Indoor cycling classes are intense cardiovascular workouts performed with a group, indoors, on a stationary bike. Indoor cycling mainly uses leg muscles for the workout as you push and pull the pedals with your legs. However, you also engage your core to keep your body upright and to protect your spine. As for training your upper body, you will receive more benefits through participating in exercises off the bike.
Core
Your Transverse Abdominis muscle wraps around the inside of your midsection. Your TA helps support your abdomen, your spine and your pelvis especially during your workouts. After you adjust your bike and place yourself in the saddle, you should tighten your core by contracting your TA. This should feel as if you are pulling your belly button toward your spine; maintain this contraction throughout your workout.
Upper Leg
Your legs push and pull the bike pedals in order to turn the flywheel. Your legs bend and extend at the hip, knee and ankle joints in order to perform this movement. (Reference 2) Your joints flex and extend when your muscles contract and release and pull on the bones to move your body. Your quadriceps, the front of your upper leg, contract when your knees extend. Your hamstrings on the back of your upper leg, contract when your knee bends. Your hip flexors at the top of your thighs contract when your hip flexes and as you pull up on the pedal. (Reference 3) As your hip extends, your gluteus maximus contracts.
Lower Leg
You have two muscles in your lower leg; the gastrocnemius and the soleus. The gastrocnemius crosses behind your knee and is involved with knee flexion. When you bend your knee to raise up the bike pedal, your gastrocnemius contracts, which also helps to move your ankles.
Upper Body
Indoor cycle bikes use three hand rails for different body positions. For example, when you are seated, you will be holding onto the rail closest to you. When you stand for a hill climb, you move your hands out to the middle hold. Your forearms contract as you grasp the handle, but your grip should be light. Indoor cycling does not require that you hold on to keep the bike upright as you would on a road bike. The stationary bike remains in one position. Perform upper body exercises such as pushups, or arm curls with dumbbells off the bike in a separate exercise session.
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