If you, as a cyclist, want to perform well, have an excellent physical condition and be a good rider overall, it’s key that you work out on your bike. Working out while sitting on the saddle will make you a better cyclist, but this workout must be combined with ad hoc gym exercise in order to improve your physical performance and strengthen your body.
Gym workout aimed to cyclist helps tone and strengthen the body parts that work harder when you cycle. Some of these are leg, core and upper trunk workouts. Thanks to them, you’ll avoid muscle injury and will improve your performance on the bike. Moreover, if you combine them with a healthy diet, nothing will stop you!
At Santafixie, we have compiled a set of at-home workouts for cyclists, in order that you can work out without having to go to the gym. With a little willpower and the desire to improve, you’ll be able to enhance your physical performance and condition on the bike. Follow this cycling workout table frequently and little by little you’ll start noticing its benefits. Take into account that this is a rather slow process and that you’ll need to be perseverant in order to see the first changes in your body, after a minimum 3 weeks.
Home Exercises Routine for Cyclists
Keep reading to find a very visual workout table for cyclists, that you’ll be perfectly able to do at your own home.
Top 10 at-home workouts to become a better cyclist
It doesn’t matter what aim you have – these workouts will help you increase your abilities, strengths and power when you hop on the bike.
1. Squats
A very easy exercise and one of the most important for any cyclist. The main purpose of this exercise is to strengthen your quadriceps and increase your leg flexibility, as it is an exercise that involves different muscles in your legs, such as the hamstrings and glutes.
How to do it
To correctly complete a squat, you must have your feet shoulder-width apart and squat all the way down. Once you start to descend, your knees should not go beyond the tips of your toes. The entire surface of your feet soles should always be in contact with the ground. You should lower yourself to a position of about 90° and then raise yourself back up to a fully vertical position.
Training routine
Do 3 10-rep rounds, 90 seconds between rounds. If you want to work harder, you can squat slowly and then jump back up explosively.
2. Russian twist
This one doesn’t call for neither equipment nor much room. The aim of a Russian twist is to tone and strengthen your abs, specifically the obliques. It’s a perfectly adaptable exercise, good for beginners or veterans. Strengthening your abs is essential to increase your body stability and improve your position while cycling.
How to do it
First of all, sit down on the floor and raise your knees and spine at a ~45º angle. Then, slightly raise the tip of your feet and use your coccyx as a support. Once you’ve found the most comfortable position, turn your upper body to the right, go back to the center and then turn it to the left, repeating this movement while keeping balance and without letting your feet touch the ground.
Training routine
You can either set a time or a rep series for this exercise. Either way, repeat it for about three 30-second rounds. Between each round and the next one, rest for 1 minute. You’ll see that your breathing technique is very important.
3. Front lunges
Front lunges will make your legs look like steel. It involves the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. Thanks to lunges you’ll strengthen your legs without having to go out to jog. A right execution technique is essential to get the most out of lunges and work out properly.
How to do it
Start by standing still, legs separated at shoulder width. Lunge forward with one leg and bend your knee at a 90º angle. The other leg must meanwhile firmly positioned on the ground, and get down to the ground at the same time your other leg is bending. It’s important that your knee doesn’t go beyond your toe tips and that your waistline is totally horizontal while you lunge down. After the lunge, go back to the initial position and repeat the exercise with your opposite leg.
Training routine
This workout admits a lot of variants. You can do several reps with the same leg, or alternate between one and the other. Do 3 rounds, 10 reps each, with each leg. Rest 40 seconds in between reps and 1 whole minute after each round. It’s good to walk a little between each round and the following one, so that your blood can circulate and your muscles can oxygenate between rounds.
4. Static plank
Static planks, also called front holds, are amongst the best full-body exercises. They help strengthen your body’s lumbar and abdominal areas, and thus reduce backache. This workout manages to tension the whole body while focusing on the abdominal area – and letting your legs, back and chest work at the same time.
How to do it
Adopt the same position you’d have if you were to do a push-up, with your elbows at a 90º angle and your forearms lying straight on the floor. Keep your body straight, as if you were a plank. It’s important that you learn how to breathe correctly and that your hips are aligned with your whole body.
Training routine
As it’s a static exercise, you’ll have to work based on time. Do 3 rounds, 20 seconds each, and rest 1 minute in between.
