In an experiment, untrained men were asked to use a weight-lifting machine, which is used to strengthen the legs and buttocks, to lift 85 percent of the heaviest weight that they could lift once, five times in a row. They did this regularly and were given cycling endurance tests before and after.

After the experiment results were obtained, it was concluded that the strength training made men far more efficient in cycling and that leg strengthening is very necessary for a cyclist.

According to the common definition, ‘efficiency’ is the amount of energy a person tends to use in order to perform certain amount of work at high intensity.

Strength training increases the efficiency by giving the cyclist a large amount of extra energy to push the pedals harder which in turn, helps him to ride faster. However, strength training does not improve heart or lung function as it can not improve the men’s aerobic capacity or their ability to use oxygen or circulate blood.

However, professional cyclists need not change their training methods as this study used untrained cyclists. Competitive cyclists ride for three to eight hours a day to get trained for endurance. Their cycling schedule does not give them the time to recover for the weightlifting workouts. Therefore, they cannot push heavy weights with their legs.

Tremendous leg muscle strength can be gained just by climbing steep hills very fast as this will exert as much force on your leg muscles as weightlifting and will make them strong.