The off-season is a great time to build new, off-the-bike training habits and set yourself up for a great year of riding ahead. You can take advantage of the lower mileage months of winter to shore up any muscle imbalances and other weak links in your fitness, or perhaps finally add strength training to your routine for the first time (don’t worry, I won’t judge).
And while a lot of the gains to be had in your climbing skills can only be developed on the bike—and we have a great training program for that—a solid strength training program off the bike is just as essential.
Either way, I’m here for you with a strength training plan to boost your climbing power. During this strength training plan, I want you to focus on your posterior chain and your anti-rotational core strength, which are both all too often neglected.
These two workouts are meant to complement each other, fitting together like a puzzle. I recommend you focus on your form first, making sure you master the movement and can execute it well before focusing on things like how much weight you’re lifting.
Before you jump into your first workout, be sure you have a solid mobility routine that you do to warm up. If you are brand new to strength training and spend a lot of time sitting (which is pretty much all of us), spend as much time needed to develop a healthy range of motion first. While I understand that this can feel like a hurdle, instead think of your mobility work as a must-have part of your training and riding, not a nice-to-have extra thing to do “when there’s time.” Because it really is that important.
How To Use This Program
Do one of these workouts 3-4 times per week, alternating between Workout A and Workout B. For example, during week 1, you would do A, B, A and during week 2 you would do B, A, B and so on. For exercises that use weights, the weight should be the heaviest you can use while maintaining good form. Good form is always priority number one.
Each workout includes two circuits with three exercises each that should be performed consecutively. For example, you would perform exercise 1a, 1b, and 1c back to back—this would be one set.
Then start the circuit from the beginning for the prescribed two sets. Repeat on the next circuit of 2a, 2b, and 2c.
Rest for up to 20 seconds in between exercises and for 1-2 minutes between sets.
AMRAP stands for as many reps as possible, meaning you do the exercise for as many reps as you can in the time prescribed.
How to Do the Exercises
Workout A
Hollow Hold
1. Start lying faceup
2. Drive lower back into the floor, engaging core.
3. Raise legs off the floor, as little as possible while keeping them straight and keeping back pressed to the ground. (If back arches, lift legs higher.) Reach arms up toward the ceiling.
4. If you feel stable, extend arms behind you, biceps by ears, creating a shallow U-shape with your body.
5. Hold for 60 seconds while breathing diaphragmatically
Bird Dog Hold
1. Start on all fours, knees under hips and shoulders over wrists.
2. Keeping back flat, extend right arm and left leg straight out.
3. Keeping your core and glutes engaged, stabilize and hold for 15 seconds.
4. Extend back out, then return to starting position.
5. Repeat from the start on the other side, left arm and right leg.
Wood Chop
1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart while holding a dumbbell at left hip.
2. Holding dumbbell in both hands, lift upwards at a diagonal with control, arms straight, until the weight is over right shoulder. Avoid using momentum by performing this move slowly.
3. Bring dumbbell back down across the body to left hip. That is 1 rep.
Push-Up
1. Start in a high plank position with hands a little wider than shoulder-width apart and shoulders over wrists.
2. Engage core and glutes.
3. Maintaining a flat back and neutral neck, bend elbows to lower chest toward the ground.
4. Don’t let the low back sag or the shoulders round.
5. Once you’ve gone as low as you can, push back up to plank. That is 1 rep.
Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
1. Start standing with feet hip-width apart.
2. Shift weight to the right leg and drive the right foot firmly into the ground. Tap the left toes slightly behind you.
3. Think of your body as a long straight line from the top of the head through the left toes, and hinge at the hips by sending the butt straight back and keeping the shoulders down and back. Allow the left leg to lift behind you and maintain a slight bend in the right knee.
