Supplementary Exercises for Biking
 

I've been biking quite a bit in the past and I'm really ramping up this spring already. However, I have had some lower back problem and knee problem that I also have to deal with. One issue I've found with biking is the range of motion for the leg is not enough for my legs. i've started doing some squats to help because my legs never get bent enough to really workout hamstrings. I've started doing the classic kitchen sink squat where I hold on the counter at the sink and so some squats. I put some weight intially on my hands for the first few, then just balance on finger tips after that to be sure I keep good form. I had bee doing 3x33, a set of 33 in morning, afternnoon, and evening, but I'm switching to doing 16 squats to warmup, then 16 lunges. I'm doing walking lunges, but I take short steps, if i do long step lunges i've had back problems. The other exercise I'm doing are knee circles. In biking the knee has very limited range of motion. Knee circles help improve lateral strengh. Theres a lot of upper body exercise to that are too. Anyone else doing exercises that are important for bikers?

What you're doing sounds good. There are also other exercises: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/t...-for-cyclists/
The kettleball workout would be good for your back. My personal experience with ordinary back pain is to work it until it hurts, then rest it, repeat.
Also follow the links at the bottom of the page.

You might also want to read this thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/training-...e-athlete.html

Emma Pooley has a nice little video I found pretty helpful.
I also really recommend trying to work up to where you can do a pigeon pose from yoga. It is the single best stretch for the part of my gluts that tends to get sore, as well as being great for hip flexors. Stretching those areas relieves most of my back soreness, for some reason. You don't need to lay forward the way the experienced gal in the video does to get a good stretch. That will come with practice. https://www.google.com/search?q=how+...f5-gTs-4X4Ag29

I row.
I walk, hike and run.
I climb flights and flights of stairs.
I go to a Pilates class about once a week.
I've started a "Run Strong" class which teaches running technique.

The last three in the list have me working on my glutes, hamstrings and core. I figure this could be good for my cycling.

I am leaving in 5 minutes to do my upper body weight training at the YMCA. I also do a lot of fast walking. Cycling is great for cardio, but it needs to be supplemented with weight-bearing and range-of-motion exercises, as noted by various people in this thread.

If I don't do my dead bugs and back extensions regularly, my 6-9,000 miles per year will do bad things to my back:

3 sets of 25 back extensions on a exercise ball (once had a roman chair) and 10 minutes total of 3 variations of dead bugs with 5 lb. dumbells. If there is time, I will get to lunges, bent over rows, toe raises, etc. Core/back is number one.

A similar stretching routine which I've been using for a long time is the McKenzie Method: https://www.spineone.com/mckenzie-method-back-pain/
I do this stretch series, holding each pose for a count of 100. Works and easy to do for even a geezer. You just do what you can do. The idea in exercises 2 and 3 is to touch your belt buckle to the floor. I can in 2 but not in 3.
https://synapse.koreamed.org/Article...494-g002-l.jpg

walking

I like lunge squats where you put one foot out in front of you and squat on that one leg leaving the other behind. Putting the front foot up on a slight step is also good. Doing leg presses are good also. I try to keep the weight down and the reps high because excess weight bothers my knees. I found that quad exercises like these have definitely improved climbing along with extra cardio. I never do leg extensions, sitting on a machine and bringing you legs up in front against resistance. I have had 2 sports medicine doctors warn against it as it causes a sheer force at the knee and there's nothing else in life calls for this motion.

I concur with the yoga suggestions for back!

Good advice from experienced cyclists and a good call by the OP to also pay attention to lateral moves. I have a troublesome right knee that responds well to lateral exercises of which there are many You Tube demo videos. I also have a troublesome lower back that responds to core exercises. Also, maintaining a straight back on the bike, no hunching over is best for the back.

I play soccer.

Hamstrings?

Squats get minimal hamstring activation relative to working your quads.

You want hamstrings? And glutes and a great lower back?

