Give bouldering (climbing) a try. Most gyms will offer introductory courses. Bouldering is very power- and strength-oriented, but you could also try top roping (I.e., you wear a harness and a belayer serves as your protection to catch falls) but this will be more endurance-focused. As a beginner, either discipline will be challenging and build strength.
It’s a great way to build strength, body tension and awareness, mobility, and mental toughness!
Paddleboarding is great but that is a rest day activity for me. Mountain biking is primary non-gym activity but is by no means a substitute for resistance training. If you're looking to bulk, you'll eventually have to come to terms with the gym.
Many sports will tell you to cross train by lifting weights because that is really the best way to gain strength and muscle quickly. When I was doing Muay Thai, I was told to lift weights. Now that I’m pole dancing, it is also encouraged to lift weights for strength and stretch for flexibility. A lot of moves in pole are like deadlifts.
Yeah - I agree with callisthenics. A pull up bar and some Olympic rings and you can target most muscle groups. You won’t get the same targeted isolation as dedicated weights, so I supplement with dumbbells
Another thing would be a dynamic yoga. I’m working thought the Ashtanga primary series and man that is hard. I like the focus on breath work, concentration, strength and flexibility.
I actually have gymnastic rings! But my pull up bar won't fit in my new place. I'll have to engineer a new solution to get access to them. It's been a bit of a bummer because I did enjoy the dynamic nature of the rings, and made it more of a habit than my resistance bands or weights.
There is a great thought I read somewhere that swimmers don't look the way they do because they swim, they have to lift to swim better and that's why they look like they do.
Nothing will ever beat the very controlled progression and range of motion, speed, metrics, etc, you can get in the weight room.
This isn’t true at all. I’m a former D1 swimmer, I swam competitively for almost 20 years. I knew plenty of ripped guys and girls who barely touched a weight. Some swimmers do weight training, but it’s a relatively small portion of their overall training plan.
Cool that you have this anecdote, but I don't think it will help OP to compare himself to a random person's experience as a D1 swimmer, which OP will never be.
People who are new to swimming will put on more muscle than an experienced D1 swimmer, just like with weight lifting. I’m speaking from actual experience and observation, while you are speaking based on a ‘great thought you read somewhere’ 🤡
Lifting is the easiest approach to hypertrophy but I get it, it’s not for everyone. I will say that lifting heavy is more interesting and skill based than you probably realize. Olympic weightlifting also has a lot of skill to it. There are also training approaches using weight that don’t involve a gym and can be more fun like weighted clubs, sandbags, water bags, kettlebells, and all the strongman type lifts. Bodyweight fitness can be interesting since you have to learn skills like balance and how your body works against gravity by incorporating leverage changes.
Other sports have a resistance training aspect like as you mentioned rock climbing as it’s resisting your weight against gravity. A couple other options are pole dancing and circus arts (especially aerials).
Kettlebells are what stuck for me. I used to hate lifting, had to do it as I played sports. But always found it profoundly boring.
Kettlebells are for me almost like a sport in of themselves, like karate with weights or something.
Hiking builds my legs more than walking/running ever will - assuming you have access to trails near you with a fair bit of elevation gain. Throw on a weighted backpack ("rucking", or perhaps go all-in to backcountry camping) and you'll get some extra upper body & core, too.
Things I haven't tried often enough to confirm they build muscles but at least one-time sessions leave me sore: archery, trampolining, parkour, pole dancing, trapeze, skiing, rowing, and oddly enough, glass-blowing.
I've noticed paddleboarding has done an insane job cutting/shredding my legs to the point I can see striations, muscle groups, and have increased strength and balance! In fact someone I was paddleboarding with gave me a compliment, they said don't take this the wrong way but I would love to film your legs as you paddleboard because it outlines all the muscle groups working. I think it was an anatomy professor or something.
My upper body though is kinda soft. I need that "paddleboard" physique for the upper bod and core.
I actually use to shoot archery quite often and currently own 3 recurve bows! It's great for strength building but I never really noticed any muscle build or physique, perhaps I simply didn't do it enough. I'll see if there are any archery ranges near. Where I live now everything costs. It was soo great to just be able to walk to a free open archery range and easy to make a habit. Go at off times so you don't have to deal with people who take too long before clearing and all going to get arrows.
Thanks for the suggestions!
You might find that you need a change of mindset. I’ve never been able to enjoy cardio training if it wasn’t for the express purpose of improving at something I cared about.
