Koyote

Upper body muscle mass will only slow down a cyclist, since it is unhelpful and is extra weight and wind resistance. And pedaling a bike is an aerobic activity and does not benefit much from large muscles. (Exception: track cyclists who do standing starts, and maybe top sprinters on the road.)

GhostRider62

Modern "steep" seat tube angles, slammed stems, and saddles pushed forwards has moved the center of gravity (CoG). If the core can't handle the CoG, the arms take the brunt. It is that simple. Changing to shorter cranks only helps with the hip flexor issue many of us have.

Or, one can ride seat tube angles from Eddy's era.

Carbonfiberboy 

I agree with the OP: pushups are a good thing. Pushups and a long plank, both. All it takes is 20 pushups every morning. That's not going to make you look like a body builder, especially if your BMI is 19. Good grief. I think a disagreement could arise between those who usually ride for differing numbers of hours. The more continuous hours we spend out there trying to hold a low position, the more obvious it gets. I see riders shaking out their arms on every long group ride and I see riders pulling from the high hoods position all the time, just because they can't hold the low hoods or stay in the drops for very long..

The reason that the low hoods position is faster than the drops is that the forearms are not exposed to the wind. Cylinders are a very high drag shape. Obviously deep in the drops with horizontal forearms is faster yet, but not many people can pedal for long periods at high output in that position. It's good for coasting though, especially if you pull your elbows under your belly, get those arms out of the wind..

Carbonfiberboy 

On fit: I used to have enough reach that my elbows were in front of my knees in the low positions. My fitter decided that my hip angle was too small and my upper arm/torso angle was too large, so he pulled my hands back 3 cm and sat me up more. I don't think that has been helpful.

Iride01 

Strength doesn't always mean bulging muscles.

I have skinny little arms. But I could pick up more than many of my friends and the people I use to work with. Especially some of the younger guys that actually did bulk up from when I first met them. How they bulked up, I don't know, but it must not have been from time using the weights.

Since hitting 60, retired for the most part I noticed that I need to exercise arms and upper body and waist. I'm not doing exercises that I think is going to add muscle mass. So I don't have to worry about these bulging upper arm and body muscles that some think are going to make me less aero and heavier.

Seattle Forrest

​​​​​​I just tell people "the heart is a muscle" when this comes up offline.

noimagination

Well, pushups IS a core exercise. Yes, pushups develop chest, shoulder, triceps etc. as well, but the exercise is basically planks with the up-and-down motion thrown in.

redlude97

For actual functional bike core workouts, the two best IMO are bird-dogs and mcgill crunches.

https://youtu.be/xFwnmNyniMA

https://youtu.be/2naoyUMxE20

MoAlpha

True, but that's not how it feels when you've got a strong core and roadie arms like me!

Hypno Toad

FWIW - years ago I focused on push-ups, but it wasn't the benefit I needed for getting low on the bars on long endurance rides ... and I still have the chest of an underweight 12 year old boy. In addition to a quality bike fit, core strength has done the trick for me. Going back the DAMn Fools video posted earlier (post 3 ref time 15:15), I've learned to focus on dynamic planking. Static planks are good, but remember, cycling is dynamic so mix up the planking.

Edit/afterthought: another thing that has helped a ton with my endurance riding - Pilates!

This picture is from the 2021 Freedhem 76, this is my favorite position on the bars ... and I'm certain this lower body position helped me be the fastest fatbike on the day.


photo credit: Markman Outdoor Photography

WhyFi

A drop-bar fattie looks like good, dumb fun.

Hypno Toad

^^^ the prefect description of that bike!

qwaalodge

I don't do any off-bike core work outs, no arm workouts but I can ride low all day.

Arm workouts and stronger arm will not unload the hands and unloading the hands is more important than trying to hold a low aero position. The hands should be unloaded as much as possible or you'll develop hand nerve issues.

If you need to unload your hands in any riding position, your ONLY means to solve the situation is bike fit, core workout, and your riding posture.

The only way I work out my core muscle on the bike is doing low cadence, high resistance intervals like climbing on high gears.