Stretch Yourself

Cyclists may be renowned for their supreme cardiovascular fitness, phenomenal power output and colossal thighs, but when it comes to flexibility it has to be said that most of us are decidedly lacking.

It is not surprising when you consider what riding a bike entails. It is a repetitive action performed through a limited range of motion, which means that the legs are neither fully extended nor fully flexed. Joints are never taken through their full range of motion. To compound the problem cycling is one of the few activities in which muscles contract only concentrically (while shortening) and not eccentrically (while lengthening) and over time, this can result in what is known as 'adaptive shortening', the process by which muscle fibres physically shorten.

But does it matter? Well it depends who you ask. Scientists still hotly debate the topic of whether stretching is beneficial for athletes, detrimental, or makes no difference either way. Some recent research on runners, published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning, found that those who performed the worst in a 'sit and reach' test (a measure of hamstring and lower back flexibility) had the greatest running economy, a measure that could be described as their 'miles per gallon' rate. The theory is that tight leg, hip and trunk musculature increases elastic energy return. But there is a major reason why the same may not be true on a bike. 

Riding a bike is not something that we evolved to do. It is not a natural movement like running or walking and is, therefore, more likely to cause muscular imbalances and postural changes.

As an example, the forward leaning crouched position adopted by roadies and track cyclists tends to make the hip flexors tighten and shorten (every cyclist I know has hip flexor tightness) causing an anterior pelvic tilt and an excessively arched lower back.

Postural changes like these can lead to chronic problems such as lower back pain that will affect your daily activities not to mention your riding, in the long term.

If muscles get tight, they pull on bones and put things out of alignment increasing the risk of pain, discomfort and injury.

But poor flexibility and its consequences don't just give you bad posture and hike up your injury risk, your cycling performance is at stake too. You need a good range of motion in the hips and lower back to achieve an aerodynamic time-trial position. Without it your power output will be reduced because you won't be able to get maximal force from the gluteal muscles. What's more, if you have a stiff lower back, you will typically over-reach with the arms, putting too much weight on the hands and causing tightness across the upper back and neck.

For BMXers and sprint cyclists, flexibility is also important for cross-training. To perform a squat, for example, you need good ankle, knee and hip flexibility. If the ankle is tight it puts too much pressure on the knee. And if you participate in other sports or compete in triathlon, stiff tight muscles are not going to do your running stride or swim strokes any favours.

While you may not need to be able to wrap your feet around your shoulders or bend over backwards to ride your bike, you do need to maintain, or more likely, regain normal range of motion in the joints in order to ride comfortably and efficiently and to be able to adapt your riding position where necessary. You also need to consider the joints and muscles that cycling doesn't use. In cycling, you are only moving your joints in a straight line. There is no other plane of motion such as rotational or lateral movement. It is important to take your joints through these neglected ranges too, otherwise flexibility will diminish.

Whilst there is no single 'recipe' for optimal flexibility that suits everyone, there are some key areas to address.

The areas which are tight in cyclists are so universal, it is practically a box ticking exercise. Stiff quads, hip flexors, hamstrings and lower backs are top of the list, accompanied by tight 'closed' shoulders and chest muscles.

So what do we do to redress the balance? The key thing is to reverse the cycle posture. For example, stretches which extend the lower back are a great antidote to the flexed, forward-leaning position on the bike.  

A cyclist myself I have experienced the stiffness and tightness that can result from hours in the saddle, and I believe yoga is the perfect complement. It is a way of elongating the muscles, but also it enhances your body awareness, so you notice what feels tight or stiff, and know what to do to alleviate it.

Why not try Kellie Yoga now at the Watershed here in Hereford? Go on, stretch yourself.

Your Friend and Coach

Adrian Lowther