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Why Strength Training is Important for Cyclists

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You may think strength training is meant for bodybuilders and gym buffs, but it is now almost universally accepted as a vital training component for all athletes. Not only that, but as we age, resistance training becomes increasingly important for overall health and quality of life. So why do so many cyclists avoid it? It may be the thought of spending time at the gym when you could be out on your bike. Here’s why strength training for cyclists is important.

 

Why Strength Training is Important for Cyclists

We all know that leading an active life is the best thing you can do for your long-term health. As cyclists, we may be more active than most, but it is a mistake to just focus on cardiovascular exercise and exclude everything else. Cycling is a low impact activity, which means it’s great for your joints, but not so great for supporting your bone density and postural deficits. Strength training can help fill the gaps left by pure cardio exercise and build stronger bones, improve coordination, prevent injury, and give you more power on the bike.

Retain Muscle Mass & Correct Imbalances

Depending on where you live, you may have to take a few months off cycling during the dead of winter. Whether you take your training indoors or not, this is a great time to incorporate a strength training circuit into your routine. You don’t have to lose the muscle mass you’ve working so hard for over the cycling season, and you can work opposing muscle groups to bring muscle balance. Cycling is a repetitive motion, often overdeveloping the quads and glutes while the hamstrings and hip flexors lag behind. A good strength training program will take this into account and work on creating muscle balance.

Enhance Balance & Coordination

There is no doubt that cycling itself requires coordination and balance, but through the years it can become so second nature that it no longer challenges our intramuscular systems. Strength training with things like free weights, bosu balls, and resistance bands can help improve your balance and coordination. Again, this is particularly important as we age as it keeps the connections within the nervous system strong.

Improve Bone Density

As mentioned previously, this one is especially important for cyclists. Past studies have shown that the bone density of some competitive riders is lower than their sedentary controls. Unlike running or walking, cycling is a non-weight bearing activity, which is why it is so great for people with orthopedic injuries. However, this means you have to be doing something else, like strength training, to maintain healthy bone density and combat things like osteoporosis.

More Power on the Bike

Who doesn’t want more power on the bike? This is a bit of a no brainer, as the stronger your muscles are, the more power you’ll be able to exert within the cycling motion. It can be a difficult thing to develop on your bike, so using strength training is actually one of the best ways to become a stronger climber and overall rider.

Injury Prevention

Some of the most common injuries for cyclists include ITB syndrome, neck pain, low back pain, and knee pain. Some of these may be unavoidable, but most are caused by muscle imbalances. A combination of strength training and routine stretching can  strengthen your muscles and connective tissues to help prevent these injuries.

Although strength training my not make your faster in a direct sense, there are plenty of reasons to get into a strength training plan, whether it be in a gym or your living room. Check out “4 Of The Best Strength Training Exercises for Cyclists” for some exercises to get you started.

The Ultimate Core Workout for Cyclists

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Strengthening your core is the single most important movement you can do off the bike for injury prevention. The great news is– you don’t have to do crunches on repeat. Strengthening your core can actually be easy and quick. This core workout for cyclists can be done in just 10 minutes, and can improve both your power and endurance on the bike.

Why Core Strength Is Important For Cyclists

Cycling may seem to be all about the legs, but cyclists also need to have a strong and stable core. These muscles act to stabilize your body and help you control your bike. A strong core allows you to pedal with a smooth and powerful action, and maintain a strong upper body position. A weak core could lead to instability in bike handling, negative compensation patterns, and low back pain.

By incorporating core exercises in your strengthening program you can improve riding efficiency. Additionally, it can help avoid overcompensation by the hip and leg muscles that could eventually lead to injuries. All factors when combined with a proper training regimen, could allow for improvements in overall speed and smoother pedal stroke.

The Ultimate Core Workout for Cyclists

This 10 minute routine can be done before or after a ride, or whenever you have time to spare. You can do each exercise one after the other, with 12 reps of each one. Core exercises are a great thing to work into your stretching routine, so it works great if you can set aside half an hour 3-4 days a week to stretch and do your core exercises.

Reach and Rotate Side Plank

This exercise works the muscles on the side of your abdomen and hips so it is about movement and not a static hold. Starting on your left side, move into a side plank position. Prop your upper body up on your left elbow and forearm, tightening your core to stabilize yourself. Place your right foot on top your left, resting on the edges of your feet. Raise your hips until your body is a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders. Raise your right arm straight out your right side towards the ceiling. Hold for 5 seconds before rolling to centre on both your forearms. Rotate to the right side and repeat the movement, that is one rep.

Cobra Lift

The Cobra pose is a simple maneuver that can help to stretch your abdominal muscles and strengthen your lower back muscles. Start by laying face down, legs extended and arms pointed down towards your hips. With your palms facing down, bring the arms to a 45 degree angle. Contract the glutes, squeezing your shoulder blades together and lifting your torso up off the ground. Rotate your arms off the ground so your thumbs are pointed up at the ceiling. Your neck should be straight and your feet remaining on the ground. Hold for 5 seconds then return to the starting position, that is one rep.

Basic Glute Bridges

Since the glutes are an accessory muscle to the core it is important to strengthen them as well. Lie on your back, with your hands at your sides, digging your heels into the ground , and squeezing your glute muscles (butt) as you pop up. Raise your right leg up, fully extended, holding for 5 seconds. Come back down and repeat the motion while raising the left leg. That is one rep.