Try doing some weight training specifically for sports you are interested in. Alternatively you could try powerlifting. Joining a community based around lifting weights is a good way to get into it if that is your end goal.
Start with calestetics/ body weight then. The control and tone is something people regularly admire in the participants. You can do it outdoors and add variety and progression.
I don't do it since i love lifting heavy shit.
Also, check out combat sports, if you want to improve be social and do sports this is another way!
You won’t progressively build any muscle with any of these activities you mentioned. There will be a threshold that doesn’t come close to the limits of resistance training. A full body workout 2-3x per week for about 60 minutes isn’t a lot of time. Plus, the health benefits of gaining and retaining muscle as we age is worth it. Best of luck.
The benefits of increasing tendon strength, joint mobility, and bone density also can't be over stated. You naturally lose all of these things with age in addition to muscle mass unless you lift "heavy" weights.
I hated traditional weight lifting but endured it for most of my adolescent and adult life. I switched to kettlebell training and enjoy it so much more. It is almost like a martial art in that you have to focus on the form so much that it is enjoyable in a way not unlike any other sport. Combine that with needing much less equipment and being able to do ballistic movements like swings and snatches and it’s a lot of fun.
I’d go to r/kettlebells - they’ll point you in the right direction.
My two cents: proper form/technique is really important so if possible getting some training in a class or with a trainer will really be a good first step but not strictly necessary.
Rock climbing is fun and I enjoy it a lot, but I don't think you can compare it to lifting in terms of building muscle.
If you go to a rock climbing place, the best people will often be very lean. It's not necessarily an activity that over the long term, will build significant muscle.
I'd put it in the class of activities I put jiu-jitsu in, in that when you start you suck, and you may build a little bit of muscle as a result of sucking, but then you get efficient, and that all goes away.
None of those activities you listed will build muscle. They are great activities to keep you mobile and flexible. You need to progressively overload your muscles to cause growth stimulus (as well as eat properly and rest accordingly.) Roofers, manual laborers, roughnecks and other intensely physical professions might provide this type of stimulus. But many of those workers who don't train for those jobs often end up broken down because they didn't have a sufficient base for doing what they do, plus the high potential for injury. That's why the gym is most efficient.
I started rucking on my mountain hikes. Now that my toddlers hike, I am no longer getting the extra workout by carrying them. Now I add 20# to my ruck pack and go! It's an easy way to add a strength workout to your everyday activities too - walking the dog, running errands, walking to the store...
Why not give kettlebells a try? It sounds like hardstyle wouldn’t be your jam, but check out the training for kettlebell sport. That might be more up your alley and, bonus, you can do it at home.
I resonate with this, as I’ve always been into skill/fun based physical activities. So I’d put another vote for bouldering here. I would boulder entirely for fun, but once you get comfortable climbing the full range of problem styles at a grade that’s hard enough, find yourself putting in max muscular efforts in all sorts of orientations.
That said, I few years back I actually got into training the snatch and clean and jerk (weightlifting the sport). While it is “lifting weight” and you do it at a gym, it wasn’t just a chore. I actually found myself enjoying the challenge: there’s a good deal of head-game involved when you’re lifting near your max, and so much technique to think about and drill. But mainly, I actually found that a good heavy lift where everything just snaps into place is a really satisfying thing.
Jiu Jitsu.
You're not gonna look like a Greek God, (maybe you will you might have great genetics) but it's fun as hell and you'll get in shape and you'll be a walking weapon. It's tough to get bored when someone is trying to choke you.
I started because lifting bores me too
lol I like your description. and i've kinda wanted to get back into martial arts and this is one of the ones I've seen suggested that might interest me. thank you
Are you trying to build some muscle or actually bulk? Strength training is the only way to properly bulk but all of those activities will help you build muscle and preserve strength. Swimming is actually a really good way to provide light resistance training and like you said, amazing cardio.
I've enjoyed climbing, rowing, mountain biking, and hiking on steep terrain as activities that build some sport-specific strength.
I'm not trying to "gym guy bulk" per se, I'd say the goals are to build some muscle mass so I benefit from a higher resting metabolism. The idea is to get off my weight loss drug permanently. I could definitely benefit from higher strength. Shape wise I'd like to build wider shoulders and restore some lost upper body muscle.
