Let’s admit it, we have seen pictures of those perfect-shaped cyclists with Olympian bodies in magazines. After seeing them, there is this one question that always persists- Does Cycling Makes My Ass Look Good? The answer to that question is both yes and no!
Cycling helps you burn fat, and you will burn fat in excessive quantities, this will tone your body, especially your butt. That is not the end of it though, cycling helps you build up stamina and strength, think of it as fueling your body for the best.
We trigger a lot of glute muscles when cycling, those gluteal muscles include:
- Gluteus Maximus
- Gluteus Medius
- Gluteus Minimus
These three gluteal muscles work in coherence for extreme muscle toning and your entire body benefits from it.
Cycling is Great For Your Butt
Let us address the elephant in the room first, cycling is really good for your ass, well not just your ass but the whole body. Whenever a person rides their bike, they trigger a lot of muscles, those include quads, hamstrings, and even calf muscles. There are some butt muscles that are also engaged, the ones that we discussed earlier (Glutes), and when cycling you will experience fat loss like none other which will start shaping up your body.
The most significant butt muscle that is being used is the Gluteus Maximus, it basically extends your hip when you are cycling and when you pedal, this is the muscle that gets the maximum amount of workout. So just to be clear, both your leg muscles and the butt muscles are being worked whenever you cycle and they end up shaping your butt.
What Happens When We Cycle Frequently?
When a person rides a bike, they burn calories, a LOT of them, even in your butt. That is why we can say that cycling does make the ass look really good, cycling is one of the few sports that eliminates the fat stored in our butts. That is a complicated and difficult feat to accomplish because there are a lot of fat deposits in your butt and even below it. So when you cycle, you start eliminating those fat deposits.
Related: Is Riding A Bike Good Exercise? 7 Exercise Benefits Of Real Bikes Vs. Stationary Bikes
Biking and Training Combinations
Now that we have discussed how cycling makes your butt bigger and better, there are plenty of other things to discuss. Cycling itself is really good for your health, but when you combine it with other forms of training like weight training, for example, it gets even better.
Let’s Start With Strength Training
Bike training engages the butt muscles in a variety of ways, and we can extend that level of a workout when we combine it with strength training. In order to engage all of your muscles, it is very important that we continue our routine of strength training a few times a week, we can try out many exercises that way.
What Are The Exercises That We Can Try?
When it comes to strength training, we can try out many different exercises to engage our muscles, some of them are:
- Lunges
- Squats
- Burpees
- Donkey Kicks
These above-mentioned exercises are great for the lower body but if we also add some upper body exercises to the mix then we would really have a great workout.
Some really good examples of upper body exercises that we can do are:
- Bicep Curls
- Overhead Press
- Planks
- Pullups
The combination of both upper-body and lower-body exercises will go perfectly with cycling. Just keep on experimenting with different kinds of exercises till you find the best routine for yourself. You would also be toning a lot of your leg muscles this way!
Interval Training Goes A Long Way
In order to make cycling work for your whole body, especially the butt, we recommend adding interval training to the mix. The kind of interval training that we are talking about is going to be mixed with weight training, this will give you amazing results.
When we add interval training to our cycling routine, we don’t just burn calories and fat, but we also add a more dynamic range of motion to our glutes and leg muscles, this becomes the ultimate form of exercise. Burning fat sounds great but does cycling like this builds glutes? We can work on glutes through cycling and interval training if we change our routine a bit.
During cycling sessions, if we add some minutes of vigorous cycling when riding a bike at normal intensity, it will definitely affect the glutes. For example, during 10 minutes of regular cycling, if we cycle at high intensity for 3 minutes then the results are going to be amazing!
For some intervals, we can cycle hard, and even add some uphill climbs to the mix. This will allow you to burn a lot of calories and fat than your normal routine workouts. Just make sure that your cycling position (Pose) is good enough otherwise you could end up having a knee injury.
Burn Calories Faster!
Too much cardio with all the boring exercises is going to drain you of all the fun, there needs to be a change when it comes to exercises. Some people incorporate different strength training sessions but that also gets boring after a while. You need to add some fresh air into your workout regime to attain the fitness level of your dreams!