5. Triceps dip
Your arms are the part of your body that does least work when you ride a bike, but it’s important to strengthen them in order to grab and guide the bike properly, so that you can cycle where you want. Triceps dips are a perfect exercise if you want to tone and strengthen your arms, with no machines or equipment – just using your bodyweight. You’ll need a support, such as a chair or a stool, in order to perform triceps dips correctly.
How to do it
Place your hands onto the high object of your choice, grabbing it by the front. Keep your arms straight and your legs slightly bent. Lower your body, keeping it as straight as you can, until your arms form a 90º angle, and use your triceps to rise back up until your arms are again fully stretched. Your legs can be fully stretched or slightly bent, depending on your preference.
Training routine
Do 3 rounds of 10-12 reps each. In between rounds, rest for 1 minute in order that your muscles can rest and get oxygenated.
6. Glute Bridge
The quintessential exercise to strengthen your upper body. With glute bridges, glutes and hamstrings will be working the hardest. It’s a very basic, yet very complete exercise, that will help you increase the strength of several muscle groups such as the abdomen and calf muscles. You won’t need any equipment to carry it out.
How to do it
Take a mat or a towel and lay down face up, with your back touching the floor. Your knees should be bent, with the feet firmly on the ground. Lay your arms down, facepalms facing the ground, too. Once you’re in this position, lift your hips off the ground, so that your body forms a straight line from your head down to your knees. Maky sure you’re pushing your hips with the power of your legs. Hold this position for a second and then ease back down, slowly, until almost reaching the initial position. Try not to touch the ground when your hips go down.
Training routine
Repeat this movement for 3 rounds, with 10 raises per round. It’s important that your glutes don’t touch the ground until each round ends – otherwise you won’t be working as hard as you could. Rest for 1 minute in between rounds.
7. Burpees
Burpees are a mix of a squat, a push-up and a vertical jump. They will allow almost all of your muscles to work, and will tone and increase muscle mass more quickly than other exercises. You’ll need good coordination in order to perform burpees fluently.
How to do it
First of all, take a squatting position and place your hands on the ground. From that position, adopt a push-up one and touch the ground with your chest. Once you’ve touched the ground, stand up quickly, jump and clap your hands over your head. All of these steps performed quickly after one another make up a burpee.
Training routine
Do a total 3 rounds, 1-2 minute breaks in between. In each round, do 6-8 consecutive burpees.
8. Side plank rise
Side plank raises are ideal to strengthen your abs, especially the obliques. You won’t need any equipment, as you’ll use your bodyweight to perform them. They will increase your strength and prevent backache and damage. Remember that strengthening your core is key to perform duly on the bike.
How to do it
Lay sideways, with your elbow and forearm on the ground, and your foot also in a sideways position. Raise your hips and keep them up in the air. It’s important that your feet, hips and shoulder form a straight line and that you don’t pull your belly back. Your elbow will be supporting your whole weight. Repeat this movement several times.
Training routine
Do 3-4 rounds, 10 reps each, on each side of your body. You can make this exercise even more difficult if you don’t allow your hips to touch the ground when going down. Rest for 1 minute in after each round.
9. Side lunges
Side lunges are very similar to front lunges, but in this case the movement will be done sideways. You’ll be strengthening your hamstrings and glutes. Quadriceps won’t be doing anything, contrary to what happens with forward lunges. They are very easy to perform and work really well. They’ll strengthen your legs without the need for gym equipment.
How to do it
Stand still, legs slightly separated. Step out as wide as possible with only one foot. When your foot touches the ground, drop your body, keeping your hips pointing backwards and bending the inner leg knee. The leg that is stepping out must be completely stretched. Once you reach that position, keep it for a second, with your supporting leg bent, then go back to the original position.
Training routine
Do 4 rounds, 10-12 reps each, with each leg. Rest for 40-60 seconds in between rounds.
10. Mountain climber
Mountain climbers are an excellent aerobic workout that will increase your strength. It makes muscles all around the body work, especially the upper body and abdominal ones. Moreover, it will increase your flexibility and your hip extension. Working on flexibility is also very important in order to perform while cycling, as well as to being in good shape in general.
How to do it
Start as if you were to do a push-up. Keep your arms fully stretched and shoulder-width apart, and your legs fully stretched as well. It’s important that your body forms a straight line. From there, you’ll have to pull your knees alternative trying to aim for the opposite elbow – raise your right knee towards your left elbow and your left knee to your right elbow.
Training routine
Do 3 rounds, 20-30 seconds each. You can work harder if you jump as you switch legs. Get 1 minute of rest after each round.
