Cycling - Quadriceps - Vastus Medialis

Sherbs · 21 Jun 2012 at 16:29

Afternoon all,

I need to strengthen my Vastus Medialis on my right leg.

I've seen that cycling does build quadriceps up very well, but it may not build the inner quadriceps up.

Is this the case?

Edinho · 21 Jun 2012 at 16:35

No idea I cycle cos I like it not to build up my Vastus whatsit.

Sherbs · 21 Jun 2012 at 16:37

Thanks for that. :rolleyes:

touch · 21 Jun 2012 at 16:38

I'm no expert, but from what i can tell (googling which muscle it is and feeling my legs

) i think cycling builds it up considerably.

Here are Chris Hoy's legs (extreme example, i know)

The muscle you're talking about is the one on the inside around the top of his knee caps?

edit: forgot to say that although chris hoy is an extreme example, his legs are big but that muscle seems well defined on any cyclist you look at

Sherbs · 21 Jun 2012 at 16:39

Aye thats the one

Thanks, was wondering if I was wasting my time by cycling when I could be doing other exercises.

icecold · 21 Jun 2012 at 16:59

Cycling is great for the VMO.

Why do you need to strengthen it?

Russinating · 21 Jun 2012 at 17:52

To further add to this, you're going to be wanting to do primarily (if not solely) HIIT training rather than aiming for distances or times.

Compare Cavendish and Wiggins for instance:

Both do the same rides for the same team, but Cav is short bursts of power and Wiggins is endurance. You can see the difference in their muscles even in that shot.

WantoN · 21 Jun 2012 at 18:38

icecold said:
Cycling is great for the VMO.

Why do you need to strengthen it?

VMO is Vastus Medialis Obliques.

Either way, both play a major role in stablising the knee. It's usually the go to prescription of PFPS or ITBFS, and definately present in a diagnosis of valgus knees.

Single leg work, with good alignment, is very very effective. Single Leg Presses, bench stepups, stepovers. Make sure the centre of the knee is in line with the second toe.

Klytus · 21 Jun 2012 at 18:55

WantoN said:
VMO is Vastus Medialis Obliques.

Either way, both play a major role in stablising the knee. It's usually the go to prescription of PFPS or ITBFS, and definately present in a diagnosis of valgus knees.

Single leg work, with good alignment, is very very effective. Single Leg Presses, bench stepups, stepovers. Make sure the centre of the knee is in line with the second toe.

This is spot on^

There is a lot of debate over whether one quads exercise is better than another in respect to building VMO more than the others but closed chain stuff> open chain for stability/core so yep as WantoN says, leg presses, step ups, step downs, squats, lunges, would be better than stuff like knee extensions. Knee alignment and technique is paramount though. Cycling is it a bit of a grey area as some class it as open chain in parts some argue its all open and some argue its closed.

[DOD]Asprilla · 21 Jun 2012 at 19:35

Russinating said:
To further add to this, you're going to be wanting to do primarily (if not solely) HIIT training rather than aiming for distances or times.

Compare Cavendish and Wiggins for instance:

Both do the same rides for the same team, but Cav is short bursts of power and Wiggins is endurance. You can see the difference in their muscles even in that shot.

To paraphrase Cav; Chris Hoy is all about short burts of power, Cav is an endurance athlete who can sprint a little.

One More Solo · 21 Jun 2012 at 20:01

Purely anecdotal but I've had issues with knee stability since doing the majority of my exercise on the bike. Always good to add some dynamic exercise to work on joint stability.