If you’re used to lifting heavy weights or timing speed intervals outdoors, indoor workouts without speed might seem boring and easy. But they’re often the opposite, providing a fun and challenging way to get in shape anywhere. Plus, indoor bodyweight workouts are super handy, especially during vacations when travel, family, and other obligations take over time spent sweating, not to mention the cold and the snow outside.
Fortunately, Dane Miklaus, CSCS, founder of WORK Training Studio in Irvine, CA, has taken the puzzle of creating a challenging, equipment-free indoor workout and pieced together this creative, total-body routine that’s sure to do increase your heart rate and your muscles feel the burn.
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The benefits of this indoor training for cyclists
“I chose to focus on areas where traditional endurance athletes may have weaknesses due to underuse,” Miklaus said. The runner’s world. Because riding and most of our daily movements occur in the sagittal plane of motion – i.e. forwards and backwards – we tend to neglect the muscles used in lateral movements. (or side to side) and rotation, causing weakness in these areas. While this not only leads to suboptimal performance, it can also increase your risk of injury, he explains.
By implementing a lower body routine that incorporates lateral and rotational movements, as well as upper body and core training, cyclists can increase their overall athletic standards and functional ability of their body, says Miklaus. .
In addition to getting you moving in different planes of motion, this workout also alternates lower body and upper body or core exercises. That way, one muscle group rests while the other works, Miklaus explains, without you having to take a lot of actual rest time. Lower body movements also become more difficult as you work through the seven-exercise circuit, while upper body movements become less intense. “This is intended to provide a balanced challenge and allow each athlete to tailor the difficulty [of the workout] at their own level of fitness,” says Miklaus.
How to do the exercise: Do each exercise below, in order, for 45 seconds. Rest for 15 seconds while moving on to the next movement. Repeat for 4 sets in total.
You don’t need any equipment for this workout, but an exercise mat is optional. Miklaus demonstrates each exercise in the video above so you can learn proper form.
1. Side slit bow
Why it works: Target the muscles that support the hips, including the gluteus medius and minimus (the smallest muscles in the back) and the piriformis (deep muscle of the buttocks), as well as the hamstrings, adductors (inner thighs) and gluteus maximus (largest muscle in the buttocks). ). A more stable hip is a stronger hip, and because cyclists rely on their hips for every stroke, exercises like these are a must, says Miklaus.
How to do: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Step back with the right foot diagonally, coming slightly behind the left foot. Bend both knees approximately 90 degrees, with the front left knee over the toes and the back right knee hovering just above the floor. Drive through the feet to get back up, and without placing the right foot down as you step forward, immediately come out on the right side. Bend the right knee, pushing the hips back and keep the left leg straight. Cross the right foot to stand up, feet coming back hip-width apart. Repeat for time. Then switch sides.
2. Push-up shoulder tap
Why it works: As you hit your chest and shoulders, push-ups are also great for strengthening deep core muscles and shoulder stabilizers, says Miklaus. The shoulder tap also adds an anti-rotation element to address the challenge of core and hip stability.
How to do: Start in a plank position, shoulders over wrists, forming a straight line from head to heels. Bend the elbows about 45 degrees from the torso and lower body to the floor in a straight line. Push back up to the board. Then pat the right hand on the left shoulder. Put it back in the board. Tap the left hand on the right shoulder. Put it back in the board. Repeat the sequence from the top for the beat.
3. Hop Squat with twist
Why it works: “When all you have for equipment is your own body weight, adding a speed or power component is a great way to increase muscle recruitment,” says Miklaus. “So by dropping into the squat and absorbing that force, then bouncing back quickly, we’re activating more of our leg muscles than if we were performing a basic bodyweight squat.” The twist at the top also means more fire in the rotating hip and core muscles.
How to do: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Jump off the feet shoulder-width apart and immediately lower into a squat, sending the hips down and back. Cross the feet back up, feet returning to hip width. Jump immediately to turn the hips to the right. Then, return them to the center and jump the feet shoulder-width apart and lower your back into the squat. Repeat, this time twisting to the left. Keep alternating in time.
4. High to low plank
Why it works: While riders get some arm activation while holding the handlebars, they sometimes forget to strengthen this area when training off the bike, Miklaus says. This move changes that, and it still taps into core strength.
How to do: Start in a high plank position, shoulders over wrists, forming a straight line from head to heels. The arms start straight. Place the right forearm on the floor, the elbow just below the shoulder. Then place the left forearm on the floor, the right elbow under the shoulder. Pause, then press down on the right forearm to bring the right hand to the floor below the shoulder. Then, press down on the left forearm to bring the left hand back to the floor, below the shoulder. Repeat, starting with the left side. Keep alternating in time.
5. Lunge Toe Tap to Single-Leg Hop
Why it works: Build hip strength and stability with this exercise that creates a “triple extension,” which is when the hip, knee, and ankle joints all go into action. Plus, “just like with the drop squat, this single-leg jump variation will recruit nearly every fiber in an athlete’s glutes, quads, and calves, making them more powerful and dynamic,” says Miklaus. What cyclist couldn’t stand to be a little more explosive?
How to do: Stand on the left leg. Lower into a lunge with your left knee over your toes as you tap your right toes behind you with your leg straight. Keep the left knee bent as you tap the right toes forward beside the left foot. Extend the right leg behind you again, tapping the toes against the floor, straightening the leg. Then, cross the left foot to explode and lift off the ground, right knee coming up towards the chest. Land softly on the left foot, bending the left knee and repeating the entire sequence for the beat. Then switch sides.
6. Beast to Plank Knee Drive
Why it works: “When you perform bodyweight exercises, it is very difficult to stimulate the back muscles,” says Miklaus. But this movement activates the latissimus dorsi (major muscle of the back), the teres major and the posterior deltoid (both at the back of the shoulder). “This is important to help provide postural balance for athletes who only incorporate pushing movements into their upper body routines,” he adds. Finally, the plank grip with knee training means that your abs and obliques are also worked.
How to do: Start in a plank position, shoulders over wrists, forming a straight line from head to heels. Send hips to heels, bend knees, keep arms straight. Step forward to the plank, then bring the right knee to the outside of the right elbow. Return to the plank. Push the left knee outward from the left elbow. Return to the plank. Repeat the sequence.
7. Skater
Why it works: The skater exercise requires you to slow momentum, stabilize, and then explode again, says Miklaus. “When we move laterally and in an articulated position, we are able to recruit more deep hip muscles than is possible when we move only in the sagittal plane,” he says. In addition to strengthening the hip muscles, it also improves ankle stability.
How to do: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Move the left foot to jump to the right, bending the right knee, returning the hips and bringing the left foot behind the right. Then, start with the right foot to jump to the left, bending the left knee, sending the hips back and bringing the right foot behind the left. Keep alternating.
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