Cycling Strength Training in South Africa
Maddy coaches clients across South Africa online — live classes stream in your local time, plans are built from your Body Scan, and pricing shows in ZAR alongside INR. FitnessByMaddy has no physical location in South Africa; it is an online coaching service that meets you in your own city. Pick your city below for class times computed to its exact timezone.
Cyclists resist the gym for one reason: fear of slow, heavy legs. Maddy's cycling strength programming is built to remove that fear. The research on combining strength work with endurance riding — reviewed by Rønnestad and Mujika in 2014 — supports what strong riders already know: properly dosed lifting can benefit cycling performance rather than tax it. The plan keeps the recipe tight: two short gym sessions a week built around squats, hinges, and single-leg work, low volume and progressively heavier, plus trunk work for stability on the bike. Sessions are placed away from your key rides so interval days stay sharp, and gym load drops to a maintenance dose when your riding volume peaks. Nothing in the plan chases soreness — soreness steals ride quality. Check-ins read your lifting log next to your riding week, and the balance shifts with your season.
Pick your city in South Africa
Every city page computes the live-class timetable for that city's own timezone.
Live-class timetable in South Africa (Pretoria) local time
Every time below is computed for South Africa (Pretoria)'s own timezone (Africa/Johannesburg), daylight-saving aware, for the week of 6 Sep 2026. Classes stream live from India (IST) — you join from South Africa (Pretoria) with nothing to convert.
| Class | South Africa (Pretoria) time | IST reference | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| HIIT & Fat Loss (Live) | Mon 3:00 AM | Mon 6:30 AM IST | 45 min |
| Women's Only (Live) | Mon 2:00 PM | Mon 5:30 PM IST | 45 min |
| Strength (Live) | Mon 4:30 PM | Mon 8:00 PM IST | 60 min |
| Seniors Fitness (Live) | Tue 7:30 AM | Tue 11:00 AM IST | 45 min |
| HIIT & Fat Loss (Live) | Tue 3:30 PM | Tue 7:00 PM IST | 45 min |
| HIIT & Fat Loss (Live) | Wed 3:00 AM | Wed 6:30 AM IST | 45 min |
| Women's Only (Live) | Wed 2:00 PM | Wed 5:30 PM IST | 45 min |
| Strength (Live) | Wed 4:30 PM | Wed 8:00 PM IST | 60 min |
| Seniors Fitness (Live) | Thu 7:30 AM | Thu 11:00 AM IST | 45 min |
| HIIT & Fat Loss (Live) | Thu 3:30 PM | Thu 7:00 PM IST | 45 min |
| HIIT & Fat Loss (Live) | Fri 3:00 AM | Fri 6:30 AM IST | 45 min |
| Women's Only (Live) | Fri 2:00 PM | Fri 5:30 PM IST | 45 min |
| Strength (Live) | Fri 4:30 PM | Fri 8:00 PM IST | 60 min |
| Seniors Fitness (Live) | Sat 7:30 AM | Sat 11:00 AM IST | 45 min |
| Strength (Live) | Sat 2:00 PM | Sat 5:30 PM IST | 60 min |
| Worldwide Live Session | Sun 3:30 PM | Sun 7:00 PM IST | 60 min |
16 live sessions per week. Indicative schedule v1 — the exact class calendar and joining details arrive after your Body Scan. When a class crosses midnight IST, the local weekday shown is the day it actually lands in South Africa (Pretoria).
The method — how Maddy coaches this
- Two short gym sessions weekly — squats, hinges, and single-leg strength, kept heavy and low-volume.
- Trunk and hip work for stability on the bike, especially under climbing and sprinting loads.
- Lifting placed away from key rides, so interval days and long rides stay high quality.
- In-season maintenance dosing: strength held with minimal sessions when riding volume peaks.
- Soreness treated as a programming error, not a badge — ride quality is the scoreboard.
Who this is for:
- Road, gravel, and MTB riders who have never lifted and want a plan that respects their riding.
- Indoor-trainer cyclists whose numbers have plateaued on riding volume alone.
Source — properly dosed strength training can benefit cycling performance: Rønnestad BR, Mujika I. "Optimizing strength training for running and cycling endurance performance: A review." Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2014.
What it costs in South Africa
6-Week Fat-Loss Plan
₹1,499
12-Week Custom Plan
₹5,999
Strength for cyclists is a balancing act with your riding calendar — a 12-week custom block programmes both sides of the week and adjusts them together.
See the full plan →Live 1-on-1 Coaching · 12 Sessions
₹20,000
Prices are billed in INR. Local figures are approximate conversions at mid-market rates (). Checkout runs in INR from the plans page — international cards work normally.
Common questions
Will lifting add body weight I have to haul uphill?
The plan uses low training volumes aimed at strength quality, not size, and your weight trend is watched at check-ins like every other number. Meaningful mass gain requires a calorie surplus and volume this programme deliberately does not include.
When should I lift around my key rides?
Gym sessions are placed on easier riding days or after rides, with at least a day's gap before your hardest sessions. Your week is built backwards from the rides that matter most — the lifting fits around them, never the reverse.
Do I need a full gym for this?
A barbell or a pair of adjustable dumbbells covers the core plan. If you have less, the programme substitutes loaded single-leg work, which is brutally effective for cyclists anyway — equipment changes the tools, not the intent.
More coaching in South Africa
One coach. Every city in South Africa.
The plan starts from your body, not your postcode. Three minutes, eleven questions, and Maddy takes it from there.
Start My Body Scan → 11 questions · 3 min · free · no card yet