Is Indoor Cycling Effective for Leg Muscle Growth?

When it comes to working out, efficiency matters. If you love indoor cycling, you might wonder if those high-energy rides can double as leg-strengthening workouts. After all, pedaling against resistance should count as lower-body training, right?

While cycling certainly works your legs, fitness experts agree that if you’re aiming to build serious muscle, you may need to do more than just ride. Here’s how indoor cycling stacks up against strength training and how to make the most of your time in the saddle.

Which Muscles Does Cycling Work?

Indoor cycling primarily targets your quads, glutes, and calves. The motion of pushing down on the pedals activates your glutes and quads, while pulling up (especially if you’re clipped into the pedals) engages your hamstrings, according to the Arthritis Foundation.

But it’s not just your legs that get a workout. "Your core is engaged the entire class," says Joseph David, ISSA-CPT, a cycling instructor and personal trainer. This means cycling can also help with core endurance and posture.

Does Cycling Build Leg Muscle Like Strength Training?

Cycling can increase lower-body strength over time, but not as quickly or effectively as traditional strength training. A March 2015 review in Acta Physiologica Hungarica found that while cycling does contribute to muscle growth, the changes happen more gradually compared to exercises like squats or deadlifts.

Why? Strength training involves more resistance and targets muscles in multiple planes of motion. Exercises like lateral lunges or step-ups engage stabilizing muscles that cycling doesn’t hit as effectively.

That said, if your goal is toned and stronger legs, cycling can still play a valuable role. A March 2021 study in the Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology found that cyclists who incorporated strength training into their routine improved both their cycling performance and overall leg strength.

How to Make Cycling More Effective for Leg Strength

If cycling is your main workout, there are ways to make it more effective for building muscle:

• Increase Resistance: "The real star of the show here is adding the resistance on a bike," David says. Pedaling against a higher resistance forces your muscles to work harder, leading to greater strength gains.

• Stay Seated: When you stand up during a ride, you use body weight to push the pedals. Staying seated isolates your leg muscles more, forcing them to do the work.

• Ride Consistently: Aim for at least four rides per week if you want to see progress, David recommends. If you’re not adding separate strength workouts, you can cycle up to six days a week for maximum consistency.

• Pair Cycling With Strength Training: If you’re looking for a challenge, try a lower-body strength workout before cycling. "It really burns those legs out," David says, making your ride even more intense.

The Bottom Line

Yes, indoor cycling will strengthen your legs but if you want bigger muscle gains or balanced strength, adding strength training to your routine is the way to go. Whether you combine cycling with weights or push the resistance on your bike, consistency and progressive overload are key.

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