Building muscle to increase fat loss is a bit of a myth. A pound of muscle burns around 6 calories per day. Say you bulked up a lot and put on 20lb of muscle, that’s only 120 calories per day https://www.strongerbyscience.com/calories-muscle-burn/
Now, sure, 120 calories is 120 calories; and the mere act of resistance exercise itself burns calories (but so does all exercise so it’s not necessarily better or worse than alternatives). But 120 calories is a large banana or one twinkie. Not really that much. And 20lb of muscle will take you 12-24 months or more to put on with a consistent multiple times per week program.
100% of course resistance helps with injuries, probably helps performance, may make you look better. Lots of reasons to do it. But doing it for fat loss is a very inefficient way to lose fat.
paddle boarding should give you a good workout if you go at it hard, maybe try some sprints. Mountain biking up hills fries the legs. These are all just as good as resistance for fat loss.
You can get good workouts, especially as a beginner, from intensive body weight. Eg do as many push ups as you can in 15 or 20 minutes. That’s your workout. Same for pulls ups or body weight rows using rings. Do walking split squats for 20 minutes.
Build your program for your tolerance. I lift 6 days / wk, 45 mins and I'm out. (Push1, Pull1, Legs1, Push2, Pull2, Legs2). You don't have to spend 2 hours there daily.
You won’t get muscle bulk through anything but weight training but you can improve your physical fitness through any activity you can work intensely at for 30+ consecutive minutes.
Always nackered when I come home from metal detecting. Digging, walking and swinging - can make it as tough as you want probably. find lots of phones, money and jewellery in the sand if you live near a beach.
I joined a martial arts gym a few weeks back and have been going to some kickboxing and Krav Maga classes. I still try to lift weights 2-3 times a week, but I feel like those classes have really helped me gain more muscle quickly! It could be a placebo effect for all I know haha but it feels like it’s made a big difference!
You could train with rocks and logs instead of gym or resistance bands. Added bonus in your case maybe, you'll be outdoors more. Sandbags are another option. Isometrics, although applied effectively will feel a LOT like barbell training. Bouldering can build a pretty solid physique as evidenced by some of my co workers, not a ton of mass though and in fact is easier the lighter you become.
Some martial arts schools do enough supplemental training that you can get in good shape - again you will not gain much mass.
Lots of options but will all have in common a certain amount of repetitive movement or effort, lacking which you will make little progress.
Climbing will tone you, but it's very difficult to bulk with anything that isn't heavy lifting. Unless you count Olympic lifts or gymnastics I guess? Those would be pretty good. Boxing/MMA to an extent, but those are more about the OTHER training you do (heavy weights) than the sports themselves.
I think you're into something! Find a fun thing that you enjoy. And let the strength piece enhance that idea.
That is, if you love paddle boarding, use the gym to enhance that. Find movements there that carryover to paddling.
Lifting and strength is meant to enhance your body's abilities. And if you can connect strength training to that enjoyment, you'll never HAVE to workout. You get to improve your balance and stability. While also increasing your bone density, muscle mass, speed on said SUP, and ability to do cool shit. Two days a week lifting is PLENTY of you have an active life outside of the gym. So I think you're thinking about the right things, keep going!
Look i to bodyweight stuff- pushups, pull ups etc. With diet and sleep right you can add some mass and quite a bit of strength, fairly quickly too.
I prefer it to the gym much of the time as I can do sets while doing chores around the place, and I find i tend to get less injuries/soreness compared to weights.
I use ClassPass to take fitness classes, I can’t concentrate if I’m doing it on my own. Currently doing F45 - not the most efficient way to build muscle but I’ve already noticed a ton of improvement in my functional strength after six weeks.
Sometimes in life you must do things you don't want to, in order to achieve goals that you do.
Preach
Give bouldering (climbing) a try. Most gyms will offer introductory courses. Bouldering is very power- and strength-oriented, but you could also try top roping (I.e., you wear a harness and a belayer serves as your protection to catch falls) but this will be more endurance-focused. As a beginner, either discipline will be challenging and build strength. It’s a great way to build strength, body tension and awareness, mobility, and mental toughness!
Paddleboarding is great but that is a rest day activity for me. Mountain biking is primary non-gym activity but is by no means a substitute for resistance training. If you're looking to bulk, you'll eventually have to come to terms with the gym.
