Which muscles are enhanced during cycling?
The main muscle groups used in cycling are, from the “bottom, up”: Tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, soleus, quadriceps group, hamstring group, gluteal group, quadratis lumborum and associated muscles, erector spinaeus and associated muscles. There are also loads placed on the muscles of the shoulder, upper arm and neck.The former musle groups are generally those concentrated on in road cyclists engaged in weight trainig regimes. Other branches of the sport, like track sprinting, often place emphasis on a broader range of muscles. It is worth bearing in mind that all the muscle groups that are required to support the activity of those most closely involved in pedalling need to be trained – so the abdominals, for example, should not be ignored in any weight training regime. Many runners find that a limiting factor in sprinting, for example, is not leg strength, but abdominal and lower back strength. Cycling is no different, but perhaps has more lessons of this type to learn than athleti
