Cross-country skiing
This is the ideal cross-training sport for winter months. It will keep your leg and butt muscles in shape when you can’t do any cycling. And not only that, the use of ski poles activates your upper body and core which is very useful for injury prevention, overall health, and the ability to get into a comfy riding position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RPL-ENtqJ4
Swimming
Swimming is great at building cardio, strength, and lung capacity and it’s a zero impact activity. It’s great for staying in shape when recovering from a cycling injury or during easy rest weeks. Swimming also builds a strong core and helps you increase mobility in your shoulders and hip flexors. If you are new to swimming, get a few lessons with a coach, learning proper technique will make you enjoy it a lot more!
Yoga or Pilates
Cycling can make you very tight, especially those long weekend rides. This, combined with a lot of time sitting hunched over in front of a PC, can cause back aches and other issues. That’s where Yoga or Pilates come in. They help you loosen up tight spots, combat imbalances, and maintain full range of motion in all of your joints. Plus they teach you better breathing patterns and that comes in handy on the bike as well.
Strength training
Strength training consistently comes up in studies as the most effective injury prevention tool. And what could be more important than being healthy and injury free all year round to enjoy as much cycling as possible. It’s worth it, you should do some form of strength work every week. If you have a good workout plan it will improve your power on the bike without gaining any excess muscle. So, get a coach if you’re a beginner.
Stair climbing or hill running
This is a great activity because it’s very similar to cycling. You use the same muscle groups for climbing stairs or running hills as you do while climbing on a bike. So why do it? It’s something you always have available. For example if you travel a lot and can’t always take your bike with you, there will always be some stairs to conquer!
