stretches

littleknown

just how important are they? do you always do them before and after a spin?

does anyone have any diagrams of what ones need to be done?

just wondering cos i rarely do them and dont want to do myself any more damage than necessary. are they any specific for knees?

thanks!

AstraMonti

I 've been to several physios due to a knee problem. ALL of them insisted on doing stretches. And i can tell you the last month i am doing them everyday morning and evening i am starting to see a difference.

So to sum up, yes i think it's really important to do them, regardless if you are returning or going to a spin.

Lumen

Stretching makes you faster.

A selection from my bookmarks:

Cyclists' Correction Class (series)

Hard Core - Exercises to Strengthen Your Abs For Better Performance

The Effects of Flexibility Training on Performance and Development

Health: Knee care and maintenance
Health: Knee care and maintenance (pt 2)

Training for Cycling: Flexibility First

Mobility Exercises

Hamstring exercises: How to keep your hamstrings in tune and singing sweetly

I've found this book a good general introduction to stretching.

Beasty

I've certainly found they improve my performance. However their main benefits are reducing risk of injury and improving recovery. It is also important to make sure the muscles are warmed up before undertaking stretches (otherwise you will risk injury)

Zorba

Lumen wrote: »

Stretching makes you faster.

A selection from my bookmarks:

Cyclists' Correction Class (series)

Hard Core - Exercises to Strengthen Your Abs For Better Performance

The Effects of Flexibility Training on Performance and Development

Health: Knee care and maintenance
Health: Knee care and maintenance (pt 2)

Training for Cycling: Flexibility First

Mobility Exercises

Hamstring exercises: How to keep your hamstrings in tune and singing sweetly

I've found this book a good general introduction to stretching.

When u say they've made u faster do u mean your speed has gone up because u can ride on the drops more or because you've more strength to push bigger gears ?

Lumen

Zorba wrote: »

When u say they've made u faster do u mean your speed has gone up because u can ride on the drops more or because you've more strength to push bigger gears ?

Well technically I said they'd make littleknown faster, not me.

The logic is threefold:

1. Flexibility -> comfort -> speed.
2. Less injury -> more training -> speed.
3. Flexibility -> more aero -> speed.

Nothing makes you slower than sitting on the sofa waiting for an injury to heal.

Core strength is also important, but you get that to an extent from cycling. You don't get more flexible from exercising well within your range of motion, AFAIK.

As for pushing bigger gears, whatever works for you, but cycling is more about metabolic strength than muscular.

All in my incredibly non-expert opinion, obviously.

Zorba

Lumen wrote: »

Well technically I said they'd make littleknown faster, not me.

The logic is threefold:

1. Flexibility -> comfort -> speed.
2. Less injury -> more training -> speed.
3. Flexibility -> more aero -> speed.

Nothing makes you slower than sitting on the sofa waiting for an injury to heal.

Core strength is also important, but you get that to an extent from cycling. You don't get more flexible from exercising well within your range of motion, AFAIK.

As for pushing bigger gears, whatever works for you, but cycling is more about metabolic strength than muscular.

All in my incredibly non-expert opinion, obviously.

Ok thanks Lumen, i'm lucky in that i rarely get injured from cycling, also lucky that i have my bike set up the right way and i didn't have to work too hard to get it there.

I mentioned the pushing bigger gears cos i was going out with a group on sundays and i couldn't keep up with them, partly cos of dairy products and asthma but also cos of my lack of core strength, ie i wasn't comfortable pushing the bigger gears i needed to keep up with them. But as u said that comes from cycling more too, which i've got from training more on hills.

Having said all that i am gonna try some stretching cos i've noticed i can't stay on the drops for as long as i'd like and also my lower back does get a little sore after 3+hr spins so wanna see if stretching will help and therefore maybe make me faster like littleknown.

Lumen

Zorba wrote: »

I mentioned the pushing bigger gears cos i was going out with a group on sundays and i couldn't keep up with them, partly cos of dairy products and asthma but also cos of my lack of core strength, ie i wasn't comfortable pushing the bigger gears i needed to keep up with them.

Don't try and push big gears to keep up. The extra torque will wreck your knees and back.

Lower cadences are slightly more efficient than higher ones, but it's easier to generate more power over a long ride by maintaining a good cadence (90-100rpm) at the highest gear possible at that cadence, rather than attempting to grind it out.

You have gears for a reason.

Zorba

Lumen wrote: »

Don't try and push big gears to keep up. The extra torque will wreck your knees and back.

Lower cadences are slightly more efficient than higher ones, but it's easier to generate more power over a long ride by maintaining a good cadence (90-100rpm) at the highest gear possible at that cadence, rather than attempting to grind it out.

You have gears for a reason.

I didn't do a very good job of explaining myself properly

When i say pushing bigger gears i don't mean grinding the gears, never could do that, just meant i didn't have the strength to ride in a higher gear for 2 or 3 hrs, i usually keep my cadence over 80 at least.

Ryaner

Guy in IrishFit gave me a good explanation of why I need to stretch more. Might not apply but basically, if your muscles get too tight in certain places the other supporting muscles end up doing too much work to compensate and your weaker overall.
It can also affect your technique and have a knock on affect on your breathing. This will slow you down.

littleknown

thanks very much for the responses especially thanks to lumen for the reference material.ive already printed some of it out and will give it ago,

i find the neck stuff very useful as i find that after a few hours on the bike the neck can end up pretty stiff,

one thing i hear about is the importance of warming up before doing stretches, as i dont have a turbo trainer am i better off starting the cycle, then stopping and doing some stretches say after 20 mins?

Lumen

littleknown wrote: »

one thing i hear about is the importance of warming up before doing stretches, as i dont have a turbo trainer am i better off starting the cycle, then stopping and doing some stretches say after 20 mins?

Not really necessary to warm up if you're stretching progressively. You need to have the blood flowing, but a minute or two of jumping around (or whatever) is more than enough.

I read a book by someone who did a lot of yoga in solitary confinement; he didn't report any stretching injuries caused by lack of access to a turbo trainer.

AstraMonti

Here are some more exercises:

TheBandit

I just tried the "Hard Core - Exercises to Strengthen Your Abs For Better Performance"....oh man the name says it all. I thought climbing hills was bad but these....