Weather you belong to a health club or not here is some important information that many ignore for winter workouts.

We as cyclists think that we are in great shape physically because we ride 3,000-6,000 miles in the summer right? Well, yes and no. 15 years ago a friend of mine who has been riding lots of miles since the 70's had an issue with bone breakage on two separate rides. To make a long story short, he was diagnosed with "brittle bone disease". His doctor suggested that he needs to also include LOAD BEARING exercises into his routine. This is especially important the older we get. Since then, I have worked on this during the winter months, and I know it has had a positive effect on my health.

With a little research into what bike related exercises I can do, this is what I found that works best for me. They include:
The treadmill for 1 mile at 3.5-4.3 mph as a warmup.
Bicep curls
Leg extensions
Reverse leg extensions
Lat pull downs
Sit ups
Roman Chair (reverse sit ups)
Dips
Pull ups
Leg press machine
Push ups
Stretching and flexibility.

Using good form, focusing on high reps 15-20 done slowly, times 3 sets each, and 3 times a week. I prefer to use machines vs free weights which is simply a personal choice. Both types will give you positive results going into the new riding season. Just doing simple sit ups, push ups and pull ups at home can achieve better than nothing results.