Cycling improves overall function in your lower body and strengthens your leg muscles without overstressing them. It targets your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.

How do you get big quads when cycling?

However, in broad terms, Iaciofono recommends cyclists include "a couple of bilateral knee and hip dominant exercises – squats, deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, hip thrusts. Then unilateral [single leg] exercises – like step ups, single leg hip thrusts, single leg Romanian deadlifts.

Do cyclists have big quads?

Massive quads aren't just the result of bike riding

Track cyclists (and indeed many riders who specialise in shorter distances, where top end power presides over power to weight ratio) spend a lot of time in the gym.