Do you know what’s going on with your leg muscles while cycling? The good data-scraper people at Visual.y have unearthed this infographic gem, visualising the muscle groups that get worked out in the different phases of a pedal cycle.
According to Bikeforum, the original forum discussing this subject, cycling develops three of the four quad muscles. The one muscle that doesn’t get “worked out” is the Vastus Medialis, which is the quad muscle on the inside of the leg. This can lead to a condition where the knee doesn’t track correctly, which causes knee problems, particularly patello-femoral syndrome. Standing cycling exercise can help work this muscle.
However, if you are training competitively for sportive, make sure you get the correct training advice from a qualified fitness instructor to avoid injury.
