In a recent article, Will Hopkins and I reported a study we performed in 2003 on the benefits for short-term endurance of adding high-intensity resistance training to the program of already well-trained cyclists (Paton ande Hopkins, 2005). Unbeknown to us, Amy Mason was performing a very similar study.

In contrast to almost all previous authors (see review by Paton and Hopkins, 2004), Amy had the foresight to trial the training strategy in the athlete’s competitive season, when the results would be more meaningful. Her findings are remarkably similar to ours and clearly support the beneficial effects of sport-specific resistance training in endurance cycling events. While the mechanisms underlying the improvement in performance are not yet clearly established, the fact is that this type of resistance training works for competitive cyclists, and probably other endurance athletes