Best Stretches For Cycling

September 2, 2015 by Adam Farabaugh

What if there was something that you could do to improve comfort on the bike, increase performance, enhance recovery, as well as help prevent injuries? Turns out there is- stretching.

That being said, just reaching down and touching your toes isn’t enough to help your muscles. You need to know what stretches to do, when to do them, as well as for how long. Incorporating a regular daily stretching routine should be done by everyone and especially if you are riding.

The biggest thing with stretching is making sure that you are doing them properly, because if you’re not you can cause injury. The focus with cycling is obviously the legs, but the core and upper body can’t be neglected either.

This stretching routine is only a base, and can and should be built upon.

Cycling Stretching Routine

Hamstrings

Start by standing with your legs straight and reaching down toward your toes. It shouldn’t be painful and don’t bounce. Hold it for twenty to sixty seconds (More on that below.) Then cross one leg in front of the other and do the same. Switch legs. This is a great stretch for the hamstrings and the back of the whole leg because of the angle that is created between your upper and lower body on the bike.

Quads

Next focus on your quads. The quads are used a lot in cycling and need to be focused on. Find a wall or something to hold on to, and stand on one leg with the other bent behind you at the knee. Grab your ankle with the hand that’s on the same side of the knee that is bent and pull gently up toward your buttocks. The trick is to keep your hips level without tilting them forward. Do this by sucking your stomach in and almost trying to push your tail bone down and forward toward the floor. Do both legs.

Calves

The calves are another big area that, depending upon your position on the bike, can receive a lot of abuse. Find a wall and place both hands on it at about face level. Now take one leg and straighten it back behind you keeping your heal on the ground or as close to it. Your other leg should be bent with your foot directly beneath your head. Now take the leg that’s straight and slightly bend your knee keeping your heal on the ground. You should feel the stretch throughout your calf. If not bend a little farther but make sure you don’t feel any pain.

Glutes

Next, find a bed or counter that’s about as high as your quad. Place one foot on the bed, or other surface, with your knee almost at the most it can bend but not quite. You don’t want any pressure felt through the knee. Then press your chest straight forward to the inside of your knee. You should feel the stretch through the buttocks. Do the same for the other leg.

Legs & Back

Now sit down on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Your feet should be together with no bend in your knees, or as little as possible. Now with your toes pointed straight up, bend forward at the hips reaching for your toes with your hands. Try to keep your back straight without arching your shoulders farther forward so you can reach further. You should feel the stretch all the way down the backs of your legs as well as up into the back.

These stretches above are the basic stretches to start with for cycling. Any sport, and cycling in particular, uses many muscles throughout the body and they all should be stretched, but these are the big ones to focus on.

When should you be stretching?

You should be doing these stretches after you ride. You never want to stretch cold muscles before a ride, always warm up and make sure you are limber. If your legs are sore immediately after a ride, stretching can help to relieve them, but be extra gentle. Your muscles are already fatigued and injury can result much easier if they are overstretched.

How long should you be stretching for?

Each stretch should be held for a minimum of twenty seconds if you are pressed for time, but ideally around a minute. Less than a minute is good for recovery, more than a minute is good for lengthening muscles if they are constantly tight. Hamstrings are a big area that tend to be tight which can also result in back tightness and pain. If you have muscle tightness in your back, there’s a good chance that you have tight hamstrings. In general it’s always better to have loose, flexible muscles than tight.

These stretches listed above are just a base. They need to be added onto with additional stretching routines for cyclists.

Stretching can be a great way to help your riding and prevent, as well as overcome, injuries. The biggest thing in stretching is to do them properly so if you are unsure ask someone who knows and can teach you. Taking the time to learn once will pay huge dividends in the long run of your cycling endeavors.

How To Curb Tired Legs

December 15, 2014 by Dyani Herrera

How To Curb Tired Legs

We’ve all been on those group rides, where we became overzealous and thought we were speed bikers at the Kona World Championships. Then, spent the next few days paying the price, feeling like you were lugging around cement blocks; thinking, how can you rid yourself of these tired legs so you can hop back on for your next ride? Here are a few tips to speed up recovery after a tough ride.

Post-Ride Recovery Shake

It’s crucial to have a protein shake with some carbohydrates within 45 minutes of finishing your ride. Research has demonstrated that when combining carbohydrates with protein immediately after exercise it increases muscle synthesis. As we ride we break down muscle, and the body builds more muscle after activity as a process of adaptation to exercise. Forty-five minutes is the time frame when your muscles are most hungry for nutrition, and absorb readily to aid with muscle repair. In addition, it is a crucial period in restoring the glycogen (energy) stores we’ve depleted during our ride. It’s also been shown that endurance athletes rely on protein during long rides as a last fuel source once we’ve depleted our glycogen and fat stores. Recommended daily allowances of protein for males include 84-112 grams and 66-88 grams for females. Furthermore, some of my favourite mixes include soy milk with a scoop of vanilla, whey protein, mixed with some strawberries, and blueberries for the antioxidant effect. If I’m craving something sweeter, then I add a scoop of peanut butter along with protein powder, and some banana slices.

Stretch Before and Post Ride

Make sure you stretch your leg muscles in order to minimize the decreased range of motion due to sore muscles, which could lead to strains. Vital muscles to be stretched include quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, IT bands, hip flexors, and glute maximus. There are several stretching techniques one can use to achieve elasticity. The most commonly known is “static stretching”, which requires you to stay in a stationary position, and place the muscle in a stretch, typically in the opposite direction the muscle performs.

