Building Bone Density for Cyclists

The Best Strength Moves for Building Bone Density—and Why It’s Key for Cyclists

Improve bone mineral density without compromising your weekly riding

1. While cycling is fantastic for cardiovascular health, it’s one of the worst sports when it comes to increasing or improving bone density. As you get older, bone density becomes increasingly important for everyday health… and for your cycling performance. Fortunately, there are a few simple strength exercises that you can add to your routine to improve bone density while sticking to your regular weekly cycling mileage.
2. Here, Rich Willy, PhD, the Montana Running Lab’s lead scientist and a renowned physical therapist with an expertise in treating bone stress injuries, and Alexa Lobato, MS, Human Powered Health’s head performance physiologist at their Scottsdale, Arizona, location, are sharing their best tips for improving bone density as a cyclist.
3. Understanding the Importance of Bone Density
4. “Cycling is a non-weight-bearing, non-impact sport,” Lobato says. “So although we know that participating in cycling has been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness and reduce mortality, cancer, and cardiovascular risk, it does not build bone mineral density (BMD).”
5. “Cycling used to be all about losing as much weight as you could, which also meant not strength training and actively avoiding putting on muscle,” says Willy. “Obviously, now we know that has some real detrimental effects on bone and everything else.”
6. According to Willy, road cycling is one of two sports—swimming being the other—that provide minimal osteogenic (bone‑building) stimulus. That’s because these activities demand high energy that can divert resources from bone maintenance and offer little skeletal loading. By contrast, sports like soccer and basketball expose bones to high, varied forces that promote stronger bone adaptation.
7. Because cyclists are at risk for having low bone density, that means their risk of injury is increased: Fractures and breaks are more common in people with lower bone density, and that means a crash on the bike can be catastrophic. Building bone strength won’t just decrease injury risk, it will also speed up recovery time if you do take a hit. “People who have denser bones tend to experience less fractures,” says Willy. “And if you were to fall and sustain a fracture, if you have good bone density, you’re going to have a more rapid return to getting back onto the bike. That fracture is going to heal faster.”

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