Training Advice for Women

This info is from The Cyclist’s Training Bible by professional trainer Joe Friel.

Training Advice for Women
Studies have deomonstrated that elite women athletes have aerobic capacities somewhat below that of elite men. The highest VO2 max ever recorded for a man was 94 while the highest woman’s aerobic power measured was 77. Both of these athletes were Nordic skiers.

Absolute msucular power outputs of women are also well below those of men. In comparision with male athletes, women riders carry a higher percentage of body weight as fat and can generate less absolute force due to their smaller muscle mass. These differences result in about a 10-percent variance in the results of world-class competitions involving males and females.

In the real world of racing, however, there are actually more similarities between male and female athletes at comparable levels of a sport than there are differences. Women are capable of training at the same volume as men, and they respond to training in essentially the same ways.

There are several opportunities for women to improve relative to their competition that men seldom have. One of the most critical of these is strength training.

The average woman’s total body strength is about a third less than the average man’s, but that difference isn’t distributed equally. Women are relatively stronger in their legs and weaker in their abdominal region and arms. While women do not race against men (except at Growlers), this comparison makes it apparent where a woman’s greatest opportunity for improvement lies.

By increasing the strength of her arms and abdominal region, a woman can improve her climbing and sprinting relative to her competition. Powerful riding out of the saddle requires strength to stabilize the upper body against the torque applied by the legs. Spaghetti arms and an accordion abdominal muscle dissipate the force produced by the legs.

Upper-body strength work to improve this relative weakness involves pushing and pulling exercises that use all the arm joints plus the back and the abdominals.

Abdominal strength also needs emphasizing due the size and shape of the female pelvis. Whenever possible, work the arms in conjunction with the abdominal and back muscles, rather than in isolation. The seated-row exercise is a good example of a multi-joint exercise that benefits cycling. The chest press will also provide muscular balance.

I generally recommend that women riders continue to lift weights year-round, even in the summer racing months. Otherwise, strength may soon be lost after a winter of focused weight room work.

Check with an instructor at a reputable gym for specifics.