4. Lower until you feel tension in the right hamstring or until you’re about parallel to the floor.
5. Then, drive through right foot to stand back up, extending hips. That is 1 rep.
6. Repeat for the programmed number of reps. Then switch legs.
Single-Leg Hip Thrust
1. Lie faceup with your upper back resting on a bench, feet flat on the floor about hip-distance apart, knees bent to 90 degrees, arms crossed over chest.
2. Bend knees so hips drop toward floor with back straight.
3. Keeping your back straight, squeeze glutes to lift hips, lifting left leg (knee still bent) fully off the floor, creating a straight line from shoulders to right knee.
4. Pause, and then lower back to the starting position. That is 1 rep.
5. Repeat for the programmed number of reps. Then switch legs.
Workout B
Side Forearm Plank
1. Start lying on side with right forearm on the ground.
2. Form a straight line from head to feet, stacking feet, knees, and hips on top of each other.
3. Make sure left elbow is directly under left shoulder and place right hand behind your head.
4. Lift hips up as high as you can and hold for 60 seconds.
5. Repeat on the opposite side.
Dead Bug
1. Lie faceup. Reach arms straight up toward ceiling over shoulders, palms facing away each other. Bring legs up, bend knees, making a 90-degree angle. Knees should stay directly over hips. This is your starting position.
2. Slowly lower right arm behind you toward the floor, and simultaneously straighten and lower left leg toward the floor.
3. Return to starting position.
4. Repeat with the other side.
5. Continue alternating for programmed number of reps per side.
High Plank Shoulder Tap
1. Start in a high plank position, with shoulders lined up over your wrists.
2. With your body in a straight line and core and glutes engaged, lift right hand up and tap left shoulder. Don’t move the rest of your body.
3. Return to starting position.
4. Then bring left hand up and tap right shoulder.
5. Repeat for programmed number of reps per side.
Single-Arm Bent-Over Row
1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a weight in the right hand.
2. With a soft bend in knees, hinge at hips, sending butt straight back, and lowering torso toward the floor, so it’s almost parallel to the ground. (If you have tight hamstrings, you may not be able to lean that far forward; just go as far as your mobility allows.)
3. Make sure the back is straight, core engaged, shoulders pulled down away from ears, and neck neutral. (Keep gaze down and out to do so.) Arms should hang straight down with palms facing each other. This is the starting position.
4. Slowly pull the right elbow up and back and squeeze shoulder blades together, keeping elbows hugged into sides.
5. Pause when the weight is just below chest, close to rib cage.
6. Then slowly lower the weight to return to the starting position. That’s 1 rep.
Bulgarian Split Squat
1. Stand in front of a chair, bench, or couch, facing away from it. Place right foot on top of chair. Place hands on hips or in front of chest.
2. Bend left knee and lower toward floor. Keep left knee tracking over toes and lower as much as possible, aiming to get back knee to lightly tap floor.
3. Pause, then push through front foot to stand up. This is 1 rep.
4. Repeat for the programmed number of reps. Then switch legs.
Single-Leg Hamstring Slider Curl
1. Lie faceup, knees bent, and heels planted on sliders underneath feet.
2. Drive through heels, contract the glutes, and lift hips up toward the ceiling. Body should form a straight line from shoulders to knees. This is the starting position.
3. Slowly extend one leg out straight, then pressing heel into the floor, pull heel back toward glutes. Keep hips high.
4. Repeat on the other side.
5. Continue alternating. If this is too easy, do both legs at one time.
Natascha Grief is Bicycling’s Health & Fitness Editor. She started in the cycling industry as a bike mechanic a couple of decades ago, earning a couple pro-mechanic certifications and her USA Cycling Race Mechanic license. She went on to apprentice for framebuilder Brent Steelman in her hometown of Redwood City, California before spending several years working for both large and not-so-large cycling brands. She then switched gears and industries to earn multiple personal training certifications while honing her skills as a trainer and coach, specializing in functional training, corrective exercise, and body positive personal training. She began contributing regularly to Runner’s World and Bicycling as a freelance writer in 2020, and joined the editorial staff of Bicycling in 2022.
