Another Exercise to be sure to do

In all of my circuit classes we incorporate a lot of single leg exercises and balance work. Single leg squats are a great place to start. I know that most of us can hit the incline leg press and push a lot of weight. Years ago I had a trainer who would load eight 45 lb plates on each side and then throw another couple of 40 lb free weights in the center tray. I'm not sure how moving over 800 lbs helped our cycling but it was a challenge. I think a better exercise, even though it doesn't involve the weight, is the single leg squat. We run and bike one leg at a time. The force that pushes us off the ground or against the pedal occurs singularly so why not train that? You can also incorporate some weights and add in a curl to a press as you come up from the squat. We also use the single leg/body parallel to the floor position and add in some curls, flys, etc. getting your body parallel to the ground is the key. You can also try single leg hops, single leg side to side jumps, single leg calf raise with a tricep press, etc. You will likely find one leg is stronger that the other. This is a great opportunity to add strength to the weaker leg.