These At-Home Workouts Will Make 2020 Your Strongest Year Yet
Workout trends from apps like ClassPass and Strava showed that strength training topped the charts for popularity. And our readers loved our strength training workouts as well.
You know it’s important to build core, arm, and leg strength for more power on the bike. Whether you’re working out in the gym or at home, we have you covered. Some of these circuits will having you working up a sweat and building muscle in less than 10 minutes.
We’ve compiled a list of the best workouts from this year that you can do to hit every part of your body. These workouts can be done in the gym or at home, so tack them on to the end of a ride or combine a few the next time you need exercise inspiration.
8-Minute Ab Workout
The key to becoming a stronger athlete is a strong core, but it’s easy to forget to add in some abs exercises at the end of a training day. Who has loads time to tack on a bunch of extra work to the end of your ride, anyway?
The good news is, you don’t need a whole lot of time: You can seriously challenge your core in just eight minutes thanks to this abs circuit that will strengthen your midsection and improve your performance on the bike.
Adding this ab circuit to the end of your regular workout routine a few days a week will help you build core strength and balance—it smokes every part of your core, from your hips, trunk, and obliques, as well as incorporates rotation, flexion, and extension on all sides, explains Dane Miklaus, C.S.C.S., WORK Training Studio founder.
How to do it: For this eight-minute workout, perform each move for 40 seconds, going from one move to the next (trying not to rest in between). One round is six moves—four minutes. Repeat twice.
The full workout descriptions for each move can be found here.
6-Move Core-Strengthening Circuit
Building strength in your obliques, erector muscles (those that run the length of your spine), and transverse abdominis (the deepest layer of ab muscle) will help you gain an all-around stable core, which is vital for riding longer and stronger, and crushing climbs.
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This sequence of core-strengthening exercises from Kara Miklaus, N.A.S.M. of WORK Training Studio in Irvine, California, will do just that, along with working both stability and mobility. Just because there are no weights required for this workout doesn’t mean these moves are easy—these are advanced moves that require a solid workout foundation.
How to do it: For this six-move workout, perform each exercise for 45 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds. Repeat the entire series for a 15-minute bodyweight core-strengthening exercise you can do anywhere.
The full workout descriptions for each move can be found here.
6 Moves to Work Your Core and Strengthen Your Lower Body
Training both your legs and your core also help keep your posture upright and your lower back injury-free, too. A workout that targets both your core and your lower body at the same time may be just what you need.
Doing exercises that mimic the moves you do in real life and other sports helps you build better function fitness, says trainer Charlee Atkins, C.S.C.S., founder of Le Sweat. She’s created a series of six moves that will do just that, coming together in a quick, high-intensity workout that will leave you drenched.
How to do it: Perform each exercise for the designated number of reps. Engage your core before beginning the exercise, and focus on keeping your abdominal muscles tight throughout the movement. Your core muscles will help keep your back safe and your posture in the correct position while moving through the exercises. Complete two to three rounds of the workout.
The full workout descriptions for each move can be found here.
12-Minute Workout That’ll Blast Your Abs and Your Butt
When you’re short on time but still want to get your strength training in, a workout that challenges multiple parts of your body can come in clutch. And what better combination than one that’ll smoke your abs and your glutes?
Building a strong core and glutes are vital for cyclists, since they will improve your speed and help you power up hills and crush inclines, explains Lindsey Clayton, instructor at Barry’s Bootcamp and cofounder of the Brave Body Project.
This abs and butt workout created by Clayton will challenge your core and glute strength, while also improving your balance—also important for strong climbs. Beginners can complete this circuit using just bodyweight. To make this circuit more challenging, try adding weights.
How to do it: Perform each move for one minute, focusing on one side at a time for the unilateral moves. (For the deadlift, kickback, lever crunch, and glute bridge, you will work your right side through the first round of the circuit). Rest for 30 seconds after you finish the right side. Then start over and perform the circuit again, using your left side for the unilateral exercises.
The full workout descriptions for each move can be found here.
5 Mountain Climber Variations That Will Smoke Your Abs
Mountain climbers are just as much of a core exercise as a cardio one—giving you the most bang for your buck when you want to boost the intensity of your workouts a bit.
Amber Rees, Barry’s Bootcamp instructor and cofounder of Brave Body Project, put together a circuit that incorporates five different variations of mountain climbers that you can add to the end of your rides or cross-training workouts.
How to do it: Perform each exercise for 30 seconds with 15 seconds of recovery before moving onto the next exercise. Repeat the circuit three times if you can.
The full workout descriptions for each move can be found here.
An At-Home Arm Workout You Can Do Without Weights
Let’s be real: Cyclists aren’t exactly known for their jacked arms and shoulders, but it’s crucial that we all have upper body strength. No matter how strong your legs are, you can only pedal as far as you can hold yourself up in the saddle.
“Being strong in the upper body allows cyclists to hold a better position on the bike,” says Brian Levine, a USA Triathlon Level I coach and cyclist. “It means you don’t have to strain and prevents tension from building up in your shoulders and neck.” Plus, solid upper body strength can help make you more aerodynamic when you need to be, he says.
Levine put together an arm workout you can do without weights. This circuit focuses on arms, core, and shoulders, all important areas to focus on for cyclists.
How to use this list: Perform Circuit 1 two to three times with little to no rest between exercises. Rest for 30 seconds, then move on to Circuit 2, which you’ll also repeat two to three times with little to no rest between exercises. Perform this workout before or after a ride to complement your lower body work.
The full workout descriptions for each move can be found here.
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