Cycling is an activity that helps build muscles in your thighs, calves and hips and also provides cardiovascular benefits, but it doesn't do much to strengthen your abdominal muscles. Even if the muscles in your core, which include your abdominals, help stabilize your legs, they don't move much as you pedal. The skeletal muscles that cycling strengthens are elsewhere.
Your Bicycle Supports Your Weight
Unless you already have strong core muscles and use them consciously to support your upper body as you ride, you probably use your bicycle seat, pedals and handlebars to hold yourself up. Your core muscles, which actively work to support you when you walk, run and jump, serve mainly to anchor your legs as they pedal. Just riding a bicycle is not effective for strengthening your abdominals. Use exercises off your bike to concentrate on those.
Abdominal Muscles
The rectus abdominus, the most noticeable muscle in your abdomen, is sometimes called the "six-pack." But it has little function in cycling. The transverse abdominus, located underneath the rectus, runs horizontally and stabilizes your torso, lower back, oblique abdominal, gluteal, hamstring and hip flexor muscles. Basic exercises for these muscles include pelvic tilts, planks or similar isometric exercises (contracting your abdomen and keeping your body straight and off the floor while supporting yourself with your arms).
Other Exercises
Additional abdominal exercises include various types of leg circles and leg raises that are typical of Pilates workouts. Do these exercises as you lie with your back on the floor. Do leg circles with straight legs, bent legs, with one leg at a time or both. To make it more challenging, do these exercises while lying on a long foam roller and maintaining your balance as you move your legs.
Reduce Pain
Although cycling doesn't effectively strengthen your abdominal muscles, training your abdominal muscles by doing other exercises off your bicycle can help make you a stronger and more powerful cyclist. A well-developed core can better support your upper body, reduce fatigue and pain by taking pressure off your back, shoulders, hands and arms. This allows you to cycle for longer distances without tiring, according to John Hughes, USA cycling coach and former director of the UltraMarathon Cycling Association.
References
Writer Bio
Lexa W. Lee is a New Orleans-based writer with more than 20 years of experience. She has contributed to "Central Nervous System News" and the "Journal of Naturopathic Medicine," as well as several online publications. Lee holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from Reed College, a naturopathic medical degree from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine and served as a postdoctoral researcher in immunology.
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