How to get stronger legs for cycling | 4 strength moves to do today

Whether you want to hang with the group on a group ride, or power up a hill, it’s no secret that you need strong legs for cycling. 

But how should you build even more leg muscle for cycling? What should you do and when? 

That’s where strength training comes in, and though it may seem like one more thing to add to your to-do list, there are several advantages to incorporating a few moves into your weekly routine. 

You’ll: 

1| Build muscle strength to have more energy at the end of your bike ride. And if you do bike races, building your muscle strength can help you sprint through the finish line.

2| Prevent overuse or common cycling injuries (such as neuropathies in hands, disc herniation, and tension headaches). 

3| Give you stability and mobility (reaching for your handlebars causes the upper back to round and shoulder blades to slide outward. This position elongates the back muscles, which over time creates an imbalance unless you do regular exercises to strengthen those muscles.)

4| Decrease your risk of injury and move more efficiently.

In this post, we’ll talk more about how to get stronger legs for cycling, and that includes how to combine strength training into your weekly cycling routine and the exercises that will help you increase your leg power for cycling.

Let’s get started.

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HOW TO GET STRONGER LEGS FOR CYCLING

You’ve likely heard that strength training can build your leg muscles for cycling. 

Now, if you’re worried about how to add another workout into your weekly routine, the good news is your strength routine doesn’t have to start with 30-minutes, 45-minutes, or bust. 

You could start with 5-minutes of strength work, or maybe one strength move. Start with what you can do right now—try a set of lunges before you ride. 

Once you’ve gotten into the groove of finishing one or two moves before or after your bike ride, add another exercise to keep your momentum going.  

Let’s talk more about how strength training and cycling can look in a week for you.

If you ride your bike 3 to 4 times a week, add your strength sessions on the days you’re not riding your bike. 

Adding a strength training workout on a non-cycling day is a guideline. I don’t know how intense your bike ride will be or how long you plan to strength train, so I want you to check that your hard workout days are followed by an easy day to avoid an injury. 

Not sure whether you should move forward with a workout or take the day off? The questions in this free guide can help.

If you ride 5 to 6 times a week, your strength training workouts will probably fall on your cycling days.

Because of this, the fatigue from your strength session (if you did a long one) will carry over into your bike ride and vice versa. 

Each workout you do will affect the other—do strength training first, and you might have fatigue on your bike ride; do your bike ride first, and you might have tired legs when you begin your strength work.

It is up to you to decide what you should do first—strength training or cycling. If you think you will skip strength work after a bike ride, do strength work first. 

Since your strength sessions and ride will be on the same day, it is vital to schedule an easy day (maybe a cycling recovery ride) after a hard one. Don’t push yourself hard every day of the week because that can lead to an injury. 

And finally, remember that you need a rest day every week to give yourself a break from physical activity and to prevent overtraining and injury.

THE EXERCISES TO HELP YOU BUILD LEG MUSCLE AND POWER FOR CYCLING

FORWARD LEG LUNGE

The exercise: forward leg lunge, to work your quads. 

How to do it: 

LATERAL LEG LUNGE 

The exercise: lateral lunge to strengthen your glutes.

How to do it: 

CHAIR SQUAT

The exercise: chair squat to strengthen your glutes, hamstrings, and core

How to do it:

CORE

Your core is an often overlooked part of boosting your leg power for cycling.

But, your core is vital to gaining power transfer. 

Let’s go into detail for a moment. Your abs and hip muscles combine to make up your core. And when you ride, your ab and hip muscles work together to control the rotational movement of the trunk on the pelvis. 

The less twisting you do on your bike (thanks to a strong core) will give you a stable place to transfer power. 

You can do core exercises such as crunches and planks to strengthen your core. But to develop your functional strength—how your core functions when you ride your bike—try this anti-rotation move. (You’ll find more detail and information about anti-rotation exercises in this book, Finish Strong: Resistance Training for Endurance Athletes.)

The exercise: shoulder taps, to strengthen your shoulders, core, and glutes. 

About this exercise: You’ll have to recruit your core muscles to resist twisting to one side and hold a stable core position, and that’s what makes this strengthening move so effective. 

How to do it:

A few strength training moves can build your leg muscles for cycling—and that can make a difference between hanging with the group on a group ride (or getting dropped), finishing a bike race, or climbing a hill on your bike.

But remember, with all these workouts scheduled into your week, you need a rest day every week to give yourself a break. 

Not sure whether you should strength train or ride your bike today? The questions in this free guide can help.