How To Improve Your Strength On The Bike

We all want to be stronger on the bike, right? But what does that strictly mean? In this video, Chris and Emma give you three sessions that will help improve your strength on the bike.

In association with Haute Route Oman. With thanks to The Shangri La Hotel.

Well, the technical definition of strength is the ability to carry out work against a resistance. Strength is the maximal force you can apply against a load. In our case, pedals. We can train to improve muscle strength by increasing the resistance against which you work. But how would this help us on the bike? it’s about increasing your ability to cope with riding situations that require increased strength, like short steep climbs, sprints, or even at its most basic, accelerating away from junctions. With this in mind, we need to focus primarily on exerting force against the pedals. More force than we would normally require over a ride, but for shorter durations. Intervals it is, then!

You’ll need a good 10-15 minute warm up and some big gears. A flat road or an uphill drag, but definitely no downhill. And you will need around 30 seconds worth of clear road ahead of you. Then you need to start the efforts. Sit down, or stand up, it actually doesn’t matter too much for this session. All that matters is that you start slow and give it everything. Aim to start just a little faster than walking pace and in a very big gear. This really is a 10/10 on the ‘Perceived Exertion’ scale, so you will really have to go for it. The sprint effort should never feel comfortable and after 20-30 seconds the quality will really start to drop off, so at this point, you can stop. You will need a good recovery period from here, around 10 minutes for a close to full recovery, but if you are pushed for time, around 4-6 minutes will also work ok. 6 of these efforts is certainly enough for one session, after all, you want the quality in these efforts to build the strength.

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Leave us a comment below!

[IsraelHV]

When I climb I forget about everything, just me, the hill, my bike and the sound of my heart in my ears

[Moostery]

I feel like this can basically be summed up as "Ride hard, ride uphill, and get adequate rest between laps"

[davidcorbett]

The best way to improve power on a bicycle is to LIFT WEIGHTS! Heavy squats or leg presses, lunges, calf raises etc. I do it once a week and I'm far stronger on the bicycle than times I have not lifted weights with my legs.

[matistysk]

I do 2-3 sprint on my way to work every day and my strenght has really improved.

[barnettkr]

I love Emma’s comment, “Sounds horrible Chris, show us how it is done.”

[Whitehawkvisionfilms]

Emma is awesome! She is a great speaker and explains things well and delivers her message well! Glad to see a talented woman on GCN!

[steamedwhiterice]

Love hills! Climbing just makes my mind clear and the flats more relaxing.

[damasoujano]

Thank you for teaching filipino cyclist here!!

[Saundersstrong]

Just got my first road bike, pretty excited to rip in the spring . G’day from Canada!

[javorgeorgiev]

Was already doing something similar to this. Now I feel more confident it'll give results. I like having a strong pace uphill, but I wanna be able to accelerate hard as well. Besides, my out of the saddle form can always use improvement. Less of going all over the place or having very uneven right versus left leg pedal strokes.

[Andramelach]

Watching vids like this give me confidence that running only single speeds is really worth it. Best experience on a bike, because strength builds naturally, and it's just fun to feel like it's you and not the bike.

[philismable]

Finding this channel really helpful as a beginner road cyclist.

[texabara]

I am a swimmer (masters, 43 years old) My event is the 50m breaststroke, but I also swim the 100m and the 200m.

I commute to work in bike. I got a cheap mountain bike.

The bike really may improve my leg strength and my resistance to strength!!

[davidcorbett]

Lift heavy weights for legs 1 day a week!!! I do 12 sets a week consisting of leg presses, lunges and calf raises. You won't believe the difference in the power in your legs!

[overthinkerblue]

I’m out of breath just watching how to get better.

[Dennis]

I started on the bike with a 50 watt ftp and only doing 5 miles, now I can hold 100 watts and travel at most 50 miles . (6 months into cycling)

[Jewish.Hotdog]

Holy shit I live in sf and do deliveries all day. It’s flats and hills for days here. My explosiveness has improved so much

[AI_and_facts]

You can't outtrain a bad diet... I learned that the hard way training so hard and having poor results. Then I started following the Agoge Diet, and I finally started seeing some amazing results.

[DatBaataR]

3:05 Just a random cat lying on the street

[jprojas]

Great tips, I'm gonna try them on the trainer!