Weight Training Advice and Studies for Cycling

You could try single leg squatting against a wall. You can definitely generate a decent burn doing them. You can use a balance ball or even a foam roller between your back and the wall to help with the movement. Start with your feet shoulder width apart a a foot or so in front of your (depending it length of your femur).

When you lift one leg out in front, try to keep your foot position the same relative to your body - below your hip and shoulder, don’t allow it to move into the centre. You might need something to help with balance for the first while - even a brush or mop in the opposite hand will help.

The benefit is that you keep your back straight throughout the movement, much less risk to your back. I didn’t suggest it to @varmstrong above because it can be hard in the knees.

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Thanks for letting me know, I really thought that was foolproof.

I tried that also, but same issue as all other single leg exercise I mentioned. When balance is mixed in, it is difficult to practice overloading.

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One thing to consider is whether there is a mobility issue that can be resolved helping you with your back rounding. Most people don’t have good ankle mobility, have weak tibialis muscles, aren’t considering their hip mobility, etc and therefore can’t get into safe positions.

I’ve been working hard on being able to get into a good “primal” squat. And it takes a lot of work. I might suggest some mobility exercises and work to get into a good primal squat with your arms up. You can squat and deadlift while you work on this, but ideally this should reduce the reliance on your back for stabilization.

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Thank you, I will look into that.

One thing I have been working on is my tight hamstrings. I was shown a very good stretch, that I keep my back from rounding, by a chiropractor/bike fitter. It seems to have helped a bit already.

could be a simple thing like you having shallow vs. deep hip sockets. You need to find the foot angle and foot width that is unique to you. There are some pretty simple tests you can do to figure those things out

Here are some videos I found helpful.

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Well that’s me out of ideas so! :sweat_smile: The only other exercise I can think of for quad work is step ups, but you might be running into balance issues again.

At least you’re able to work your glutes though. I find that and the core are the real contributors to back pain, in my experience at least.