when I think strength training, I smile at the memory of dingy gyms full of black iron, chalk dust everywhere, max 5s in the back squat, and 10+ minute rests between sets. Based on what I read on the TrainerRoad forum (my preferred training app) and what I know of my roadie former co-workers (my preferred riding buddies), to most cyclists, that would be hell on earth.

Forgive me for sneering at most cyclists’ ideas about strength training…

Trouble is that my preferred approach to strength training is completely counterproductive to being a “strong” cyclist.

Training “my way” – full volume, high intensity, “lift big, eat big” – is destructive. It takes days to recover from a session, it takes constant recuperative work to keep joints healthy, and it packs on body weight. There’s no juice left over for 20 minute sweet spot intervals and no snap in the legs for 15 second sprints.

And that’s actually why I don’t train that way.

I miss the heavy weights, for sure, but I have to remember that I lift now to support my diet, to balance my body against the unidirectional loading of riding a bike, and to improve my coordination in order to hit higher peak power numbers.

In that order: to lose fat, to stay balanced, and to push watts.

The details of my personal strength training program don’t matter too much, because I have history lifting. If I were a dedicated cyclist just dipping my toe into strength training, here’s what I would do.

Month 1 & 2
3 days per week
One dumbbell goblet squat, 3 sets of 10
Forearm plank, 3 sets of 1 minute
One dumbbell single-leg deadlift, 3 sets of 5 on each leg
Hanging knee tucks, 3 sets of as many until my grip or abs go
1 minute of rest between sets.
Each training day, I would change the order of the exercises. My goal would be to push the first two exercises of the day as hard as possible, then do whatever feels manageable for the next two exercises.

Month 3, 4, & 5
3 days per week
A1: Two dumbbell lunge, 3 sets of 10 steps each leg
A2: Body rows or assisted pullups, 3 sets of as many
B1: Forearm side plank, 3 sets of 1 minute each side
B2: Trap/hex bar deadlift, 3 sets of 5
A1, rest 1 minute, A2, rest one minute, A1, and so on. Same sequence for B.
Each training day, I would alternate starting with the A exercises (and working as hard at them as possible, then “cruising” through the B exercises) and starting with the B exercises (working them as hard as possible, then “cruising” through the A exercises).
And before I use heavier dumbbells for lunges, I would switch from hanging the weights at my sides to holding the weights at my chest (called the “rack” position). When I’m ready to go even heavier, back to hanging weights at my sides.

Month 6, 7, & 8
2 days per week
Day 1:
Hex bar deadlift, 5 sets of 3
One dumbbell goblet lunge, 3 sets of 10 steps each leg
Pushups, 2 sets of as many
Body rows or assisted pullups, 2 sets of half my maxOne dumbbell walk, 2 sets of 50 steps each side

Day 2:
Two dumbbell front squat, 5 sets of 5
One dumbbell single-leg deadlift, 3 sets of 5 each leg
Assisted pullups, 3 sets of as many
Pushups, 2 sets of half my max
Two dumbbell walk, 2 sets of 50 steps
2 or 3 minutes rest between sets of the first exercise each day. It’s meant to be the heaviest you can possibly do.
Then 1 minute of rest between all other exercises.

I would change the order of the second through fifth exercises each day, just for variety, but you don’t have to.

And that’s it, that’s all I would do. The hex bar is a tricky one – you could make due with particularly heavy dumbbells or a straight bar if you had to. But other than the hassle of loading and unloading plates for that one, none of these sessions would take more than about 25 minutes.

For barely an hour a week, a program like this would build a well-rounded, resilient body, with muscle where there should be muscle and a hearty metabolism for keeping fat low (assuming you eat like a grown-up, which I’m relearning how to do).

That’s a body that could take a crash, that could push the pedals hard, and could resist overuse injuries.

And, for the record, despite my two decades of lifting experience, I’m essentially back in month 2 of this program.

I’m rebuilding my strength base after years of loafing – and with my sport goals top of mind.

This simple program is working for me exactly because it’s NOT the strength program for a lifter.

It’s a strength program for a cyclist.

It’s the least I can do in the gym to accomplish my riding goals.

So that makes it the best possible answer to my favorite question…for now.