Maintaining flexibility not only helps reduce the risk of injury but can also make a dramatic difference in your general bike fit and position.
This may be a crucial step in getting more comfortable to allow you apply more power to the pedals, or getting more aero so you slip through the wind more efficiently.
Here’s a quick list of five flexibility drills that can help you.
1. Hamstrings
You simply will not be able to achieve a good forward bend through the hips and lumbar spine without good hamstring length, so this should be your first port of call.
How to do it:
2. Hip Flexors
In quite the opposite respect to the hamstrings it is very important to maintain good length in your hip flexors. These muscles spend a long time in a relatively shortened position through both time on the bike and sitting at a desk (we’ll safely assume that most of you spend pretty long hours at the desk!) which can lead to muscle tightness, weak hip drive in the pull phase of your pedal stroke, and low back pain over time.
How to do it:
3. Thoracic Spine
Once again this is an area that takes a beating both sat at the desk and riding your bike. It has to be able to sustain long periods in some degree of flexion. Some work must be done here to allow you to maintain this position with adversely affecting your posture and comfort on the bike.
How to do it:
4. Iliotibial Band (ITB)
This non-contractile stretch of connective tissue runs down the outside of your thigh and takes a lot of stick for ‘causing’ various knee complaints. However it’s really the muscles that it originates from (Tensor Fascia Lata and Glute Max) that we should be focusing on to alleviate some of the tension.
How to do it:
5. Latissimus Dorsi
This large muscle fans out from the middle of your lower back and inserts right under your armpit, affecting what amount of reach (to your bars) you may be able to obtain on the bike.
How to do it:
This is by no means an exhaustive list but it’s certainly a good place to get started with regards to improving your position on the bike. Its also worth paying attention to flexibility of your quadriceps and calves which undergo heavy loads during cycle training though have less of an impact on your position on the bike.
If you’d like to book a bike fitting appointment follow the link or call our Raynes Park, Wimbledon clinic.