Since the beginning of the covid-19 lockdowns in India in March 2020, a huge wave of people in the country have taken to cycling. Anecdotal evidence points to a majority of them actually enjoying their time in the saddle, which means they have continued with the sport. However, not all cyclists work with coaches that carefully plan the progression and loading for their clients.
It should be remembered that training plans for cyclists don’t just involve more cycling. Every cycling coach adds strength training sessions in the plan. MS Sriram, a Bengaluru-based cycling coach and founder of Sprocket Science India, a doorstep bike fit and servicing start-up, includes a minimum of two strength training sessions per week for his clients. “Cyclists need to make sure their muscles are strong enough to sustain extended periods of cycling and that’s just one of the reasons why cyclists need to include strength training sessions over and above all the cycling that they do,” he says.
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Cycling, at the end of the day, is an endurance sport, quite like long distance running. Even though it is one of the most low impact endurance activities, cycling involves extremely high repetitive thigh and leg actions. The quadriceps and calves are the primary muscle groups used in this sport. “Cyclists, therefore, need to develop strength, power and endurance in these muscle groups to aid them in enhancing cycling performance. One must understand that the muscles are stimulated very differently compared to running,” says AK Abhinav, strength coach at Life of Tri. “However, there is no impact on the musculoskeletal system like when running, so the muscles are not subjected to a violent stretch before producing force. Another difference is that the trunk and upper-body are also not subjected to rotation like when running.”
Given the nature of cycling and the muscles involved, the primary strength training routines for cycling should include strength, power and endurance routines for the quadriceps and calves. The other muscle group that cyclists should focus on are the hamstrings and glute muscles as they play a huge supporting role in cycling. Conjunctional abdominal and hip flexor strength and power routines, when added to the training, help increase a cyclist’s power output, says Abhinav. He adds that isometric strength routines for the trunk (upper and lower back) and neck muscle groups is important too. These help with holding optimum posture while pedalling. Moreover, scapular stabilisation is required for optimum shoulder posture.
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Since there are diverse objectives to achieve, a cyclist can do up to six short strength sessions per week or have three high volume sessions a week, suggests Abhinav. All routines can have exercises with 10 to 15 repetitions done for 3 to 5 sets depending on the objective of the training cycle. Here are Abhinav’s two workouts for cyclists:
Workout 1
Three sets
10 Back Squats
10 Single Leg Elevated Bridges
10 Tuck Jumps
10 Bulgarian Squats
10 Bulgarian Squat Jumps
10 Single Leg Deadlift
Three super sets
10 Renegade Pushups
10 Contra-lateral Plank Extensions
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Workout 2
Three sets
10 Single Arm Dumbbell Push Press
10 Single Arm Dumbbell Row
10 Single Leg Tuck Jumps
Three super sets
10 Dumbbell Split Jerk
10 Nordic Curls
Three sets
10 GHD Back Extensions
30 seconds Sorenson Hold
30 seconds Reverse Sorenson Hold
Three super sets
10 Prone Angels
10 Prone External Rotations
Three super sets
30 seconds Single Arm Plank
30 seconds Side Elbow Plank
Shrenik Avlani is a writer and editor and co-author of The Shivfit Way, a book on functional fitness.
