Want Toned Legs? Get on Your Bike
Cycling is a fantastic sport that is enjoyed all over the world by millions of people each day. Some use cycling as a means of getting from A to B, whilst others cycle to boost their fitness and tone up their muscles. Generally speaking the type of cycling you do will affect how your muscles will adapt. 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. So which muscles get worked the hardest when you ride a bike.
Quadriceps (thighs). When cycling, its is the muscles at the front of the legs that provide the majority of the forces and thus are worked hardest. These are the muscles that provide the rotating movement of the crack by placing down-force on the pedals. Racing bikes in fact are designed to locate the quads directly over the crack so that maximum efficiency is achieved. When cycling fast, these muscles are contracted and relaxed hundreds of times a minute and so they need to be in good shape.
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. Flexing the calf muscles when the leg is in a straight position, points the toes towards and adds a small boost to the overall power output. Pinarello make pedals that dynamically pivot to squeeze every last bit of power juice from the calf muscles.
Hamstrings. After the quads have forced the leg down and helped move the bike forwards, the hamstrings work to to pull it back up again and reset the leg ready for another push. This doesnt 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