There is also “proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching”, which involves stretching the muscles with alternating sets of static stretching versus muscle contraction; with this style you would need a partner to assist you. A PNF stretching example includes a static stretch of the hamstring for 10 seconds, and 10 seconds of contracting the hamstring by pushing against the person’s hands/body, with a stretch-contract-stretch sequence. The advantage of this stretching is you see immediate gains in flexibility, more so than in static stretching.

Another form is “dynamic stretching”, which involves a person performing low intensity exercises involving that muscle action; for instance, walking lunges to stretch the hip flexors. These are best completed before a ride in order to get the muscles firing and geared up for cycling. Each stretch should be completed 2-3 times, for no more than 30 seconds each. It’s more effective to stretch these muscles once you’ve completed a 10-15 minute warm up, as well as immediately post ride. Research has shown minimal elasticity gains when performing these stretches prior to a warm up. “I Love Bicycling” has an article on some great stretches for cyclists with photos included.

Hydration Post-Ride

After a ride, drink plenty of water mixed with a cap of Pedialyte, per 8 ounces. Pedialyte contains condensed electrolytes, and aids in speeding up muscle recovery by hydrating muscles, and flushing out lactic acid. By drinking plenty of fluids with electrolytes, it helps your body eliminate the lactic acid through urine. In addition, it helps in hydrating your body in preparation for your next ride. There are formulas online, which can be used to figure out how much water is needed for your particular body weight and activity level. One way to check if you’ve hydrated adequately is by observing the colour of your urine. If your urine is yellow you’re still in need of hydration, but once it comes out clear or a pale yellow you are hydrated.

Ice Bath

A great way athletes minimize soreness and achy joints is by making themselves an ice bath. The advantage of an ice bath is allowing several muscles and joints to be treated at the same time. It is also the one ice treatment that has the deepest penetration effect of tissues. This treatment can be done in the bathtub of your home. Fill up the tub until it passes your thighs and dump in 1.5-2 bags of ice. In order for it to be therapeutic the temperature should be between 50-60 degrees. Granted, you’ll be freezing for the first 5 minutes, but afterwards you’ll be numb. If you don’t have a bathtub this can also be done by purchasing a 10 gallon garbage tub, and completing the same process. The ice bath can be completed for a minimum of 20 minutes, but no longer than 30, because then it has the adverse effect. If done for more than 30 minutes the body begins to think it’s entering a hypothermic state, and starts to dilate the blood vessels in order to increase body temperature. This is the opposite effect of the ice, which is intended to constrict blood vessels in order to decrease swelling and eliminate pain.

In following these four tips, it’ll help you avoid delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which happens when you’ve pushed your body a bit too far. By speeding up recovery, we can gear ourselves up for our next ride, where this time we can imagine ourselves to be as fearless as Sebastian Kienle going into a headwind.

Stretching Exercises for Cyclists

May 12, 2014 by U.M.

Stretching Exercises for Cyclists

Stretching exercises are important for any type of athlete, but have an even more exaggerated effect for cyclists. Because you’re repeating the same movements over and over, day after day, your muscles become accustomed to a smaller range of motion than they should be.

Cycling without stretching actually causes your muscles to shrink over time. The change in length of your muscle fibers causes slight posture changes in multiple areas, which can add up to a significant alteration of posture over time and lead to injury.

The most common areas of tightening and muscle shortness for cyclists are the hip flexors, hamstrings, and quads. Here are some great stretching exercises that will help cyclists overcome this. [Read more…]

Post Ride Recovery Rituals

February 11, 2014 by U.M.

Many cyclists have different ways of cooling down after a long ride. In fact, each person will find that they have different needs when it comes to their muscles depending on the ride itself. Of the multiple post ride recovery rituals, here are a few of the most popular.

Stats

Not everyone is in to stats, but the ones that are are obsessed. One of the most common things to do after a ride is to upload your stats and check them – even before you take off your shoes. Did you capture that KOM? Did you have a higher average power output? How fast did you climb that hill…

Fluids and Food

One of the most efficient ways to recover is to replace the lost fluids in your body. During your bike ride you will most likely find that you sweat quite a bit. Sweat is the body’s way of cooling you down so that you don’t overheat, but it can also cause dehydration. Because water drives nearly every metabolic function in your body, dehydration is no joke. You can also lose the salts in your body through sweat. Both the fluids and the salts need to be replaced.

Eating food after your ride will also help you recover by replenishing the fuel stored in your body. By eating the proper food, you will be able to recover energy more quickly and your body will also be able to repair any tissue damage caused by exercise. The ideal time to eat after your bike ride is within 60 minutes of finishing.

Stretching/Massage

An important part of a post ride recovery is stretching. Don’t bother with strenuous stretching, but rather very gentle stretching. This will keep your loose muscles from becoming too rigid too quickly as they try to return to their resting state. This will also help prevent muscle soreness.

Massage is also going to help clear the lactic acid out and help you recover; however, not everyone can afford a massage after every ride. I recommend using a foam roller, if you do not already, it will change your life.

Rest

Rest is the most important thing you can do to recover from any sort of exercise. Even if you just take a few minutes to rest, you will feel better than if you didn’t rest at all. A 10 – 30 minute nap is ideal if you are able to sneak it in, but a good night’s sleep is the best thing you can do for yourself. Not only will you be able to recover fully but you will be more prepared for the next time you get on your bike.

When you are in recovery mode remember: Never stand when you can lean, never lean when you can sit and never sit when you can lie down!

Your post ride recovery ritual will depend on how hard of a bike ride you had. By tailoring your ritual for what your body needs, you will be able to recover quickly and efficiently. By recovering properly you will also be able to prevent the injuries that come with tired or strained muscles.