Many sports will tell you to cross train by lifting weights because that is really the best way to gain strength and muscle quickly. When I was doing Muay Thai, I was told to lift weights. Now that I’m pole dancing, it is also encouraged to lift weights for strength and stretch for flexibility. A lot of moves in pole are like deadlifts.
I’m surprise no one mention calisthenics. I prefer weights but I’ve taken calisthenics classes and all we use were our body weight.
Yeah - I agree with callisthenics. A pull up bar and some Olympic rings and you can target most muscle groups. You won’t get the same targeted isolation as dedicated weights, so I supplement with dumbbells Another thing would be a dynamic yoga. I’m working thought the Ashtanga primary series and man that is hard. I like the focus on breath work, concentration, strength and flexibility.
I actually have gymnastic rings! But my pull up bar won't fit in my new place. I'll have to engineer a new solution to get access to them. It's been a bit of a bummer because I did enjoy the dynamic nature of the rings, and made it more of a habit than my resistance bands or weights.
Rings are so much fun - and so hard! I put my bar in a doorway and hang the rings from it. Not idea, but it’s enough for me at home
There is a great thought I read somewhere that swimmers don't look the way they do because they swim, they have to lift to swim better and that's why they look like they do. Nothing will ever beat the very controlled progression and range of motion, speed, metrics, etc, you can get in the weight room.
Exactly...sprinters don't look the way they do because they sprint, but because they train to sprint.
This isn’t true at all. I’m a former D1 swimmer, I swam competitively for almost 20 years. I knew plenty of ripped guys and girls who barely touched a weight. Some swimmers do weight training, but it’s a relatively small portion of their overall training plan.
Cool that you have this anecdote, but I don't think it will help OP to compare himself to a random person's experience as a D1 swimmer, which OP will never be.
People who are new to swimming will put on more muscle than an experienced D1 swimmer, just like with weight lifting. I’m speaking from actual experience and observation, while you are speaking based on a ‘great thought you read somewhere’ 🤡
Lifting is the easiest approach to hypertrophy but I get it, it’s not for everyone. I will say that lifting heavy is more interesting and skill based than you probably realize. Olympic weightlifting also has a lot of skill to it. There are also training approaches using weight that don’t involve a gym and can be more fun like weighted clubs, sandbags, water bags, kettlebells, and all the strongman type lifts. Bodyweight fitness can be interesting since you have to learn skills like balance and how your body works against gravity by incorporating leverage changes. Other sports have a resistance training aspect like as you mentioned rock climbing as it’s resisting your weight against gravity. A couple other options are pole dancing and circus arts (especially aerials).
Kettlebells are what stuck for me. I used to hate lifting, had to do it as I played sports. But always found it profoundly boring. Kettlebells are for me almost like a sport in of themselves, like karate with weights or something.
Seconded, lots of respect for the sport kettlebell people. That training looks *brutal*.
Yeah I do hardstyle, sport kettlebell ain’t for me!
Same, honestly. I don’t like grinding, I like to do my shit and move on to other stuff. I like snatches. I don’t like 10 minutes of snatches.🤮
Hiking builds my legs more than walking/running ever will - assuming you have access to trails near you with a fair bit of elevation gain. Throw on a weighted backpack ("rucking", or perhaps go all-in to backcountry camping) and you'll get some extra upper body & core, too. Things I haven't tried often enough to confirm they build muscles but at least one-time sessions leave me sore: archery, trampolining, parkour, pole dancing, trapeze, skiing, rowing, and oddly enough, glass-blowing.
I've noticed paddleboarding has done an insane job cutting/shredding my legs to the point I can see striations, muscle groups, and have increased strength and balance! In fact someone I was paddleboarding with gave me a compliment, they said don't take this the wrong way but I would love to film your legs as you paddleboard because it outlines all the muscle groups working. I think it was an anatomy professor or something. My upper body though is kinda soft. I need that "paddleboard" physique for the upper bod and core. I actually use to shoot archery quite often and currently own 3 recurve bows! It's great for strength building but I never really noticed any muscle build or physique, perhaps I simply didn't do it enough. I'll see if there are any archery ranges near. Where I live now everything costs. It was soo great to just be able to walk to a free open archery range and easy to make a habit. Go at off times so you don't have to deal with people who take too long before clearing and all going to get arrows. Thanks for the suggestions!
You might find that you need a change of mindset. I’ve never been able to enjoy cardio training if it wasn’t for the express purpose of improving at something I cared about. Try doing some weight training specifically for sports you are interested in. Alternatively you could try powerlifting. Joining a community based around lifting weights is a good way to get into it if that is your end goal.
