- Right if you're looking to improve your power on the bike
then it's worth considering adding
some specific strength exercises
to your training routine.
Phew, after all cycling is not just about aerobic fitness
it requires repeated force production through the pedals.
Particularly for time trialling.
Phew so today I'm going to be running you
through four strength exercises
that will help to improve your power
on the bike.
And don't worry it does get a lot easier with time.
- [Man] So Mark should we add some weight now?
- Ah I think we're alright this week.
Maybe next week.
I know what you're thinking,
Mark is looking pretty hench.
But I don't want to get too big for triathlon.
Well you don't need to worry because we are not gonna
be throwing insane weights around today.
This is more about building lean muscle.
Activating those muscles better
and therefor improving our power on the bike.
So the first exercise we're gonna be running through today
is the bridge.
Right so this exercise doesn't actually
necessarily require weight and it can actually
be performed at your own home.
And it's actually a really good warmup
for some of the following exercises.
It gets the muscles working
and activating correctly.
So to perform this you need to lay
on your back on the floor.
Bend your knees and put your feet flat on the ground.
Just close enough that you can graze your heels
with your finger tips when you stretch your arms out
down by your side.
Your feet should also be about hip width apart.
Also bend your elbows to ninety degrees
so that only your upper arm is on the ground.
Then drive up through your heels
and your upper back to lift your glutes off the ground.
Drive your hips up as high as possible
squeezing the glutes hard.
Keeping your belly button drawn in so that you don't curve
through your back.
Now really focus on driving straight up and make sure
that your knees aren't falling in.
So you should feel this exercise
through your glutes and your hamstrings rather
than your lower back.
So really make sure that you
take your time with it and then hold it at the top
so you really feel your glutes activate.
And do 15 reps three times through
and that should do the trick.
But to do a nice progression from this you can do
the single leg glute bridge.
So for this just set up in
the same way as you did for the glute bridge
and then raise one leg up off the ground.
You can bend the raised leg to ninety degrees
or point the toe up towards the ceiling.
Just make sure not to swing the raised leg
as you lift.
Again just drive up through your heel
and upper back lifting your hips
as high as you can.
Now for the deadlift and this
can be performed with dumbbells
or a barbell like I have here.
It focuses heavily on the quads,
the hamstrings, the knees and the hips
all whilst increasing flexibility and movement
and today I'm gonna be demonstrating
with the barbell but if you are using dumbbells
then it's the same movement.
But you just hold the dumbbells down by your side
with your palms facing backwards.
For now let's run you through with the barbell.
So your feet should be spaced hip width apart
with your grip just outside of your legs.
There are few grip variations out there
but I'm gonna go with the standard over hand grip
as I'm showing here.
It's important you keep your back flat
with your neutral spine from start to finish
through this movement.
Your shoulders should be held back
and strong whilst keeping
your eyes forward and chest lifted.
As you go for the lift the bar should
remain more or less in contact with your legs
for the entire range of motion.
Your hips and knees should move together to transfer
the bar from the ground to the upper thigh locked position.
Then to return the weight back to the floor,
hinge at the hips and lower.
Allowing your knees to bend slightly
keep the weight close to your body and lower
until your upper body si almost parallel
to the floor.
Then when the weight touches the floor
rest and start again.
It's really important that you don't start with two
heavy a weight on this exercise.
In fact if you're only starting out doing dead lifts
or you haven't done them in a while.
Then it's worth just starting with the barbell alone
without any weights on the end.
Then as you progress you can just
add five to 10 kilos at a time on each end.
And we're aiming to do 12 reps three times through.
So your weight on either end should reflect that duration.
Okay this one is one of my favourites,
the Bulgarian Split Squat.
It even sounds like it means business.
It works everything legs, core, balance
and most importantly
it focuses on driving off one leg at a time.
So all you need for this is a step,
a bench, or any other contraption
that you can rest your rear leg on
or your ear foot on and that needs to be around
knee high like this bench here.
And then with a little weight in either hand
I'm gonna perform the Bulgarian Split Squat.
So get into a forward lunge position
with your torso upright,
core braced, and hips squared to your body.
With your back foot elevated onto the bench.
Now lower until your front thigh is almost horizontal.
Keeping your knee in line with your foot.
Don't let your front knee travel beyond
your toes there.
Drive up through your front heel back
to the starting position.
Reset and the go again.
Now you will need to experiment
a little to find the correct distance
for the lead leg in relation to your back leg
and the bench.
But the main focus is making sure that
your knee is over your foot
and not beyond your foot when you're at the bottom
of the movement.
Then you'll want to do 12 reps on either leg
three times through.
Right this next exercise is great for those often
overlooked core muscles and oblique muscles.
It is the Russia twist.
Now we do quite often get
a little bit lazy on the bike
through our core muscles.
When actually our core muscles play a very big part.
They help to hold us better and improve our posture
when we're on the bike.
And therefor taking the strain
off of our backs.
And also helping to improve our power on the bike.
So for this exercise,
start by sitting on the floor with your knees
bent and feet flat on the ground.
Then lean back so that you upper body
is at around a 45 degree angle to the floor.
Make sure that you keep your back straight at this angle
throughout the exercise as it will be tempting
to hunch your shoulders forward.
Then link your hands together in front
of your chest, brace your core and raise your legs
up off the ground.
Now rotate your arms
all the way over to one side
and then do the same in the other direction.
Count that as one rep
and then aim for 20 in total.
Then repeat it three times through with
a slight break in between.
Now if the Russian twists
are proving too difficult then you can of course
not lift your feet up off the floor.
So just keep them planted down onto
the floor throughout the exercise.
Or if you want to make it harder for yourself
why not have a little bit of weight to your hands.
So you can either hold a dumbbell
in either hand throughout the exercise
or use something like a medicine ball
like I have here.
As with anything new make sure
we build these exercise up gradually
over time so that means building up the amount
of weight that we're using and the number
of reps that we're using very gradually.
And whilst this video has been focusing
on improving our power on the bike.
All of these exercises actually are gonna help
to strengthen the muscles.
They're gonna help movement,
our range of movement and how we hold our posture.
And ultimately that is all gonna help our injury prevention.
Now if you liked this video hit that thumbs
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And on the subject of improving our power
on the bike and trying to go faster
how about going and checking out our cycle faster
for free video with time trial specialist Mathew Bottrill
by clicking just down here.
And if you'd like to see
our strength training session on the bike
with pro triathlete Will Clark
just click down here.