A Workout Plan for the Midsection and Butt

This workout plan for the midsection and butt will keep your core strong and glutes firm. Most of your power on the bike comes from your glutes and you want a stable core to keep your back in shape and transfer power to your legs.

Remember to always start your workouts with 10 – 20 minutes of aerobic spinning on your trainer. Cool down with 5 – 10 minutes of the same and perform your stretching routine afterwards.

The exercises in this workout plan for the midsection and butt will help strengthen and tone the core and glutes, but aerobic exercise is a must for reducing fat to make these areas look better if that is what you are after.

Midsection

Crunches – Full situps and leg raises tend to work your hip flexors more than your abs (although as cyclists we do need strong hip flexors). Instead, do 3 sets of 20 crunches, with your arms cradling your head, lift your shoulders straight up off the floor, pause for 2 seconds, and then come back down with control. Hold weight against your chest to increase resistance.

Body Pike – Get up on your elbows and toes and hold your body in a straight line for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Keep your butt even with the rest of your body and breathe. This will work your transverse abdominals to draw in your stomach.

Negative Situps – Sit upright with your knees bent at 30 – 45 degrees, arms pointed out in front of you. Slowly lean back, controlling your movement, until your torso drops to the floor. Explode up and repeat.

Bent Over Row – These will help improve posture and draw your shoulders back to help achieve the look of a flat stomach.

Stretch – Stretch your chest and hip flexors to improve posture and reduce belly protrusion.

Butt

Cycling is great for the butt, so ride, ride, ride.

Squats work your hips, butt, and thighs. Start with body weight squats and progress to dumbbells. There's no need to use large amounts of weight.

Lunges work the entire leg: quads, calves, glutes, and hamstrings. Try variations such as the reverse lunge, side lunge, and walking lunges. Use dumbbells to increase resistance.

Step ups are also a great leg exercise. Do them slowly, concentrating on putting all your weight on one leg. Never go past a 90 degree bend in your knee.

Just riding the bike can give you a great butt. Keep up the aerobic work and add core strengthening exercises for a flat midsection. Mix and match the exercises from this workout plan for the midsection and butt or add your own variations.