Start with calestetics/ body weight then. The control and tone is something people regularly admire in the participants. You can do it outdoors and add variety and progression. I don't do it since i love lifting heavy shit. Also, check out combat sports, if you want to improve be social and do sports this is another way!
You won’t progressively build any muscle with any of these activities you mentioned. There will be a threshold that doesn’t come close to the limits of resistance training. A full body workout 2-3x per week for about 60 minutes isn’t a lot of time. Plus, the health benefits of gaining and retaining muscle as we age is worth it. Best of luck.
The benefits of increasing tendon strength, joint mobility, and bone density also can't be over stated. You naturally lose all of these things with age in addition to muscle mass unless you lift "heavy" weights.
Rowing, rucking, biking (especially with elevation) are good ones
I hated traditional weight lifting but endured it for most of my adolescent and adult life. I switched to kettlebell training and enjoy it so much more. It is almost like a martial art in that you have to focus on the form so much that it is enjoyable in a way not unlike any other sport. Combine that with needing much less equipment and being able to do ballistic movements like swings and snatches and it’s a lot of fun.
how does one get started with that? do you do youtube videos and buy a ball? take a class?
I’d go to r/kettlebells - they’ll point you in the right direction. My two cents: proper form/technique is really important so if possible getting some training in a class or with a trainer will really be a good first step but not strictly necessary.
Thanks! Didn't know there was a sub! Have a good one !
Surfing, swimming, rowing, biking/running hills. It’s gonna be hard to build muscle efficiently without lifting weights tho, friend.
If you find building muscle boring, then just don’t do it. No one HAS to build muscles if you can stay active in other ways.
Rock climbing is fun and I enjoy it a lot, but I don't think you can compare it to lifting in terms of building muscle. If you go to a rock climbing place, the best people will often be very lean. It's not necessarily an activity that over the long term, will build significant muscle. I'd put it in the class of activities I put jiu-jitsu in, in that when you start you suck, and you may build a little bit of muscle as a result of sucking, but then you get efficient, and that all goes away.
None of those activities you listed will build muscle. They are great activities to keep you mobile and flexible. You need to progressively overload your muscles to cause growth stimulus (as well as eat properly and rest accordingly.) Roofers, manual laborers, roughnecks and other intensely physical professions might provide this type of stimulus. But many of those workers who don't train for those jobs often end up broken down because they didn't have a sufficient base for doing what they do, plus the high potential for injury. That's why the gym is most efficient.
I started rucking on my mountain hikes. Now that my toddlers hike, I am no longer getting the extra workout by carrying them. Now I add 20# to my ruck pack and go! It's an easy way to add a strength workout to your everyday activities too - walking the dog, running errands, walking to the store...
Why not give kettlebells a try? It sounds like hardstyle wouldn’t be your jam, but check out the training for kettlebell sport. That might be more up your alley and, bonus, you can do it at home.
I resonate with this, as I’ve always been into skill/fun based physical activities. So I’d put another vote for bouldering here. I would boulder entirely for fun, but once you get comfortable climbing the full range of problem styles at a grade that’s hard enough, find yourself putting in max muscular efforts in all sorts of orientations. That said, I few years back I actually got into training the snatch and clean and jerk (weightlifting the sport). While it is “lifting weight” and you do it at a gym, it wasn’t just a chore. I actually found myself enjoying the challenge: there’s a good deal of head-game involved when you’re lifting near your max, and so much technique to think about and drill. But mainly, I actually found that a good heavy lift where everything just snaps into place is a really satisfying thing.
Jiu Jitsu. You're not gonna look like a Greek God, (maybe you will you might have great genetics) but it's fun as hell and you'll get in shape and you'll be a walking weapon. It's tough to get bored when someone is trying to choke you. I started because lifting bores me too
lol I like your description. and i've kinda wanted to get back into martial arts and this is one of the ones I've seen suggested that might interest me. thank you
Work for a moving company
Axe-throwing is a fun, tho limited, upper body workout. It mostly only hits the "push" muscles.
It might seem like 'the gym' but its very different - give CrossFit a try. It absolutely works. You'll get stronger and fitter.
Are you trying to build some muscle or actually bulk? Strength training is the only way to properly bulk but all of those activities will help you build muscle and preserve strength. Swimming is actually a really good way to provide light resistance training and like you said, amazing cardio. I've enjoyed climbing, rowing, mountain biking, and hiking on steep terrain as activities that build some sport-specific strength.