Dead Bug

Lie on your back with your arms extended in front of your shoulders. Bend your hips and knees to a 90-degree angle. Tighten your abs and press your lower back into the floor. Slowly extend your left arm and right leg out so they are parallel to the floor. Keep your abs tight and don’t let your lower back come off the floor. Return how arm and leg to the starting position and repeat with your right arm and left leg. That is one rep.

Strong legs will only take you so far, but a strong core will bear you to the finish line and beyond. If you do 12 reps of each of these exercises 3-4 days a week, you’ll notice a difference in the saddle and in keeping proper posture on the bike.

Strength Training For Cyclists -The Best Approach

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strength training for cyclists

Almost everyone is in search of more power on a bicycle. Power is velocity times force at the pedals. Velocity is how quickly the pedals turns over while force is the amount of energy put into each pedal stroke. Developing a fluid and fast pedal stroke happens almost exclusively on the bike, but developing more force can be done both on and off the bike with the proper strength training for cyclists.

Strength Training For Cyclists – Why Get Stronger Off the Bike?

There is a limit of how much force you can generate on the bike. With strength training you can go beyond that force by moving weight, be it body mass or weights, which will translate into greater on-the-bike force. It is important to keep similar body positions and ranges of motion to your riding position when strength training so your new-found strength will adapt well to the bike. You must make sure during even your heaviest lifting phases that you are also riding so you can put that strength to good use.

Strength training for cyclists is also important because cycling is a low impact exercises. Cyclists’ bone density is lower if they do not engage in some sort of load bearing activity off the bike to complement their on-the-bike training; strength training can fill that need. This is especially important for women.

Hit the Gym

When most people think of getting stronger, they think of going to a gym with free weights and machines. It is a great place to start strength training for cyclists. If it is a good gym, all of the equipment that you could want is there. There are also people that can help you with proper form and progression in a gym training plan, but be aware that the needs of a cyclist are different than most people who are at a gym.

Free Weights versus Machines

There are a lot of options at the gym of what to lift. If you have the option, always choose the free weight option for a given exercise. On the bike, you are not guided by a machine and must stabilize your movement on your own. A weight machine takes away from the development of some of those stabilizing muscles that would otherwise benefit you while riding.

Additionally, choose exercises that use more than one joint. There are very few activities in life that require movement from one joint. You want your weight room experience to simulate life as much as possible.

Periodization

Just like a cycling training plan should be periodized, so should strength training for cyclists. The base periods should mirror the on-the-bike training; building good form towards increasingly high volume while working up to moderate intensities. The build periods will bring down the volume a bit but will also increase intensity. Think higher weights, towards maximal efforts. Remember to include rest weeks too otherwise the strength training will be for naught.

As big events approach, it is important to dial back lifting and focus on maintenance. It is like the recovery ride of strength training.

Keeping Perspective

The goal of strength training for cyclists is build strength to use on the bike. It is not to build mass or look great at the beach. It is especially important to remember if you are training in a setting with other people. It does not matter what they are doing or what they think about your regimen; stick to the plan and focus on your goals.

Body Weight Exercises

No access to the gym or there is not enough time in the day to get there? Body weight exercises are easy to do at home and you can get most of the benefits of a gym. You may not be able to push tremendous weight as you could at the gym at the end of the build period but you can get in a lot of repetitions quickly and cheaply. Important exercises are lunges and squats, especially one-legged squats, which really build up your stabilizing muscles.

On the Bike

For very specific strength training, you can do it on the bike. The motion is exactly what you need and you are already out riding. Again, you are limited by how much force you can produce, but you will be able to build more strength than you had before. These workouts involve putting the bike into a gear that lets you ride at 60 rpm or less. While you are doing it, it should feel like you are pushing incredibly hard. Again, not as hard as lifting weights, but far harder than your average ride. You will be able to get in a lot of repetitions very quickly. One thing to note on this is that you should ease into it week by week as it can put a lot of stress on your knees which can injure them if they’re not ready.

Masters

As people age, their ability to maintain strength decreases. It is especially important for masters to engage in some sort of strength training for cyclists to maximize their ability on the bike. It will provide a dramatic competitive edge over their counterparts that do not strength train and also stave off some of the negative results of aging.

Women

Female cyclists will benefit a great degree more than male cyclists from strength training because of the bone density issues cyclists face. Women are more likely to develop osteoporosis than men and a strength training will help fight off its onset.

Core

A popular current trend is core strengthening. It is very time efficient, can be done every day, and is very important to stabilize your body during riding, especially sprinting. Keeping a steady and calm upper body allows your legs to do all the work more efficiently. Core work is easy to do at home with little or no equipment.

A core muscle is anything that originates or inserts in the spine or pelvis. It covers a lot of muscles, but the important ones for cyclists are between the hips and armpits.

Try It Out

If you are looking for another way to boost your power, strength training for cyclists is it. You will be able to turn over a gear higher at a given cadence after dedicating to a program for a bit. Who doesn’t want that? Also, strength training for cyclists further develops tendons and supporting muscles which can help to avoid overuse injuries as they are strong enough to handle the stress in which you put them under.

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