Counteracting Sustained postures
Sustained postures are not good for the health of your tissues. Even if you are in perfect sitting or standing postures, our bodies do not like being static. Hence, why being on the saddle for too long can stiffen up joints and muscles.
The traditional cycling posture when you are holding the hoods of the handlebars is a rounded mid and lower back and extended, forward head position of your neck. This is extenuated by being on the drop bars or in aero bars to improve aerodynamics. There are a few other differences between hand positions on the bike but when it comes to your postures its similar. Riding postures for flat bar bikes and mountain bike positions are again quite different and will not be covered in this blog.
To counteract the joint stiffness from cycling postures it is always good to do mobility exercises and stretches as part of your normal training routine. Other cross training exercises are also a really good idea to keep the body moving and maintain strength and reduce injury. This includes walking, running, swimming (especially backstroke), yoga, Pilates etc. Certain muscles are prone to getting tighter on the bike - these include but are not limited to forearms, arms, chest, neck, front of hips, inner thigh and calves. These muscles need regular self-maintenance or massage to keep in good condition and peak performance. So, if you are a regular rider and clocking up the kilometres on the road it would be good to have tune up physiotherapy session every 2-4 weeks.
Correcting muscular imbalances
A nice way to think about improving strength for injury prevention is to not over tighten/ strengthen muscles that are already getting smashed on the bike. A pitcher should not overuse the same muscles in the gym as during throwing, same goes for bowlers, swimmers etc. The big ones for cyclists are quads and calves. Now I’m not saying that cyclist shouldn’t do squats and calf raises but it would make sense to take off load off these muscles during gym-based sessions and work on other aspects. So good muscles to strengthen for cycling include upper body muscles around the neck, shoulder blade and shoulder joint, mid back, low, back, glutes, hamstring. Improving overall strength and muscular balance.
Having a regular (2-6 times weekly) self-maintenance program including self-massage, stretches and joint mobility exercises is important. Therefore, pilates classes are invaluable to cyclists! Also doing strength work (2-3 x weekly) on the “other muscles” is a great way to improve muscle imbalances, injury prevention and hence performance.