Introduction

The quadriceps are important for cycling as they are central to the force used when driving the pedals and the cyclist's efficiency. The force and power you can apply on the pedals also depend on the strength of your legs; the stronger your legs are, the more force and power you can apply when turning the pedals. The muscles in the lower half of the body also grow stronger, so you can maintain high speeds for a longer period of time without getting as easily tired.

Indeed, it is common to see many cyclists primarily concentrating on the aerobic energy system without giving sufficient attention to the power output. Including strength-building workouts that challenge your leg muscles beyond what they are used to can result in fantastic gains in strength endurance, sprinting speed, and climbing capacity.

In this article, we give you some of the best cycling leg workouts that you can do for some cycling disciplines.

Hill Repeat Workouts

This workout is particularly efficient in building leg strength and power as it involves Hill repeat sessions. The constant, gradual incline engages much muscle tissue in your quadriceps, buttocks, hamstrings, and calves. This assists in creating tolerance to fatigue and strength to create more torque power.

Here is an example hill repeat workout:

• The warming period lasts for 15-20 minutes.
• The hill should take at least 3 minutes or more than 5 minutes to climb. The grade should be at least 5-8% to ensure adequate resistance to the force being applied to it.
• Ride at high resistance up the hill on the steepest pitch for about 3-5 minutes at a steady cadence.
• Go down easily to recover at the next level on the lower part of the hill.
• Perform this sequence for 5-8 hill climb efforts in total.

You can do hill climb intervals for even more intense leg strength exercises. Pedal as hard as you can for 30-90 seconds at the same cadence while going uphill, and then decrease the effort for the same time you took to change gears. Continue these intervals until you are at the peak of the hill. Perform 5-10 of these.

Seated Climbing Intervals

Seated climbing intervals are like hill repeats with steep gradients but can be done on any gradient or flat tarmac. Move up a few gears as hard as possible, and do not stand during the entire action. The key to this workout is to maintain a high resistance and a consistent cadence while seated, which helps to build leg strength and endurance.

An example of a seated climb repeat workout is:

• It is recommended to warm up for at least 20 minutes before any physical activity to avoid possible injuries and muscle strains. Warming up increases blood flow to the muscles, making them more pliable and ready for the workout. Similarly, stretching after the warm-up and at the end of the workout helps to prevent muscle tightness and soreness.
• Move up to a gear that is difficult to rev through at 60+ rpm whilst sitting down.
• This climbing should last 45-90 seconds to ensure you achieve consistent cadence without standing up.
• During this, bring the speed back to that of an easy spin and recover for the same amount of time.
• Sustain total hard efforts 6-10.

Ensure you do not jerk in the seat while only generating force with your legs through these intervals. This makes it more isolating to your legs than stance climbs.

Tempo Workouts with Resistance

Long-tempo workouts with added resistance are handy for musculoskeletal and cardiovascular endurance. This is because shifting to a harder gear creates continuous focus on the leg muscles to strengthen the muscles constantly.

Here's a resistance tempo workout to try:

• Loose movement for 20-30 minutes
• Ease off the gas to transition into a slightly more difficult than easy gear but not too challenging to enable you to stay at 65-75% of threshold power or heart rate.
• Maintain this pedalling intensity for 20-40 minutes, emphasising maintaining spinning momentum.
• The gearing should be rather high, making the muscles in your legs feel used by the time you try to cycle.

Ride at a short ‘dig deep’ for 1-2 minutes at a harder pace, then get back to tempo pace for recovery. Or do 10-15 minutes at tempo, have a short rest, then continue the same level of intensity. Since the pedal offers variable resistance, try changing the difficulty level to maintain the leg exertion.

Explosive Sprints

Sprinting exercises involving very short and quick bursts of energy require the ability to pedal quickly and with force. These short, sharp efforts prepare your legs for explosive acceleration and an increased burst top speed.

Here is a sprint workout that will challenge your legs:

• Stretch your muscles for at least 20-30 minutes until the muscles feel soft and loose
• Over a flat or slight decline, open the throttle full and floor it with the seat occupied for 10 – 15 seconds.
• Recover very easily for 1-2 spinning legs out
• Perform until the total time spent on sprints is 10-12 minutes.
• Gradually increase the length of sprints to 30 seconds by gradually increasing the length of intervals.

Concentrate on mashing the pedals over during these, which can be attained by practising the correct form. Commend yourselves 100% on the effort, and then let your legs have a chance to recharge after that. This trains rapid power.

Conclusion

Cyclists often neglect the development of strong legs, which is a big mistake as it would determine their speed, stamina, and force rate. It enables you to create more watts and torque to ride at enhanced speed with optimum vigour. Cycling-specific exercises like hill repetitions, resistance intervals, and short sprints ensure your legs are constantly working. Try to challenge the leg muscles in new ways while ensuring they get enough rest between the strength training activities.

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FAQs

1. Should I perform leg strength cycling workouts daily, weekly, or monthly?

Try to incorporate 1-2 sessions focused on developing strong legs at least once a week on the bike or through weight training. You should not cycle through the training zones on two consecutive days; therefore, ensure you have at least one rest day in between. Remember, rest is just as important as training in building strength and endurance. Switch through the various workouts above every seven days in the four-week training cycle.

2. Should I also continue to do regular endurance rides?

However, you still need to incorporate the longer endurance rides of 60-90 minutes at an easier pace to work on muscular endurance and cardio fitness. You want to add strength workouts to the endurance training sessions or perform shorter strength intervals during the long bike rides. Remember, a balanced training regimen that includes both endurance and strength workouts is key to improving your cycling performance.

3. Is developing a reasonable amount of leg muscles by cycling without involving body weights possible?

You can bring up very good cycling-specific legs merely by training on a bike alone. Specifically, the quadriceps and calf muscles are the most responsive to resistance training on the bike. However, if one needs to incorporate barbell or machine weight training for other body parts, leg strength improvement can still be gained through cycling workouts with difficult gears or hills and intervals.

4. Which muscles should I feel to be working during strength cycling sets?

Hill climbs and hard resistance efforts should develop a pump and fatigue in the thigh, buttock, leg back, and calf muscles in a timely manner. Such workouts make you work against resistance; hence, you will likely feel these muscles. Ensure you don’t strain yourself on cardiovascular and take recovery days when necessary.

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