Strong legs are essential to cycling success – regardless of whether you are just beginning or looking to achieve greater speeds and wins on the bike. While cycling itself can build leg muscles, nothing beats a gym session for strengthening them properly.
Try performing the single-leg glute bridge exercise to target quad and hip flexor muscles and strengthen pedal stroke performance. It will also help balance out your thighs.
Calf Raises
Calf raises are an easy exercise that you can perform virtually anywhere – without needing a gym membership! Not only are calf raises an effective way to strengthen calves muscles for cycling pedaling, they’re also great at building power from within your legs to prevent cramps when riding long distances or hills.
To perform a calf raise, start by standing with feet hip-width apart on either the floor, an edge of a step or platform or weights held in both hands by your sides. Gently lift heels off floor until a good squeeze can be felt in calves before slowly returning them back down until starting position is reached again and repeat. Warm up with bodyweight sets first to get full range of motion before moving on to more reps with heavier loads.
Most people perform calf raises at the end of their workout as single-joint isolation exercises that can quickly fatigue the legs. But if leg training is a top priority for you, consider doing them first so they can train effectively without negatively affecting other compound exercises later.
Increase the intensity of calf raises by performing them on only one leg at a time, which will help your legs balance themselves out more and prevent asymmetries that lead to knee, hip or ankle injuries.
One-Legged Pedalling
Cycling is an extremely quad-centric sport, which can lead to overdevelopment in the front thigh muscles relative to glutes and hamstrings. This imbalance leads to inefficiency as legs sway from side to side while spinning and can even cause knee pain. One-legged pedalling may help restore equilibrium by placing more emphasis on other propelling muscles that aid the ride.
Many coaches recommend pedalling in a circular motion in order to apply pressure evenly throughout each pedal stroke, yet research has revealed that this method does not maximize power production. Instead, elite endurance cyclists apply more force on the downstroke (from 12 o’clock position down to approximately 6 o’clock position).
One-legged pedalling not only improves the effectiveness of the downstroke, but it also strengthens hip flexors – vital muscle groups that facilitate pelvis rotation for effective pedalling.
To perform one-legged pedalling, start by placing your right foot on the pedal and your left behind it. Begin pedalling smoothly with your right leg for two minutes, switching sides after every minute pedaled until all three sets have been completed. As you progress with this drill, take short breaks after every minute pedaled if the chain begins jerking out or losing tension; take at least 10 seconds off every minute pedalled if that becomes necessary.
Read also: How Much Calories Are Burned by Cycling?
Bulgarian Split Squats
The Bulgarian split squat is one of the best exercises for strengthening quads, glutes and inner thighs – while also increasing mobility in your rear leg. While not the easiest move in the gym, it can still make an invaluable addition to any strength training routine if performed correctly to reap its muscle-building benefits.
Leaning forward from your hips when performing a Bulgarian split squat can put undue stress on the front knee and lead to injury, but this can be avoided by paying close attention to foot positioning and driving through your front leg throughout.
Tipping backward when entering into the split squat position is another common misstep, putting additional stress on your back knee and decreasing overall tension time, decreasing muscle-building stimulus.
Hirt recommends starting off with bodyweight repetitions to work out your stance distance and form before adding weight or using a barbell as part of this exercise. Doing this requires more core strength to stay upright during each rep; additionally adding barbell weight increases risk for injuries; however.
Lunges
Cycling leg workouts provide the ideal way to gain endurance and power while strengthening major lower body muscles while correcting imbalances between each leg. Incorporating the best cycling leg exercises into your routine will strengthen them all while correcting imbalances between each. As your balance and strength increase, this will translate to improved movement patterns when riding your bike whether that be on flat roads or steeper inclines.
Lunges are an effective way to strengthen your legs for cycling, with several variations designed to target specific muscle groups. A reverse lunge strengthens muscles that control ankle, knee and hip joints while simultaneously training them at angles relevant to pedal stroke action. If you want something more tailored towards quads and hamstrings try walking lunge or goblet lunge exercises instead.
These exercises can be completed on your own or as part of a cycling class. When training on a stationary bike, using an indoor cycling app to add one-legged pedaling drills can make your workout even more effective once you master staying balanced while pedaling with one leg – but getting used to this exercise may prove more difficult than expected!
As a cyclist, strong legs are an indispensable asset in pushing those pedals with force and speed. By practicing these simple strength-training exercises, you can build legs to be the envy of all competitors on the road.
