SPIKE-009: Strength + Mobility Planning for Race to the Sun

Spike 2026-02-22 Training Strategy / Data Model Complete

Stories / Tasks

Story Points

Tests

Days

Overview

This spike produced a practical 12-week strength + mobility scaffold to support a cyclist preparing for Race to the Sun on 30 May 2026, with constraints of knee irritability and home-gym-only equipment (bench, plates, dumbbells).

Safety disclaimer: this is not medical advice. The plan is for education and planning only. A licensed physio/sports clinician should clear and tailor loading decisions, especially with post-arthroscopy symptoms.

Deliverables

ID	Title	Effort	Status	Owner
SPIKE-009	Strength training + mobility optimization for cyclist with knee constraints	M	Done	Codex

Key Decisions

Use 2 strength sessions/week during build, with 1 session/week in high-fatigue and taper windows.
Use knee-friendly lower-body patterns (box squat, hinge, supported unilateral work, isometrics) with pain-monitored progression.
Apply stop/modification rules using pain, sleep, resting HR, and HRV (if available) before each hard day.
Add Data Hub entities strength_session and mobility_session and keep cycling CTL/ATL/TSB intact while adding non-bike load narrative overlays.

Technical Notes

Programming model

Weeks 1-4: foundation and movement quality.
Weeks 5-8: build strength while maintaining gravel specificity.
Weeks 9-10: race-specific bike work + strength maintenance.
Weeks 11-12: taper and race execution.

Safety and escalation rules

Stop a set/session if pain exceeds 5/10, instability occurs, or compensation escalates.
Do not progress load when next-morning pain/swelling is above baseline.
Escalate to physio if pain >5/10 persists over 48 hours, swelling/locking/giving-way recurs, or function regresses for more than one week.

Data model outcome

Proposed schemas in docs/spike-009/strength-plan.md: strength_session and mobility_session.
Primary metrics: training volume, session RPE/internal load, pain score, sleep, resting HR, HRV trend.
Readiness narrative: combine bike stress + non-bike stress in a race-readiness flag without breaking longitudinal CTL comparability.

Evidence used (selected)

Heavy strength training in cyclists (systematic review/meta-analysis, 2025): PubMed 40632222
In-season 1x/week strength maintenance in cyclists: PubMed 20799042
Cycling economy/performance gains with maximal strength training: PubMed 19855311
Female cyclists: heavy strength added to endurance improves performance/economy: PubMed 25892654
Concurrent training sequence (resistance before endurance effect on dynamic strength): PubMed 28917030
Concurrent training compatibility review (2021): PubMed 34757594
Patellofemoral pain clinical guideline: PubMed 31475628
Pain-monitoring threshold example in tendinopathy management (5/10 model): Journal of Athletic Training clinical management summary
OA guideline reinforcing exercise and weight-loss strategy: PubMed 31908163
HRV-guided training in cyclists: PubMed 29809080
Markers of functional overreaching in endurance athletes: PubMed 34108275
Athlete sleep consensus (BJSM): BJSM Sleep and the athlete (2021)

Outcomes

Produced practical implementation guide: docs/spike-009/strength-plan.md.
Defined a 12-week schedule aligned to race date with busy-week fallback and template sessions.
Added explicit knee safety stop rules and referral criteria.
Defined Data Hub schema additions and CTL/ATL/TSB integration narrative rules.

Open Issues

Needs clinician confirmation for individual exercise tolerance and ROM limits post-arthroscopy.
HRV availability depends on actual wearable feed quality/consistency in current ingestion pipeline.
Strength load to CTL narrative weighting is a heuristic and should be calibrated against observed fatigue outcomes over 4-6 weeks.