Want Toned Legs? Get on Your Bike

Cycling is one of the most popular sports in the world and it is estimated that there is over 4 billion bikes world wide now. Some use cycling as a means of getting from A to B, whilst others cycle to boost their fitness and tone up their muscles. The fitness benefits for your muscles varies quite a lot depending on which type of cycling you do. Cycling for long periods of time, but at reasonably low force, will encourage your muscles to build slow-twitch fibers and improve their endurance levels. Conversely, it is powerful fast-twitch fibres that are built when your riding style is of high intensity but over shorter periods of time. But which are the muscles that are demanded the most of when riding.

Quadriceps (thighs). The muscles that are worked the hardest whilst cycling and so need to be the most developed are the quads. These are the muscles that straighten out the leg and produce the down force on the pedals, which in turn rotate the crack. Racing bikes in fact are designed to locate the quads directly over the crack so that maximum efficiency is achieved. When travelling at speed the quadriceps contract and relax at an incredible rate and a great deal is demanded of them.

Gastrocnemius (calf muscles). The muscles of the calf work just as hard as those of the thigh, and relative to their size they produce a lot of power.When the leg is straightened by the quadricep muscles, there is still a percentage of power that can be gained by flexing the calf muscles and pointing the toes downwards. Pinarello make pedals that dynamically pivot to squeeze every last bit of power juice from the calf muscles.

Hamstrings. Whist the quadriceps provide the downward power that propels the bike forwards, it is the hamstrings (back of the legs) that work to bring the leg back up into a flexed (bent) position. This doesn’t require much force on a standard bike as the rotation of the pedals pushes the leg up but when you use cycling shoes that clip to the pedals, a large amount of additional force can be generated by these muscles in the upward movement