Strength & ConditioningAnswer

WHAT ARE THE BEST GYM EXERCISES FOR CYCLISTS?

By Anthony WalshRoadman CyclingUpdated 26 August 2026

ANSWER

There is no research-ranked list of the best gym exercises for every cyclist. A practical routine covers a knee-dominant movement, a hip-dominant movement, and enough single-leg, calf, upper-body and trunk work for the rider's actual needs. Choose variants that can be performed, progressively loaded and recovered from safely. The latest cyclist-only meta-analysis supports heavy strength training as a category, but does not prove one best lift, repetition range or weekly frequency.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Choose movement patterns before named exercises: knee-dominant, hip-dominant, single-leg where useful, calf, upper body and trunk.
No review proves that unilateral exercises transfer better simply because pedalling alternates between legs.
Machines, bilateral lifts and unilateral lifts can all be valid when they fit the rider and can be progressed.
Use the full gym-exercise guide for the routine; use the broad strength guide for the evidence and effect sizes.

WHO THIS IS FOR

IS THIS YOU?

The cyclist walking into a gym for the first time

You want to know exactly what to do, not waste time on exercises that don't carry over to riding.

The rider who lifts but isn't sure it's transferring

You're doing generic gym work and want to align it with cycling-specific patterns.

THE ROADMAN VIEW

An exercise does not transfer because it looks like pedalling. It earns a place when the rider can progress it and the whole programme improves.

A short exercise list is useful because it is repeatable, not because research discovered one sacred number of movements.

EXPERT EVIDENCE

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Llanos-Lagos, Ramirez-Campillo and Sáez de VillarrealAuthors of the 2025 cyclist-only meta-analysis
The pooled evidence favoured heavy strength training for cycling performance, efficiency and anaerobic power, but its low certainty prevented robust recommendations about optimal implementation.
Wu and colleaguesAuthors of the 2026 failure-training meta-analysis
Non-failure training was as effective for most measured outcomes and slightly favoured for dynamic strength in healthy adults; this supports avoiding unnecessary technical breakdown.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

DO THIS WEEK

Choose one knee-dominant movement
Use a squat, split squat, step-up or leg-press variant the rider can control and progressively load.
Choose one hip-dominant movement
Use a hinge, trap-bar, hip-thrust or machine variation that fits competence, equipment and health history.
Add only what serves a stated need
Single-leg, calf, upper-body and trunk exercises should earn their place through the rider's goal, not an internet ranking.

COMMON MISTAKES

WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG

MISTAKETreating one exercise list as research-proven.
FIXThe cyclist review did not rank named lifts; use patterns and rider constraints.
MISTAKECalling free weights more specific than machines.
FIXChoose the tool that lets the intended quality be trained and progressed reliably.
MISTAKEClaiming one repetition range cannot add mass.
FIXStrength and hypertrophy overlap; monitor body mass when power-to-weight matters.