Exercises That Will Make You A Stronger Cyclist
Written By Chiropractor Dr Tomi Leppänen
During lockdown, indoor cycling at home has become very popular and people simply love it! Spring is starting, bringing with it longer daylight and sunshine, so now is the perfect time to also consider outdoor cycling.
Whether you want more out of your indoor workouts, or on the road, here are my top 5 tips that will make you stronger, faster and help you smash your old PBs! - Tomi
Sprints
High-intensity efforts are an excellent way to increase your speed and explosiveness on the bike. Here are a few good workouts you can introduce to your training:
8x15 second efforts with a 3min rest in between
30 seconds on and 30 seconds off 10 times, rest 5min between and repeat
4x4min with a 2min rest. (If you are more advanced, or just like to suffer, then try 6 to 8x4min instead)
Do these 1-2 times a week, with heavy resistance/ big gear and giving it everything you’ve got!
Strengthening
Resistance training simply makes you stronger, more efficient and less prone to injuries. Here are good workouts you can do at home:
Lunges, 4 sets of 8 repetitions. Add weights if you’ve got them. A backpack filled with books or water bottles makes a good substitution. Rest for 2min in between sets.
Jumping squats, 4 sets of 10 repetitions. Warm-up your knees before starting and emphasise explosiveness during the set by jumping high in the air.
Plank and Dead Bug, do these 2 exercises for 30 seconds one after another without a rest in between. Perform 3 rounds with a 2min rest between rounds.
Nutrition
Having enough protein, carbohydrates and vitamins in your diet will make sure you recover from your workouts and it prepares you for the upcoming challenges. Simply adding a protein shake/yoghurt, sweet potatoes, fresh fruits and extra virgin olive oil to your diet can have real benefits.
Rest Days and Recovery
We all know how fun it is to blast through high-intensity workouts day after day, but our bodies do require complete rest days and lighter recovery workouts as well.
I recommend having at least one complete rest day or 3 lighter days (where your heart rate won’t go above 70% of your max) weekly.
I also highly recommend 1 or 2 longer 2-3 hour base workouts each week. These sessions should feel easy and comfortable. Also, make sure you sleep around 7-9 hours per night so that your muscles and nervous system can recover and become stronger.
Manual Therapy
Chiropractic treatment improves the range of motion in your spine and lower limb joints, your muscles symmetry, and also restores maximal function of the body. Spinal joint restriction, together with muscle tightness, can sometimes cause muscle weaknesses that significantly reduce your power on the bike.
Cycling puts a lot of strain on your neck and low back, due to the positioning of a bike. I recommend doing regular stretching and having a postural assessment done at Backspace. We can assess your muscle and joint health together with functional tests to show you any imbalances in your body.