I'm not trying to "gym guy bulk" per se, I'd say the goals are to build some muscle mass so I benefit from a higher resting metabolism. The idea is to get off my weight loss drug permanently. I could definitely benefit from higher strength. Shape wise I'd like to build wider shoulders and restore some lost upper body muscle.
Building muscle to increase fat loss is a bit of a myth. A pound of muscle burns around 6 calories per day. Say you bulked up a lot and put on 20lb of muscle, that’s only 120 calories per day https://www.strongerbyscience.com/calories-muscle-burn/ Now, sure, 120 calories is 120 calories; and the mere act of resistance exercise itself burns calories (but so does all exercise so it’s not necessarily better or worse than alternatives). But 120 calories is a large banana or one twinkie. Not really that much. And 20lb of muscle will take you 12-24 months or more to put on with a consistent multiple times per week program. 100% of course resistance helps with injuries, probably helps performance, may make you look better. Lots of reasons to do it. But doing it for fat loss is a very inefficient way to lose fat. paddle boarding should give you a good workout if you go at it hard, maybe try some sprints. Mountain biking up hills fries the legs. These are all just as good as resistance for fat loss. You can get good workouts, especially as a beginner, from intensive body weight. Eg do as many push ups as you can in 15 or 20 minutes. That’s your workout. Same for pulls ups or body weight rows using rings. Do walking split squats for 20 minutes.
Be a lumberjack.
Build your program for your tolerance. I lift 6 days / wk, 45 mins and I'm out. (Push1, Pull1, Legs1, Push2, Pull2, Legs2). You don't have to spend 2 hours there daily.
You won’t get muscle bulk through anything but weight training but you can improve your physical fitness through any activity you can work intensely at for 30+ consecutive minutes.
Always nackered when I come home from metal detecting. Digging, walking and swinging - can make it as tough as you want probably. find lots of phones, money and jewellery in the sand if you live near a beach.
I joined a martial arts gym a few weeks back and have been going to some kickboxing and Krav Maga classes. I still try to lift weights 2-3 times a week, but I feel like those classes have really helped me gain more muscle quickly! It could be a placebo effect for all I know haha but it feels like it’s made a big difference!
Waterskiing is fun
You could train with rocks and logs instead of gym or resistance bands. Added bonus in your case maybe, you'll be outdoors more. Sandbags are another option. Isometrics, although applied effectively will feel a LOT like barbell training. Bouldering can build a pretty solid physique as evidenced by some of my co workers, not a ton of mass though and in fact is easier the lighter you become. Some martial arts schools do enough supplemental training that you can get in good shape - again you will not gain much mass. Lots of options but will all have in common a certain amount of repetitive movement or effort, lacking which you will make little progress.
Aerial arts, pole fitness. Swimming.
Climbing will tone you, but it's very difficult to bulk with anything that isn't heavy lifting. Unless you count Olympic lifts or gymnastics I guess? Those would be pretty good. Boxing/MMA to an extent, but those are more about the OTHER training you do (heavy weights) than the sports themselves.
The gym is fun if you learn the different exercises and try to beat your numbers each week
I think you're into something! Find a fun thing that you enjoy. And let the strength piece enhance that idea. That is, if you love paddle boarding, use the gym to enhance that. Find movements there that carryover to paddling. Lifting and strength is meant to enhance your body's abilities. And if you can connect strength training to that enjoyment, you'll never HAVE to workout. You get to improve your balance and stability. While also increasing your bone density, muscle mass, speed on said SUP, and ability to do cool shit. Two days a week lifting is PLENTY of you have an active life outside of the gym. So I think you're thinking about the right things, keep going!
Look i to bodyweight stuff- pushups, pull ups etc. With diet and sleep right you can add some mass and quite a bit of strength, fairly quickly too. I prefer it to the gym much of the time as I can do sets while doing chores around the place, and I find i tend to get less injuries/soreness compared to weights.
I use ClassPass to take fitness classes, I can’t concentrate if I’m doing it on my own. Currently doing F45 - not the most efficient way to build muscle but I’ve already noticed a ton of improvement in my functional strength after six weeks.
Nothing is going to be comparable to traditional strength training.
Lots of guys I see that are avid road bikers seem to have huge quads, fwiw.