Strength and Conditioning for Cyclists

Strength and Conditioning for Cyclists is a nicely laid out introductory guide to improving your core strength, and improving your mobility and flexibility. The prose can be a little heavy going, but persevere and all becomes clear(er).

• Pros: Well explained and laid out, good sense of progression
• Cons: Prose can be a little heavy going, will you be 'doing it right' without an expert's help?

Sitting at a desk all day and then on a saddle for much of the weekend isn't great for your body, and with this book, Phil Burt and Martin Evans look to help you improve your flexibility, mobility, and basic functional strength. It's apt that the bike is sub-titled 'Off the Bike Conditioning for Performance and Life' as this really is a topic that should be focused on to not just improve your cycling, but also your general wellness.

The book works around a central assessment – a set of exercises that you are led through via a series of diagrams and explanatory text. You then 'mark yourself' to have passed or failed the various exercises based on the criteria laid out in the book. This then allows you to follow a flow chart which guides you through the exercises and movements that you need to work on to address your weaknesses.

So, for example, if you fail in one assessment area the flow chart will take you to a beginners' 'ironing out the issues' exercise, whereas if you pass an area, you are advised to start work on a specific, more advanced exercise.

Throughout the initial steps of the programme, minimal equipment is required, and that which is necessary is cheap and easy to have in the home – for example a swiss ball or set of stretching bands.

The 'end point' of the whole process is the full-on strength training section at the end of the book, which requires some more specialist equipment, though all of these are items that you could easily have in a small home or flat – no full-scale home gym required!

The book's method of guiding you through a home 'programme', with a clear sense of progression, is clever and satisfying. However, the progression element lies entirely on your own judgement of whether you have passed or failed an assessment step. And herein lies the tricky thing with all conditioning work – you can't always be a hundred per cent sure you're doing a certain exercise, stretch, or manoeuvre correctly unless you have an expert's eye on you.

Your body has clever ways of taking the path of least resistance and cheating its way around tricky exercises, performing them in an easier, sub-optimal manner. And this is the key weakness of the book, and is inherent to why we go to personal trainers. Are you sure you're 'doing it right'? All the diagrams in the world may show you a correct position, but unless you can see yourself trying to mimic it, you'll never know.

At times, the book suggests having a friend help with some of the steps of the assessment, which is perhaps a nod to this drawback of the book. It's great that this has been acknowledged, but how convenient and feasible is this?

Although the book is focused on the strength and conditioning side of sport, it does constantly allude back to how this all relates to cycling. For example, there are continued references to how to use your improving flexibility to improve your aerodynamics on the bike, and suggestions as to how to fit in the conditioning sessions around your on-bike work, which the book acknowledges will be your priority focus. For someone who is taking on an S&C programme for the first time, this is a really useful addition as it allows you to understand how best to manage your training time and how to schedule your sessions optimally.

The prose style adopted is not overwhelmingly technical, but there are quite a lot of anatomical terms used that not everyone will find that familiar. This can make the book a slightly slow read, as you may need to go over a few sections a couple of times to allow things to fully sink in. Although it is aimed at a beginner to the area, the use of the technical terms makes it a book that you might need to sit and study with concentration – if you try flicking through it with one hand while browsing Strava with the other, and the telly on in the background, you're not likely to get very far with it.

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To balance the sometimes heavy prose, the book is full of well-shot images of the techniques being described, which serve to both break up the text and are vital to performing the exercises correctly. There are also plenty of shots of pro cyclists in action which helps to remind you what the core focus of the book is, and what it is that you're reading it for – although the images are a touch old and make the book feel ever so slightly dated.

So, to wrap up – this is a very well thought out book that takes you through a deep and complex area in a clear and logical manner. The writing is clear and balances expertise with being understandable, though you do need to ensure you're giving it your full attention. The images are very useful in demonstrating what it is that you're trying to achieve.

Perhaps the only downfall of the book lies in the very nature of what it is. It's a book about physical movement and technique that sometimes requires an expert's advice and guidance, and without this expert's view on whether movements are being performed correctly, you'll never be too sure if you're doing things correctly.

Verdict

A comprehensive and thorough book – but ideally needs to come with a free personal trainer...