You are hereForums / Preparation / Training / Pre and Post Riding Stretches.
Pre and Post Riding Stretches.
I'm interested in finding out what stretches, if any, other people do before and/or after a ride?
Before
I usually ride on the road for about 5Km's to get to the track as a warm up.
I do some stretches that focus on my calf's, hammies, back and shoulders.
After
I repeat the same, but concentrate mostly on stretching out my legs.
- Login to post comments
- Bookmark & share
Tags
Hey MTY!
Great question! I think I have asked about every road and MTB rider I know and so far NOBODY stretches
. Must admit that I pretty much always forget too but am still curious if people who do stretch find it makes a difference for them?!
Caro
I'm not the fittest person out there by a long shot, but I mainly stretch more as a precautionary exercise.
The last 2 times I went riding I didn't stretch, (which was the O'Falls ride on Sat and I repeated that on Monday arvo), and my legs are still hurting me.....
....but that could also be cause I rode into a tree on Monday arvo.
Dont understand the meaning of the word
In all honesty the only time I have ever worried about stretching is if I start cramping up or am feeling a bit tired in the legs.
Mostly I find that a warm up & cool down period of about 15min on the bike works well for me. However everyone is different & should do what feels right to them.
In thinking that stretching is absolutely essential. But then I'm a tight bugger in more ways than one! Added to my list of essentials would be eating and drinking the right stuff, ie. electrolytes, sodium, magnesium and at least 2 litres of water a day, riding or not.
Back in topicland, if you ride three or more times a week you quickly discover that a lack of stretching can lead to severe back problems. I stretch every day riding or not for 15-30 mins, five or six different stretches for the legs, a couple for the glutes (Arse) and a couple each for the back/trunk/neck. Yoga and Pilates poses/stretches help a hell of a lot, particularly with core strength and posture.
It also helps a lot if you ride in the correct posture on technical terrain when you're out of the saddle, which involves trying to keep your back quite horizontal, arms bent almost 90 degrees, elbows pointing outwards, with minimal pressure through the hands (or a bit further forwards if you need more front wheel traction), arches of the feet over the centre of the pedals. All that keeps you well centred and doesn't strain the back as much as the usual position.
Ta,
Matt.
I saw this arch shaped thing advertised in a road bike mag, they ran an article about it which was very interesting. You lay on your back over this thing, its supposed to stretch out your lower back. The idea was that if you had good flexability in your lower back your posture on the bike would be greatly improved, meaning greater comfort, power & better aerodinamics.
as I normally talk too much and then forget... BUT I do walk the dogs twice a day and find that I don't get sore in my legs - no nasty replies there please!
MEEE
But what about getting pains in other areas?
I sometimes find that my back gets a bit sore after a big ride, bit it generally only lasts for a few short hours after a ride.
having just read my first mountain bike magazine...they said in that the reason for a sore back is often due to the bike size/arrangemen and you! I am sure the others will tell you heaps!
If I cling onto the handlebars for dear life then I get a sore back neck but that's because I am being a wuss and tend to forget that 'speed is my friend'...
I find getting up earlier than 7:00 a.m. a bit of a stretch. And riding up that massive hill to get to the Ourimbah downhill course, that's also a bit of a stretch.
Jokes aside, I find it interesting that when I play basketball I ALWAYS do pre-stretching to ensure muscles are loose and warm. And as for cycling? No a single one. Why should cycling be treated differently in my sub-conscious mind? How odd is that? Is it because you can warm up more slowly on the bike, and it is not as high impact as other sports? An interesting thought.
I guess I am just another oddity in a website full of other oddities.
I'd have to agree with Liam in that I don't bother stretching before cycling because it's fairly low intensity anyway. It takes me a good hour to warm up on the bike - and that usually involves on-bike stretches. There's no point in stretching before your muscles have warmed up.
I do tend to stretch if I'm sore after a ride, but since my rides are fairly short nowadays - I generally don't do that much either. 2-3 hours would be the minimum.
As for the back - this is something that mountain bikers generally have very right and roadies have very wrong. Your back is what shifts your body weight around on the bike and enables you to manage rough terrain. This becomes extremely important if you're doing endurance events - just as important as your cardiovascular fitness. You get beaten around all day (and often all night) and your back and neck is what's taking the brunt of it.
I have fond (?) memories of the Sydney 24hr last year where I went solo. By the sixth lap, I was having major neck pain. By the tenth lap, I could barely hold my head up. I pulled out after twelve laps - not because my legs hurt - but because my back was too sore. It didn't help that I was riding a hardtail, so even the 'flat' areas still beat me around.
I remember reading the story of a rider in the RAAM (Race Across America) where his neck and back got so tired that he just couldn't hold up his head any more and had to resort to resting his chin on a water bottle on the handlebars.
This page has a great list of core exercises. I've found the Pillar Ball Extensions to be very effective, but they need an exercise ball - and I don't have physical space in my apartment to inflate mine!
Finally, if you watch Cycling Central - pay close attention to the bit at the end where they let you call in to vote for riders. Watch how the roadies and trackies bounce as they pedal. The mountain bikers are dead still - you wouldn't know they were even pedalling. This is the difference that a strong back makes.
The rules for stretching have changed a bit in the last few years. There were some studies done which found that stretching before exercise will not only reduce the power in your muscles, but actually increases the chance of damaging them. The best thing to do before exercise is a quality warm up. So one that starts nice and slow, but makes sure that your muscles are warm before you start to stress them.
Flexibility is still important and this is best accomplished by stretching straight after a ride, when your muscles are warm or at alternate times. Just not before exercise.