Desk jockey here too. Had tons of back and knee problems when I was just cycling 12 hours/week. Dialed cycling back a ton and went back to kickboxing 3-4x/week, full body hypertrophy training 2x/week, and cycling 1-2x/week. Body has never felt stronger.
Whatever you do, don’t just do cycling. It may cost you less than you think, as far as on-the-bike performance is concerned.
I feel ya! The most fit I ever was, was when I worked a manual labor job building terrain parks at a ski resort. I was exhaustIed from work, but managed to ride for 90 mins after. I also took the most time off the bike from like mid december to mid January. I wasn’t really firing for the early season races, but by June I was racing well.
Since 2021 I’ve been working IT and at the desk. Put on 10-15 pounds, but still ride a lot. Probably more than I ever did before. I still do a lot of physical work: chop and split firewood, shovel the snow off my roof and three porches. But, just not the same. I even lift, go to the gym, and do some Dialed Health programs. I’m also 42 now.
I could eat what I wanted at the manual labor job because we were burning so many calories throughout the day. The IT job, not so much, ha.
There is a program called “Rise” I found on instagram that focused on strength, some plyo and mobility I want to try. It seems like the perfect programming to get you out of that plane we exist in as desk jockeys. I like the addition of some explosive movements that some program don’t have. Walking is always good but if you are like me it’s hard to find the time when you are trying to train, eat healthy, do mobility work and then get more steps in a day.
My wife is a really good rock climber and we have a household membership to a bouldering (i.e. short unroped climbing) gym. I find it a fantastic contrast to cycling, as it’s basically a series of challenging physical puzzles you figure out. Great way to work on flexibility, core strength, and tons of muscle groups and ranges of motion that cycling doesn’t touch. I also find this way easier to get motivated for than something like kettle bells or plyometrics, as it’s actually fun, social and mentally engaging.
The gym has a great weight room too, so I typically split a session between warmup/stretching, bouldering and some cycling-focused strength work.
Swimming, weights and running are key for me
Monday ~ 30m morning run, lunch weights, evening easy 1hr trainer
Tuesday ~ evening hard 1hr trainer, masters swim team
Wednesday ~ same as Monday
Thursday ~ same as Tuesday
Friday ~ same as Monday
Saturday ~ long ride, run easy
Sunday ~ long trail run, easy mountain bike
That sounds like a good plan but maybe a little too much intensity for this 55+ guy. I would need at least 1 day of no cardio per week…gotta let the heart muscle have a little recovery day here and there.
I’m an 8hr/day desk jockey. I train/ride 8-14hrs a week. I am very lucky in that I can walk to my office from my house everyday, and walk home for lunch. So I get a mile or two of walking everyday as well. Between that, doing regular cleaning and home stuff, yard work in the summer, home improvement projects, I don’t go looking for anything more to keep me active. Actually, I think doing additional exercise would just make me feel wrecked all the time. I sometimes go walk the trails at the local park if I’m bored.
I guess I’m lucky that at 42 I still don’t have any back or joint issues.
Right now I have found the time and focus to increase my training amount so I currently do ~5 rides a week and two full body strength workouts which have worked wonders for my back and shoulders.
I did however achieve basically the same relief when I did 2-3 rides a week and 15x5 kettlebell swings spread out over the day, of course easier when working from home, but what I did was take a break a few times a day get up and smash 15 kettlebell swings before getting back to work.
And for reference I work as a developer and have gaming as a main hobby… so a good few hours behind the desk
Highly recommend doing another former of physical activity to balance things out, preferably with weights. I also have a desk job and with family commitments it is hard to get to the gym. However, I usually always take a lunch break, so a few times a week I go to the gym at lunch. I also have some adjustable dumbbells at home that I can use from time to time.
It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. You could get a pullup bar and does those and pushups. Couple those with some goblet squats and you would have a workout that could be done relatively quickly, but also work your body from head to toe. Twenty minutes while watching tv a couple night a week is all you need.
Sounds like a job. How much do you get paid for doing that lot?
Why “like a job”? Say, you have 15h/week allocated for hobbies. If you split it between 5 hobbies (3h/week/hobby), it is not like job but if you focus on single hobby, it becomes a job? Where do you draw the line? And does it apply to everybody, regardless time allotment?
Just wanted to say thanks for the tip off’s. I’ve done the 10 minute one a couple of times when I really didn’t have motivation or time, and I definitely would’ve sacked off my original plan I was following!
It’s not a “job” really. I typically get up at 5am and have coffee with my wife and just chat while house is quiet. Instead of walking my dog at 6am, I take him on a 30 minute run. In to my desk job at 7:30am.
Instead of eating lunch at my desk, I go the gym 3x a week. It is 1 mile from my office.
The key is integrating these things into daily life. If I can’t go at lunch it doesn’t get done, no big deal. If I can’t take the dog for a run at 6am, I will just play with him and someone else in the house will usually take him for a walk later.
That then just leaves the evenings to do a 1 hour trainer road workout (typically 7pm after dinner, not ideal I know). 2 of those evenings I will do masters swim team, it starts at 8:30pm when the house is winding down. On the swim evenings the rides are easy endurance. If I am tired or unmotivated, i skip the endurance rides.
I think this formula provides a pretty well rounded workout week for me.
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All power to your elbow. I’m amazed at the commitment some of you guys show to your chosen sports, setting aside very serious time within already super busy lives. 
I’d last one week on that regime - if that - before all motivation evaporated! Then again, I’m the sort of person who rather than being envious of pros being paid to ride their bikes all day, feel a little bit sorry for them!
I’m getting paid in years off my health age - about 5 so far.
Mostly for me it’s finding dead time and using that.
It’s nice to think I’d use those hours to end world peace, but if I wasn’t training I’d be watching TV and drinking. I still get my family commitments and job done.
this.
I think I could last the week and still be plenty motivated, maybe even more motivated and excited, but then I’d realize I haven’t kept up with any of my other responsibilities. 
(Not that norton is rejecting responsibilities! That’s just what it would require of me. Keep up the good work. 
)
Cannot argue with that.
There’s obviously a very wide spectrum of desire to exercise / train across individuals - some (many?) people don’t like doing any, while others like to do a great deal of it. We’re all wired differently. I find it rather humbling to see how those with a strong desire to exercise and train manage to satisfy that desire within what are often tight time constraints and limited availability. Hats off to them / you, but that’s not for me, despite me having in theory massive amounts of time I could dedicate to training if I chose to.
Back to the OP’s question. To stay more well rounded than just bike riding alone would make me, I generally do:
Doing a mixture of activities is better for me physically and I find the variety much more enjoyable than, say, just riding a bike lots of times per week, which would quickly become a chore (like a job!) for me rather than something I enjoyed, and would kill my enthusiasm.
I ride for about 8-9 hours per week, mostly outside and on my lunch break or right after work. I lift once or twice a week and play in an adult hockey league. I picked up hockey this year as I was getting bored of just spinning my legs. Also felt I was getting too much like an endurance sport weirdo and had to make sure I stay cool enough, you know?
I do heavy leg lifts then body weight circuits otherwise (core oriented but hitting all muscle groups). Most team sports when your on your feet moving around will be a full body workout too (and fun while you’re doing it)
I work a classic 9-5 deck job, yawn.