Improve Cycling: 5 Key Moves

This move strengthens your gluteslower back, and erector spinae muscles, the muscles that run along your spine and spend most of their time stretched out and flexed forward when you ride. Overall, it improves your posture, helping you sit up stronger on the bike.

1. Lie facedown on a mat, arms fully extended in front of you, palms down.
2. Squeeze glutes and simultaneously lift arms, legs, and chest off the floor.
3. Hold for 2 seconds.
4. Lower back down.
5. Repeat.

Start by lifting just one arm and leg at a time, alternating sides throughout the set.

This move builds strength in your shoulders, chest, and triceps, which support you on the handlebars. It also improves your core strength and stability—both of which help you put more power in your pedals.

1. Start in a high plank position, shoulders over wrists, core, glutes, and legs engaged.
2. Bend the elbows to lower body to the floor. Elbows should point back at a 45-degree angle.
3. Push back up to plank, making sure to keep hips in line with the rest of the body.

If you can’t push up without dipping hips or get chest to floor, drop to knees or place hands on a couch, steady chair, or even the wall.

After you perform the push-upwalk left hand and left foot over to the right so your hands and feet are next to each other. Then step right hand and foot back out so you’re in a wide plank position. Perform another pushup and walk your right hand and foot back to the left, and left hand and foot back to a regular plank position. Repeat, alternating sides throughout the set.

1. Lie faceup with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Rest arms at sides, palms down.
2. Keeping thighs parallel to each other, contract glutes and lift hips up toward the ceiling so body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
3. Hold for 3 seconds.
4. Slowly lower hips back down.
5. Repeat.

This move strengthens the prime movers in your pedal stroke, a.k.a. your quads, while also adding some impact to help build bone strengthwhich cycling alone doesn’t do.

1. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out. Clasp hands in front of chest for balance.
2. Send hips back and down and bend knees to squat down until butt drops below knee level.
3. Drive the feet into the floor to stand back up, exploding off the floor and jumping straight up.
4. Land softly, immediately dropping into another squat.
5. Repeat.

This move fires up all your glute muscles (maximus, medius, and minimus), which are notoriously weak in cyclists. Strong glutes, particularly the hip abductors, can improve your pedaling mechanics and prevent knee pain.

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands clasped at chest in front of you.
2. Step right foot back on a diagonal, so feet are diagonal. This is the starting position.
3. Bend both knees to lower into a lunge, keeping chest tall and core engaged. Right knee should be in line with left heel and just graze the floor. Left front knee should track over toes.
4. Drive through feet to straighten legs and return to starting position.
5. Repeat for reps.
6. Then switch sides.