“Your muscles grow from working against resistance,” explains cyclist and trainer Elle Linton. “In cycling, resistance comes from pushing through high gears or hills.”

This resistance leads to hypertrophy, or muscle growth, as the force creates tears in the muscles which then grow back bigger and stronger. In cycling, the muscles working will be in the lower body, mainly your quads and glutes from the pushing movement you do to move the pedals round. If you use clips, you’ll also be working your hamstrings as you pull the pedal back around, too.

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