No Gym? No Problem: Alternative Conditioning Ideas for Cyclists

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You don't need a gym to workout. With a little creativity and experimentation, you can come up with dynamic workouts to increase your strength, power, balance and stability all while having some fun in the process.

In this article we'll take a look at workouts that you can do with minimal equipment at home (or hotel while traveling) and at local parks.

More: 3 Ways to Improve Away From the Bike

Equipment

You really don't have to have any equipment to work out. One of the fundamental principles of exercise prescription is that you should learn to have complete control over your body's movements before adding any external resistance.

That said, it is nice to have some tools in your toolbox to make you workouts more interesting and provide for some variation. Here is a list of equipment that would be helpful to have and should be able to fit in a gym bag that you can take along with you for outdoor workouts:

  • Some form of weight. This could be dumbbells, medicine balls, kettlebells, sand bags, water-filled jugs, etc.
  • Resistance bands (the kind with handles). These are great—they weigh next to nothing and can be used for all kinds of exercises.
  • Jump rope.
  • Cones/markers. Ideal for marking out courses for drills.
  • Suspension trainer. TRX, Jungle Gym, or similar.

More: 10 Reasons to Keep a Training Diary