Romanian Deadlifts. Now, before you get scared off, I’m not taking about full deadlifts.

Here are the RDLs. You can go very light, heck start with no weight at all. But this will give you what you want. Posterior chain strength and a spring in your step.

Of course, check with your doc first, please before you try ; )

Notice, your rear end moves back and hands stay close to your legs, just go down to the knee/just below knee.

Gardening.
Pulling weeds in the soft soil gets best results. I get most of the positions illustrated above, just not on the back. Lots of bending, stretching and finger strength exercises. No power tools = is the trick!

I breathe all the time.
I brush my teeth 2 or 3 times a day.
I walk to the LOO A LOT.
I'm always on the computer.

Biked 111 solo miles today with winds 11 to 20+mph.
Biked 152 mostly solo miles on Wednesday with winds 4 to 18+mph. (2x July birthday age + 12)

I do a variety of full body exercises -- mostly body weight calisthenics but some moderate weights of 20-40 lbs. Stretches and range of motion. I started with a guided physical therapy clinic last year after recovering enough from a broken and dislocated shoulder and injured neck, and progressed from there. It all helps with bike riding.

Squats are awesome, but it sounds like it may be a bike fit issue.

Manual ranch labor works everything good thing their is ibuprofen.. the cycling gets the blood flowing..

I want to thank folks here for their contributions. I'm following some of the suggestions, and they are making me feel great. I especially like the Training Peaks page from @Carbonfiberboy and the Emma Pooley video from @bpcyclist. Thank you! It is a wealth.

I've been doing this 3-Day Dumbbell workout for the past few years along with a short ab workout I got from Tony Little in the 90's and as much cycling as I can fit in the other 4 days. I travel a lot for work (normally, not now) and every hotel has a dumbbell rack, so it works for me. I think it really helps with comfort on long rides. As I get older I'm more concerned with overall health than speed on the bike, and from everything I've read, lifting a little weight becomes more important the older we get. I've tried yoga off-and-on for the last couple of years, but I hate it so I've never been able to keep it up. Many of my cycling friends swear by it.

I like squats, lunges, Turkish Get ups and Burpies. Anything that improves my cardio helps my biking.

My Google news feed usually includes fitness articles, because I often Google fitness articles and watch video tutorials. Most are useless text descriptions without illustrations. Some include excellent animated gifs to demonstrate the exercises.

Here are a couple of YouTube channels I check often for body weight, resistance and range of motion exercises. These all emphasize good ergonomics to avoid injury.

Bowflex
They aren't just trying to sell you equipment. They post lots of succinct demonstrations of exercises using only body weight, resistance or makeshift weights such as jugs of water instead of kettlebells or dumbells. Bowflex videos are planned out, scripted and edited to be as short and sweet as a pop song, usually only 2-3 minutes.

Athlean-X
My only complaint about Athlean-X is the videos run longer than necessary. That's a common problem with too many YouTubers. Some simply don't know how to plan or edit their videos, so they just ramble. Others, especially bodybuilders like the Athlean-X guy, suffer from a bit of narcissism and want to be the show along with demonstrating exercises. But the Athlean-X videos are better than most otherwise.

Bike Fit Adviser
There are lots of videos and tutorial on avoiding injury through proper bike ergonomics. But none better than the Bike Fit Adviser. He does ramble a bit but edits his videos to keep 'em a bit shorter. No ego or elitist attitude, just good advice.

I engage hams and glutes with the oldschool pulling up of the offload pedal. It’s all integral with the modern era term and practice of spinning circles. Every rider has their own tweak to this but if you will do hill rides with the pulling on the upstroke pedal you will find glutes and hams with plenty of action. As for your backpain, you may be pulling on the bar a bit more than realized. Be patient, we aren’t young anymore. And do check your seat height to have a full stroke on the pedal (but not so high to lockout the knee or cause bobbing on the saddle in higher cadence situation).