Ranging from recreational level to world-renowned athletes and even a Guinness world record holder, she focuses on improving riders’ fitness, strength, power and endurance off the bike – so they can be great on the bike! She has been coaching for more than 12 years and works with mountain bikers of all levels and disciplines. Iona Bruce is a sports-specific strength and conditioning coach, personal trainer, gin lover and baker of world-class brownies. Cross single leg tuck ups (abdominal muscles and hips).Bicycle crunches (oblique muscles, abdominal muscles and hips).These exercises will do just that.Įxercises in this workout (all dynamic to replicate the movement on our bike): However, be aware that you must focus on all of the muscles in your core as it’s much more than just your ‘six-pack’ muscles. The core is so important when building up strength for cycling and should be a focus throughout your training. Main muscles focused on: Quads, hamstrings and glutes. If you want to make the exercise harder, add in the jump to make it more explosive and powerful. For off-road riders, we need the rebound to be able to ‘pump’ over hills and in corners and to ‘snap’ into jumps and skills. Building strength through squats will make climbing easier and ensure you can ride for longer. Squatting – what we do on the bike all the time as we’re bending our knees to stay over the centre of the bike. Main muscles focused on: Glutes and quads. Remember, we use these muscles to corner, which is another reason to do plenty of side lunges! Most people have one side of their body which is stronger than the other so it’s important to work side to side and use these muscles to address any imbalances, which could lead to injury if ignored.
Focus on rebounding for ‘pumping’ and ‘snapping’ and working on the side of the glutes/legs. Side lungesĪ great leg exercise, so important for cyclists. Main muscles focused on: Shoulders, triceps, chest and core.
Want to make them harder? Keep your legs straight as you perform the exercise. Here we’re working on shoulder and core strength and stability, focusing on getting the muscles to activate and work together as they should do. Important for glute activation, strengthening and all the good things that go with it! Really important when pedalling, climbing, descending and crash resisting! Plus, having strong glutes helps to take the pressure away from your knees and lower back. This means you can stay loose and navigate technical trails, jumps and drops. Arguably one of the most important skills to work on for biking – among other things, this allows you to get down low over your bars and lets you stay in control of your bike. Press-upsĮither from your knees or your feet. She says: “It’s all very well doing a workout, working hard and getting a sweat on, but we want to teach you why you’re doing these exercises and the reasoning behind what we’re teaching you.” She explains why she has included each of these exercises in her workout. Iona explains fully in the video why these exercises are so beneficial to cyclists. What are the benefits? Exercise breakdown This section section follows the same format as the first. Work your way up one side of the pyramid, then back down the other! Exercises Perform 30 seconds of each exercise, then rest for 30 seconds. Give it a go and start building your strength.
The second section is focused on core exercises. The first is a pyramid of strength exercises, designed in a format to also work on your cardiovascular strength. This workout is built around compound and plyometric movements which simulate cycling and encourage individual muscles to work together and translate into what you need to ride your bike with confidence, strength and power. If you could speed up your progression while improving your confidence, co-ordination, agility, strength, power, speed, balance and flexibility all at the same time, helping crash-proof your body – why wouldn’t you?
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