I often go to spinning class but what else can I do that will help my riding?
People talk about core stability – is this basically sit ups?

leave! then go and ride your bike 😀

cycle there use the bike cycle home?

yeah, thanks.

I have an hour and a half at lunchtime where I can do something to help my riding. I can’t go out and ride my bike because I work in the middle of a large city and there is nowhere to keep a bike.

I am already a member of a gym which is right next to work. Is there anything useful IN THE GYM that I could do to help my riding?

Rowing machine perhaps. Or core strengthing work.

Riding a bike well is about your heart and lungs more than strength, so work on that.

Of course.

What I do for my riding (dh enduro type riding) is upper body plus core.

I go for muscular endurance (so 3 sets of 15 reps)
Bench press
Lat pull down
Pec fly
Shoulder press
Standing row
bent over row
shoulder fly
shoulder shrugs

Then do a whole bunch of situps, obliques, crunches and back raises and dead lifts.

Takes me 50 mins and is fine once a week along with other more cardio bike stuff. Definately notice a big difference in doing 3 sets of 15 reps instead of lower reps.

Freeweights working on your core.

easily done at home tbh, with a little bit of kit.

Sit ups don’t really do core strength – they work on your surficial abs, and core is more about the deeper muscles. Sorry, i don’t know the proper terminology. Anyway plank is a good place to start, but ask an instructor or do a Google for other exercises.

Core would definitely be time well spent though. You could also have a really good stretch of your hamstrings and hips as lots of cycling tends to reduce the length of these muscles (which is bad).

Step machine – similar to climbing out of the saddle. Plus as you said, core stability work – which you can work on on a mat doing pilates type stuff.

Upper body exercises as above

Deadlifts, squats, hack squats, leg press etc for leg strength

How many you do depends on what you want, big reps to bulk up low reps bigger weight for strength

Since doing some weights and core work I’ve definitely found an improvement in my riding, at least in the endurance stuff.

My suggestions:-

Bent over row
Chest press
Shoulder press
Seated row
Lateral pull down (or chin/pull up)

Plank
Oblique bridge
Back extension
Lateral raises

To get leg and hip strength you should look at doing squats and deadlifts but it’s essential that you get some instruction on these to get your form right.

deadlifts will really strengthen core / lower back and this helps on long rides. also stronger upper body means more control to put the bike where you need it/ less fatigue on long rides.

I do 20 minutes on the x-trainer, it builds up leg strength a lot quicker than riding the exercise bike which usually has a semi-recumbent position. It also works on your upper body a bit as well. Ask your gym instructor about it.

ianv – Member
Upper body exercises as above

How many you do depends on what you want, big reps to bulk up low reps bigger weight for strength

I thought it was the other way round for weights. ie large weights at low reps for bulking up.

Rowing machine

In winter I ride 0-1 times a week and row for 30 mins 2-3 times a week

In the summer I ride 2-3 times a week and row 0-1 times a week as its better to be outdoors

The thing is though that despite conditions being better I feel fitter and am definitely faster against the clock in winter

Its all about the legs, so do leg exercises as well as core stability:

30 reps of each, 3 sets, as heavy as you can go but maintain good form:

Leg Press
Squats
Hamstring curl
Calf stnad up thing
Sits ups/oblique exercises
Lower back exercises

always allow time to stretch at the end – don’t rush, this is just as important.

speak to an instructor for core exercises, they’ll be able to show you some very good exercises.

If you can see through the hype, google Turbulence Training or search Youtube for clips by Craig Ballantyne. Lots of core strength stuff and the 20 minute session works if you use the right intensity, i.e. work bloody hard! I’ve lost 10lbs of fat in the past 3 months and my rding has improved drastically.

Rowing, some occasional treadmill running, and lots of stretching works for me. Particularly rowing as cross-training for mountain biking.

Just to add that I’m a qualified, but not practising, personal trainer, and the Turbulence Training method is the most effective I’ve ever tried. If you stick with it and mix it up you’ll get results in a very short time.

That Turbulence Training method sounds all very good, but that website just screams “RIP-OFF” with all the Live Chat & Instant Payment windows opening up all over the place.

I find indoor rowing and core exercises on the swiss ball really help.
I’m definately less fatigued at the end of a long ride or race these days and seem to recover much faster.

Takisawa 2, that’s why I said “if you can see through the hype”. You don’t need to buy anything, just search for the clips on youtube and use the ‘free’ routines. I like the fact that he advocates that you don’t need to buy expensive supplements etc.

I used to row a bit and its great for fitness. Build up to 5 – 10km sessions and remember to pace yourself.

Does the gym do classes? Like circuits or pilates? Used to do them, too as I found weight training exceedingly dull and lacked direction for it. Classes do the thinking for you, you just put the graft in.

Core stability.

Leave the “Core muscle” training thing alone. TBH there are lots and lots of very small muscles that make up the core muscle group, and they are both very hard to do specific exersize on, to improve them, and easy to damage by doing it wrong. recent work has suggested that many bad backs are due to this.

Leg strength, if you have to do something, or a run on a treadmill.

Under guidance from physio I now do a free weights workout whilst balancing on a swiss ball and ‘wobble-board/disc’ (or whatever they’re called), then do some CV on the rower or treadmill. If you get the right routine & technique, you’ll excercise your hamstrings, quads and core whilst doing upper body resistance stuff – quite a good way of packing a good all-round workout into a lunchtime. I guess the best bet is to try and find an experienced instructor to draw you up a routine (appreciate this is easier said than done in some gyms!)

I’ve made an appointment with a trainer for next week so we’ll see what he suggests.

Can you believe the gym doesn’t have rowing machines?? I was quite keen on that. The gym is very well stoked with machines so it’s a bit surprising.

I´m keen on doing some classes – they have pilates and also some circuits classes (or street dance if I really get bored!!)

Street dance – blimey, err…hang on a minute though, aren’t they the classes that are usually frequented by lots of attractive ladies – where do i sign up 😛

Pilates is supposed to be very good – two physios have independantly recommended pilates to me (and one of them is a v.keen & experienced mountain biker).

Salsa classes – that’s what you want 😉

After visiting a salsa bar last year – I can only conclude that if a young man want to ‘prosper’ salsa is the way forward

alas, too late for me – what’s that about youth being wasted on the young?

Definitely give Pilates a try.

Suppleness, balance, core stability and looking down leotards.

very keen on pilates – will try to go to class tomorrow evening.

Agree with much of the above. I also do swimming, circuit classes and Body Pump and Body Attack classes – the last two are suprisingly demanding, only last an hour (so could fit in a lunch hour) and are much less boring than the gym, but work on most of the main muscle groups and include lots of core exercises – they also have the advantage of being mainly attended by attractive ladies 😉

I’ve certainly found that my endurance has improved, I can ride uphill better, lost some fat and am generally better toned.

There’s a Body Combat class at lunchtimes that’s on at the same time as the cycle class – it’s really popular (though mainly, I think, because the guys like putting that strapping on their hands and the girls like the instructor)

The advice to “leave the core muscle training thing alone” is absolute tosh. I suffered from sciatica for months as well as lower back pain when riding. Since I’ve been doing “the core muscle training thing” I’ve not had so much as a twinge. 20 minutes of intense body weight exercises 3 times a week plus cycling on the other days. That’s it for me.