Strength Exercises for Cycling
1.1 Warm-up
1.2 Lower Body
1.3 Upper Body
1.4 Core
1.5 Whole Body
1.6 Workouts plan
1. Strength Training for Cycling
A gym is not just for men, both women and men should be going there. Weight lifting and strength exercises for cycling have a lot of benefits for general physical fitness. Cycling lets us work for mostly two muscles groups in our body: the quadriceps femoris and gluteal muscles. What about other muscle groups?
Strength training and weight lifting have a lot of other benefits in cycling and regular life.
• You can increase the power generated on your bike by doing specific exercises.
• Get a better balance of your muscle mass in your body, so you are strong enough to do things other than cycling.
• Scientific research has proved that cycling reduces bone density. Strength training is strengthening the bones in your whole body.
• During the season it helps you to more quickly decrease your level of cortisol after workouts.
• It also helps prevent injuries.
Strength workouts should be done 1-2 times a week, depending on your goals and on the part of the season you are in. It is recommended to do 1 strength workout per week during cycling season and increase it to 2 during the winter season or offseason from a bike. Check our blog for more useful articles
If you are just beginning your adventure with the gym, weights or strength training, it should be done under the eye of professional! Good technique is very important to prevent injuries and to get all the benefits from specific exercises.
All exercises should be done without pain in the joints, muscles or headache or other sicknesses.
All exercises are for women and men.
This guide is created not just for cyclists, everyone can benefit from following it.
We do not take responsibility for any injuries during the training.
1.1 Warm-up
During any activity, you need a warm-up to prepare your body for the more intensive training, intervals, and especially strength workout. The warm-up is increasing blood flow and pumping it to your muscles. A good way to do it is to spend 10-15 min. on a stationary bike or treadmill.
1.2 Lower Body
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
Exercise 6
Above you can see 6 exercises for the lower body. Don’t start with all of them during one session, pick 2-3 and do 2-3 sets of each. Try to go to from 15-30 reps per set, and with time increase the number of exercises, the number of sets (up to 4) and add weights if you are able to do more then 30 reps per set. Breaks between sets are 60 seconds.
We are not recommending to set your weights based on the maximum weight you can lift. Why? Because we don’t know what is the maximum weight you can lift, and it is too early to test it. That is why you should try to stay between 20-30 reps, if you can’t make it to 20, keep working until you are able to achieve it. If you are able to do more then 30 with no problem, that’s a sign that it is time to add some weight.
1.3 Upper Body
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
Exercise 6
Six upper body workouts, to work on your arms muscles, biceps, triceps, chest muscles and back muscles.
1.4 Core
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
Exercise 6
Six core workouts. Here you should aim to hold a position for around 45 seconds. If you can’t hold that long, try to hold for 30 seconds, and if you can hold longer, simply increase the time of each exercise. Breaks between reps are 60 seconds.
Remember that you don’t have to do all 6 exercises, pick your 3 favorites or change them every other strength training you do.
1.5 Whole Body
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
Five samples of most intensive exercises because they are using a few muscle groups at the same time. Try to do 3 sets between 15-20 reps. with 60 seconds break between sets.
1.6 Cycling Workouts at Gym
To get sample workouts straight to your TrainingPeask account click here.
1.6.1 A sample workout for a beginner athlete.
• 10-15 min warm-up
• Exercise 1 upper body 2 x 20 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 2 upper body 2 x 20 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 3 upper body 2 x 20 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• 3-5 min break, drink water.
• Exercise 1 lower body 2 x 20 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 2 lower body 2 x 20 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 3 lower body 2 x 20 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• 3-5 min break, drink water.
• Exercise 1 core 2 x 30 seconds, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 2 core 2 x 30 seconds, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 3 core 2 x 30 seconds, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• 3-5 min cooldown, drink water.
• Stretching
1.6.2 A sample workout for an advanced athlete.
• 10-15 min warm-up
• Exercise 1 upper body 3 x 25 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 2 upper body 3 x 25 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 3 upper body 3 x 25 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 4 upper body 3 x 25 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• 3-5 min break, drink water.
• Exercise 1 lower body 3 x 25 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 2 lower body 3 x 25 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 3 lower body 3 x 25 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 4 lower body 3 x 25 reps, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• 3-5 min break, drink water.
• Exercise 1 core 3 x 45 seconds, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 2 core 3 x 45 seconds, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 3 core 3 x 45 seconds, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• Exercise 4 core 3 x 45 seconds, 60 s. breaks between sets.
• 3-5 min cooldown, drink water.
• Stretching
Leave a comment below if you have any questions.
