Ferg’s Cycling Obsession: What Spin Training Can Build Beyond Cardio
UPLIFT IRON CLUBFerg has spent years around training, but his newest fitness obsession is surprisingly recent: indoor cycling. In a September 2026 interview, the Harlem rapper said he had only been cycling for roughly two or three months after starting with AARMY bootcamp sessions. The format quickly became important enough to inspire his single “Cycle” and influence the energy of his next album.
That makes his routine an interesting case study for lifters who still think of a stationary bike as nothing more than warm-up equipment. A hard cycle class can be cardiovascular training, a serious local-muscular challenge for the legs, a coordination test and—when programmed sensibly—a useful complement to strength work.
Why Ferg Got Hooked on Cycle So Fast
Ferg told GQ that he originally went to AARMY for bootcamp-style training and would run for cardio afterward. Coaches kept encouraging him to try cycle, a class he initially viewed as intimidating because of the choreography and the experience level of regular riders. Eventually he tried it during a challenge week and found a combination that clicked: bootcamp followed by cycle.
The appeal is easy to understand. Indoor cycling gives you a clear task every few seconds—hold cadence, add resistance, climb, sprint, recover—and a room full of people doing the same work. Ferg described learning to keep showing up and raising the effort once a level begins to feel comfortable. That is not a scientific prescription, but the progression mindset is familiar to anyone who lifts.
Why a Spin Class Can Feel Brutally Hard
Indoor cycling manipulates two big variables: cadence and resistance. Fast intervals increase the demand for repeated power and cardiovascular output, while heavier climbs force the rider to produce more torque on each pedal stroke. Standing sections change the feel again, and short recoveries keep fatigue accumulating.
That is why a class can punish both your lungs and your quads. Unlike casual outdoor riding, where traffic, descents and coasting create natural breaks, a stationary bike can keep tension almost continuously. The rider controls the resistance, so two people following the same instructor can be doing very different absolute workloads.
Can Indoor Cycling Actually Build Leg Muscle?
Yes—but context matters. Cycling repeatedly loads the quadriceps, glutes and other lower-body muscles, and research reviews have found that cycle training can produce some lower-body hypertrophy. The important caveat is that the rate and magnitude of muscle gain are generally not the same thing as a well-designed progressive resistance-training program.
For a beginner, hard resistance on the bike may be a meaningful new muscular stimulus. For an experienced bodybuilder with strong legs, it is better viewed as conditioning that happens to challenge the legs rather than a replacement for squats, presses, hinges and curls. The bike is especially good at repeated force production under fatigue; the weight room remains much better for precise progressive overload.
Ferg’s BMX Background Makes the Story More Interesting
Indoor cycling may be new for Ferg, but bikes are not. He has spoken about growing up riding BMX, practicing wheelies, bunny hops and tricks, and treating it as recreation rather than formal exercise. In hindsight, that kind of riding still demands grip, coordination, balance, repeated bursts of power and plenty of work from the legs.
The connection matters because fitness does not have to begin with a spreadsheet. A person who enjoys a physical skill is more likely to accumulate practice. Ferg’s move from BMX riding to structured bootcamp and now cycle training is a reminder that an athletic base can come from different places.
How Cycling Fits With Strength Training
Lifters sometimes worry that cardio will erase their strength or muscle. In practice, the question is less dramatic: how much endurance work are you doing, how hard is it, and can you recover from the combined workload?
Research on cyclists shows that strength and endurance work can coexist. A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis found that adding heavy strength training improved cycling efficiency, anaerobic power and cycling performance, although the authors rated the certainty of evidence as low. A 2025 study of professional road cyclists also found strength training was common, particularly outside the race season.
For a recreational lifter, the practical lesson is simple: keep lifting as the primary muscle-and-strength stimulus, then use cycling to develop conditioning. You do not need to turn every ride into a death march. Easier aerobic sessions and harder intervals can serve different purposes.
The Real Challenge Is Recovering Well Enough to Keep Showing Up
Ferg’s enthusiasm is the fun part of the story, but enthusiasm can tempt people to stack too many hard sessions too quickly. Indoor cycling is low-impact compared with running, yet high-resistance climbs and repeated sprints can still create substantial fatigue.
If you lift heavy, watch what happens to performance. Are squat and deadlift sessions suddenly collapsing? Are your legs still sore when the next hard ride begins? Build frequency gradually, keep some rides genuinely easy, and avoid placing the hardest cycling session directly before the lower-body workout you care about most. The goal is a schedule you can repeat.
What Lifters Can Take From Ferg’s Cycling Phase
The most useful part of Ferg’s story is not a secret exercise or diet trick. It is that an experienced gym-goer found a new training format that challenged him enough to become exciting again. He went from being intimidated by the choreography to making cycle part of his routine within a few months.
For lifters who have ignored cardio for years, indoor cycling offers a straightforward experiment: start with one manageable session, learn how resistance and cadence affect effort, and progress from there. It can improve conditioning, challenge the legs and add a social element that solo treadmill work often lacks. Keep lifting if muscle and strength are priorities, and let the bike do what it does best—make your engine harder to break.
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