In time you will get to know that using an elliptical or taking an aerobics class will be nothing but boring, there will be no fun and fun is a vital part of the exercise. That is why bicycling is there to help us feel different and energetic. If you haven’t tried out cycling yet then now is the best time to do so, not only will you lose fat but you will also accomplish your fitness goals in no time.
With the help of cycling, you will be leaning forward into a new future of fitness, if everything works out good then we are looking at losing 500-700 calories per hour. The good news is that it only gets better from here!
Don’t Forget To Rest
Many people make the mistake of taking no rest between exercises, this is highly dangerous and will actually damage your dream of getting fit. Taking a rest day is very necessary, it will actually be beneficial for your gains, and if you don’t take that into consideration then you could have a sore bum soon!
Having a stationary bike for once is actually good, park your bike at least two times a week and give your body proper rest. This will not just relax your body but also your mental health, allowing you to reach new heights than before.
If we are talking about strength training then having a 24-hour rest between intervals is necessary, otherwise, your leg muscles won’t repair in time for the next workout. Some people just can’t stay put, we know that, what should we do then? Taking yoga classes is a really good example though!
How To Engage Your Butt Muscles With Cycling
In order to get the best out of cycling sessions, we must actively use our butt muscles. Here are some of the ways we can engage our butt muscles while cycling.
Having A Compatible Cycling Position
While cycling, your legs must be in such a position that your glutes are working at the maximum, for that you need to try out different cycling positions, each person will have their own unique cycling position. Placing the knees at a 90-degree position works really well, went the knees are bent, that is when the glutes work out the most!
The bike’s pedal is going to be up with your knee and when you are seated in this position, and whenever you push down the pedal it will be like you are doing a deep single leg squat.
You would be using your glutes to pedal down instead of the quads and that will make sure that your butt muscles get toned. Combine with high-paced handlebars and you would always have an upright position whenever you cycle.
Using The Heels For Acceleration
Since we are talking about butt muscles here, there is another trick that would prove extremely helpful. Instead of using the toes to push the bike, try using the heels. This won’t work out if you have a lowered seat, you could even damage your knee like that.
Have a comfortable seated position and then try using the heels, if it works out then all good otherwise just keep on using the toes. Also, try using the heels in short bursts, see if that helps!
Going Gear-Free on Hills
If your bike has gears then don’t use them while going uphill. Shift to the high gear on your bike and then cycle uphill, you will see that it amazingly affects your butt. When you have to pedal just stand and maintain an upright position while maintaining your torso.
This position will feel as if you are doing step-ups but on a bike. Trust me, this is going to transform your butt muscles quite extraordinarily.
Amazing Workouts For Your Butt Muscles
Cycling combined with amazing workouts is going to work wonders on your body, especially your butt. There are some exercises that you can try out to attain the maximum benefits.
Here are some of the really good ones:
- Squats
- Lunges
- Step-Ups
- Clamshell
- Donkey Kicks
Check out this butt guide by Patrick Dale of Fitness Volt.
All of these exercises are great, you can experiment with a variety of combinations. Do try practicing the single legged squat tho, it will prove quite beneficial.
The Magnified Importance of A Strong Butt For Cycling
There is a lot of importance of a strong bum when it comes to cycling, the Gluteus Maximus acts as the primary hip extensor. The other butt muscles like the Gluteus Medius and Gluteus Minimus are equally important too, they are not just the leg movers but they also provide the necessary stabilization while cycling.
If you have strong butt muscles then you will be to sprint faster on your bike and ride harder, your overall cycling performance will greatly improve. When it comes to the downward stroke, gluteal muscles play a very vital role, especially in muscle activation.
Consistency is going to be the key here, keep on doing the exercises mentioned, have healthy workout sessions and you will see those amazing results in no time!
Recap
Cycling is going to make a rider’s butt look amazing but in different ways, you won’t have the results like others but there will be a huge performance boost. Not only will cycling work on your gluteal muscles butt, but there will also be extreme fat loss which will make your ass look amazing!
If you want to have the best ass, just follow the tips and exercises mentioned above. From looks to performance, your life will certainly change in an amazing way.
