Blog 3: Everything Cycling
Part 3: Building Your Cycling Body: Strength, Mobility and the Work That Keeps You Riding
Welcome back to Everything Cycling. Part 1 covered the most common cycling injuries. Part 2 explained why the sustained posture and repetitive nature of cycling creates such a predictable injury landscape. Part 3 is where it becomes practical. The activation work, mobility habits, and strength training that protect cyclists through long training blocks and keep them riding strongly for years.
Most cyclists train their cycling. Very few train their body for what cycling asks of it. That gap is where most injuries live.
Activation Before Every Ride
As we covered in our Activate Before You Train series, the glutes and hip stabilizers switch off with prolonged sitting and are chronically underactive in athletes who do not deliberately wake them up before training. For cyclists, this is especially important because the bike position itself further inhibits the glutes through sustained hip flexion. Starting a ride with inhibited glutes means the lumbar erectors and hamstrings will compensate from the first pedal stroke.
A five to eight minute activation routine before every ride: (see videos below)
Hip Hikes:
10-15 per side. Establishes pelvic stability and glute medius activation before the unilateral loading of the pedal stroke begins
Glute Bridges:
15- 20 repetitions with a deliberate two second hold at the top. Wakes up the glute maximus in a hip extension pattern that directly mirrors the power phase of the pedal stroke
Alternating Glute Bridges:
10-15 per side. The rapid reciprocal firing pattern prepares the glutes for the alternating single leg demand of continuous pedalling
Standing Fire Hydrants:
10-15 per side. Activates the deep hip rotators and glute medius in a standing position before the athlete assumes the bike position.
Lateral walks (Monster Walks):
10-15 steps each direction with a light band. Loads the glute medius under continuous tension before the session begins.
Mobility Priorities for Cyclists
The mobility targets that matter most for cycling performance and injury prevention:
Hip flexor length:
The single most important mobility target for every cyclist. A couch stretch or half kneeling hip flexor mobilization held for at least 20 seconds per side daily creates meaningful change over four to six weeks and directly reduces the anterior pelvic tilt and lumbar loading that drives lower back pain on the bike.
Thoracic extension and rotation:
Cyclists spend hours in thoracic flexion. Daily foam roller thoracic extension and seated thoracic rotation work counteracts the progressive stiffening of the mid back that accumulates across a training season and reduces the cervical and lumbar compensation that follows from it.
Hip internal rotation:
Essential for efficient pedal stroke mechanics and for preventing the IT band and lateral knee irritation that develops when the hip cannot rotate adequately through the stroke. Side lying hip rotation and 90/90 hip stretches address this directly.
Ankle dorsiflexion:
Affects foot position on the pedal and the efficiency of force transfer through the pedal stroke. Restricted ankle dorsiflexion is a frequently overlooked contributor to knee pain in cyclists. Calf stretching and ankle mobility work daily.
Posterior shoulder and chest opening:
The internally rotated shoulder position on the handlebars shortens the pectoral muscles and anterior shoulder structures over time. Cross body shoulder stretches and chest opening work counteracts this and reduces impingement risk.
Strength Priorities for Cyclists
Two sessions per week of targeted strength work delivers the highest injury prevention and performance return for cyclists:
Glute and posterior chain loading: hip thrusts, single leg Romanian deadlifts, and step ups build the glute strength that is the primary protective mechanism for the lower back and the primary power generator for the pedal stroke. Strong glutes mean the lumbar erectors and hamstrings do not have to compensate. This is the most important strength investment available to a cyclist.
Single leg stability: the pedal stroke is a single leg activity. Single leg squats, lateral step downs, and Bulgarian split squats build the unilateral stability that controls pelvic drop and knee alignment through every pedal stroke.
Anti rotation and anti extension core: as we covered in the Lower Back Pain series, the core's job on the bike is to resist movement and transfer force efficiently between the lower and upper body. Pallof press progressions and plank variations build this capacity directly.
Neck and scapular strengthening: lower trapezius work including prone Y raises and wall slides, alongside cervical deep flexor strengthening, directly addresses the neck and shoulder fatigue that accumulates across long rides. Two sets twice per week is enough to maintain the tissue capacity that prevents cervical overload.
Eccentric quad and knee loading: single leg step downs and slow eccentric squats build the quad and patellar tendon capacity that protects the knee under the repetitive loading of the pedal stroke. Particularly important for cyclists with any history of knee pain.
Stretching After Every Ride
The structures that accumulate the most tension during cycling and benefit most from immediate post ride attention:
Hip flexors:
Two minute per side hip flexor stretch immediately after dismounting before the hip flexors have time to fully adapt to the shortened position. Hold for at least 20 seconds per side and repeat two to three times.
Glutes and piriformis:
Figure four stretch or pigeon pose variation held for at least 20 seconds per side addresses the deep external rotator tension that builds during sustained pedalling.
Thoracic extension over a foam roller:
Two to three minutes of thoracic extension immediately after a ride begins reversing the thoracic flexion position before it becomes entrenched.
Neck and upper trapezius:
Gentle cervical lateral flexion and rotation held for at least 20 seconds per side reduces the upper trapezius tension that accumulates during cervical extension loading on the bike.
Up Next: Bike Fit, Smart Training and Season Management
The body is being built and maintained. Part 4 of Everything Cycling covers the training structure side of the equation, how to manage load across a long cycling season, why a proper bike fit is one of the highest return investments a cyclist can make, and how to train intelligently without accumulating the fatigue and injury risk that sidelines so many riders mid season. See you there.
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Want a strength and mobility plan built specifically around your cycling and your individual movement patterns? I work with cyclists at every level to build the physical foundation that keeps them riding. Reach out to book an assessment with Dr. Keirstyn at Endurance Therapeutics.
📍 Endurance Therapeutics | Oakville, Ontario
📞 905-288-7161
🔗 https://endurance.janeapp.com/#staff_member/1