rankinesoccer wrote:And, as a cyclist I have like ZERO upper body strength, haha...I can do like 2 pullups. I have never lifted weights in my life.
A strong core will guard against fatigue and against inadvertant bad form (e.g. favoring a leg) that can result in a lower-body injury.
You don't need to lift weights like crazy and get huge. A basic set of core execrises a couple times a week along with endless hiking, biking and cardio should be sufficient. Don't discount its positive effects. I do boatloads of pushups, for example. Situps and lower-back exercises too, such as deadlifts. However, I do agree: be extremely careful with deadlifts. Work light at first and be extremely mindful of your form. But having a strong back is like gold.
And, I'll throw this out there and deal with whatever flak comes back: yoga. It is an incredible strength-builder for the little muscle groups and also helps a lot with flexibility. Many poses are fantastic for the core yet don't have the risk of weights shifting. And the breathing regimen helps too. I was a complete skeptic until my wife got me to go once and after that, I was convinced.