Can cycling be considered strength training

Snipsa

Hi there,

Quick question, I've been mountain biking for the past two weeks. It was extreme slow going at first (pushed the bike more than actually riding it), but am finally able to climb quite tough hills (probably 200m in length and about 30 to 40 degrees incline) - it's all off-road, over rocks and gravel.

Now for the question, when mountain biking, up hill, I can feel the effort that my legs are making, and it feels a lot more like leg presses, etc, than just cardio - although, heart rate does go through the roof as well.

This is just for info's sake, won't change how I train, but can it be considered strength training - is there anaerobic qualities to it?

FullOfWin

Probably so for now. Later when it gets easier, it won't be unless you increase the challenge by adding more resistance somehow (weight or steeper incline)

Edit: or different gear that makes it harder I guess...

Lozze

No.

In the same way when iciest started running my legs burned. Wasn't strength training.

Rayman79

No.

In the same way when iciest started running my legs burned. Wasn't strength training.

I don't know that I agree with you entirely on this one. Of course it is more of an endurance exercise, but I know plenty of people who do no resistance of exercise other than cycling and could jump into a squat rack and press 200lb with only a couple of form sessions.

Bang for buck it is not going to give you what weighted squats and other strength focused exercises can, but hill climbs will build your strength and muscular endurance.

Vonwarr

Generally once you can do something more than 12-15 times, it's considering conditioning or endurance more than strength training. It may still increase your strength somewhat if you're first starting out at a new or more intense form of exercise.

ninerbuff

Hi there,

Quick question, I've been mountain biking for the past two weeks. It was extreme slow going at first (pushed the bike more than actually riding it), but am finally able to climb quite tough hills (probably 200m in length and about 30 to 40 degrees incline) - it's all off-road, over rocks and gravel.

Now for the question, when mountain biking, up hill, I can feel the effort that my legs are making, and it feels a lot more like leg presses, etc, than just cardio - although, heart rate does go through the roof as well.

This is just for info's sake, won't change how I train, but can it be considered strength training - is there anaerobic qualities to it?

Yes if you're going up hill. If you want it to remain strength training, then you sprint up hill.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

DavPul

generally speaking, while biking, especially uphill biking, will make your legs stronger, i wouldn't count it as strength training.

Sets of heavy squats will have an aerobic benefit and build stronger legs that would help me in biking, but i wouldn't credit the squats as cardio or cycle training.

they are two separate things that have many crossover benefits but lets log them as what they are.

IronSmasher

The world isn't blank and white, labelling can sometimes be restrictive.
http://metro.co.uk/2012/07/30/german-cyclists-have-twitter-quad-off-to-pass-time-at-olympics-515918/

Lozze

You realise that they don't just do cycling as exercise? They would be in the gym a couple of times a week.

kinmad4it

There's no way you'd get thighs like Sir Chris Hoy by cycling alone. Just like you couldn't get an upper body like a 100 meter sprinter by just running.

snowbike

Yes.
But you need to think about gears and hills to get some strength training in cycling.

Low gears (spinning) up hills is pretty much endurance.
Shift up to high gear and grunt up the hills and see those quads swell.

Ideally you should alternate between spinning and grunting up long hills. Basically standing up in a high gear until your legs are burnt, then sit down and spin to recover .. repeat until you empty your stomach.

Rightly above wolfstar says beyond 15 times is more endurance, so you should select a gear that allows you to pedal around 12 - 15 rotations before you need to sit and spin.

Nataliaho

If the question was "can cycling build strength" then I would say yes, with some caveats. Is it 'strength training'? Not to me, sorry. I just don't see how it is useful to anyone to take a term that people understand means one thing and apply it to something else. What is the purpose? It just bastardises the term and confuses people. If I were to look for a strength coach, I would assume it meant he/she was going to train me to become stronger with weights, some plyos etc, not how to cycle down a hill.

rrowdiness

Most road / trail cyclists I know prefer to do high cadence, low resistance in their rides as it means their muscles don't fatigue as quickly. When they want to build muscles they do hill sprints, to the point that they'll do one-footed hill sprints (it looks really frickin weird too - one foot clipped in, one foot cranking round while the poor bugger's trying to balance) on hard gears to focus on one side.

So yes, cycling in certain conditions can build strength but so can lunges, skipping, stepups, star jumps and burpees. I wouldn't classify it as strength training.

martinh78

Well done on getting out mountain biking, it's a great way of keeping fit!

As an avid mountain biker I agree with much of the above. Standing ou of the saddle and cranking a high gear definiately takes you into "strenghth" as far as your quads are concerned.

Hill intervals are good. If the hill is too long then alternate between sitting and spinning to standing and cranking. Choose a gear that means you can't say stood craking for more than 30 seconds though, you'll feel the burn in your thighs and won't be able to put another turn in. Then sit and spin.

I do this for every hill on training/fitness rides. Hit it in a really high gear, stay seated then stand when I can't pedal anymore. Mostly I'll get to the top of the hill, but often I'll need to sit and drop a few gears. On long hills I'll tuck in behind a friend and follow them, before getting near the top, standing out the saddle, and pumping right past them :bigsmile: Not that I'm competative, but makes them think I'm a lot fitter than they are when they think that I have "energy to spare" at the top.

Snipsa

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate the information given! I should probably have phrased the question slightly different, should have asked if it will help to build muscles, rather than specifically mentioning strength training. But it seems general consensus agrees that higher gears, higher intensity will cause some muscle building (especially quads).

Thank you all for the great advice. I'm loving this site, and the helpful people on it!

denezy

Yes I'd say you're definitely building muscle if you're doing hills, climbing intervals, hard peddling, etc. I've noticed a major change in my legs, hamstrings and calves since cycling... but it has taken a while.

Keep it up

Azdak

Aerobic exercise--in this case cycling--is NOT strength training per se.

I usually hate fitness analogies, but this one is appropriate: If the goal of doing a set when lifting weights is to reach muscle "failure" in, say, less than 12 repetitions, how can one expect to see the same results when performing a repetition hundreds or thousands of times and never reaching failure?

I'll save you the Google time: Answer is that you can't.

The full answer is that all training effects are activity-specific. That means that the body will adapt to the specific needs of the activity. For someone starting out, or for someone who has low strength levels, then the adaption required for the specific physical needs of cycling, will likely result in a noticeable overall increase in strength. However, that increase is only coincidental, and once one adapts to the needs of cycling, there will be no further strength increases.

The reverse occurs when someone does primarily strength training, but may see some coincidental increases in their cardiovascular fitness.

It may very well be that, in either case, those modest adaptations would be considered sufficient by an individual and that is fine. But they are not the same.