Weightlifting to Improve Your Cycling: The Hamstring Curl

The Hamstring Curl is done on a bench with a pulley system that allows you to raise a stack of weights. You lay on your stomach, facing away, with your legs out straight out behind you. With your feet against the bar, you bend your legs so that your heels come up toward your rear, raising the stack of weights.

In this exercise, do three sets of lifts with ten repetitions in each. The weight can be the same in each, but the rest interval between sets should be only 30-60 seconds. Start light -- maybe just 20% of your body weight at first -- until you find the right weight for you for these exercises. The right weight is one that challenges you over ten repetitions, but that you can ultimately complete.

The hamstring curls, like the leg extension, will increase your cadence as these workouts build the muscles in your legs that allow you to twirl the pedals more quickly.