When you're at the top of your game, and even if you just enjoy cycling as a recreation, it's never enough to just train in the sport. To get the best out of your performance, and to invest in your body, you should consider strengthening and conditioning exercises.
Here superstar athlete and BikeExchange favourite Caroline Buchanan seps us through five of her favourites.
Find out about Caroline's new signature bikes
1. Squats
The trusty old squats you can never go wrong with. For BMX our sport is fast and explosive and getting out of the gate the fastest is the most important part of the race. As they say you don't see a rabbit stretch out of the hole.
Max squat: 135kg
2. Hang Snatches
Olympic lifts are a major component in BMX racers programs. Hang snatches for me force me to really apply force hard and quickly to be able to get the bar above my head with little time for momentum starting at the knees.
See why Caroline Buchanan rocks
3. Power cleans
This exercise was originally my most dreaded exercises. It takes full commitment from the floor and trust in your technique & speed of the bar to drop underneath the bar for the catch.
Max clean: 85kg
Caroline Buchanan's bike check here
4: Chin ups
Chin ups for me are a three-times-a-week gym session routine. I never have a program where these bad girls are not included. Many may think Cycling is all about your legs but you have 4 points of support on a bike: your 2 feet and your 2 hands. Being strong through the core, lats and upper body allows greater force delivery through the pedals.
5: Sled Pushes
These are a new found favorite exercises for me. After completing my Rexona #IWILLDO challenge to beat my PB time over 5-meters. I noticed great gains in my acceleration out of the start. This position for the explosive running sled push is an almost identical body position to on bike when charging down the start ramp.
