You can read about it in our Magazine and you can read about it in any specialised magazine (and we would even say in general magazines): to improve in any sport, you have to dedicate an important part of your weekly work to strength.
We could give you a few reasons, but we are going to focus on just three to work on strength: we improve our performance, which seems to us to be the most fundamental of all. Why? Because we achieve more resistant muscles, which will help us to last longer on the bike and at higher intensities.
On the other hand, we will delay the onset of fatigue. And thirdly, we will minimise the risk of injury. These are three good reasons, aren’t they?
Which muscles need to be worked to improve cycling performance?
As a cyclist, it is important to work mainly the leg and gluteal muscles, as they are the ones that will take on the most load, although a good core workout, and even leg work to redistribute efforts, is necessary.
However, going into detail, some of the most important muscles to work are:
Quadriceps muscles
Responsible for knee extension and hip flexion, being as developed as possible is key for the first phase of pedalling. In addition, if you work on sprints or accelerations, it is advisable to exercise them as much as possible.
Calf muscles
Responsible for knee flexion, they are responsible for ensuring that the last phase, in which you recover the pedal to return to the highest point of the pedal stroke, is as fast and efficient as possible.
Gluteal muscles
Their fundamental task is to act as hip extensors and external rotation of the thigh. They will give stability to our position, and in combination with the core -as we mentioned at the beginning-, make our pedalling as uniform as possible and unload work from the lower body.
Abdominal muscles
As we said: they will help to provide stability and, above all, help to redistribute the effort.
How can I work on strength in a BKOOL session?
Even if you think that working your muscles is just a matter of lifting weights, doing squats or push-ups (yes, there are other options, too), there are other options, and one of the most important is to do it when you are on the trainer and enjoying a session at BKOOL.
To work the muscles in BKOOL, you can do exercises such as changing from sitting to standing position at high intensities. This allows you to work different muscle groups and improve strength and endurance.
In the session planner you can do this by including high gradient runs, or you can do it by planning a session that incorporates intensity blocks (close to your UPF data) with low cadences. You’ll be strengthening your quads, and working your extensors.
In addition, you can combine the work on the roller with dumbbell sessions, which allow you to work more intensely.
In short, a BKOOL session is a very useful tool for working your muscles, as it allows you to simulate the movement of the bike and perform strength and endurance exercises. With a good roller training routine, you can start to see results in a very short time.
