My husband is a cyclist and constantly complains about lack of flexibility, stiffness in the lower spine after a long cycle ride and the occasional twinge in his knees. Married to a Pilates Instructor you would have thought he would be the first to benefit but it has taken me 5 years to convince him Pilates isn’t just for females or people in retirement it is for the young active individual who wants to improve in their specific sport.
Cyclists tend to have poor posture. Rounding of the shoulders, shortened chest muscles, excessive bending of the lower spine (lumbar spine), overdeveloped quads and outer thigh muscles, tight hip flexors and tight hamstrings. I’m not painting a good picture of cyclists! These imbalances can end up causing injuries and they do say that prevention is better than a cure. It is fantastic for cardiovascular fitness though so the two, cycling and Pilates, complement each other.
Pilates is the ideal exercise to counter these imbalances, it concentrates on core strength, postural alignment and mobility. By strengthening the deep stabilising muscles it takes the pressure off the superficial muscles which helps individuals become more efficient when cycling. Strengthening the inner core muscles provides a more stable and solid platform for your lower limbs to push against therefore improving the power that can be put into the pedals, essentially this means greater effectiveness of the pedal stroke. Who wouldn’t want that?
A few Pilates exercises that are ideal for cyclists are:
The shoulder bridge - it rebalances the quads and the hamstrings, improves core strength, pelvis stability and articulation in the spine.
The swan dive - strengthens the core and strengthens & mobilises the spine.
Scissors - stabilises the pelvis, improves flexibility in hip flexors & hamstrings and strengthens the core.
Chest openers - stretches the pecs
The benefits of Pilates to cyclists:
Greater effectiveness of the pedal stroke
Increased upper body strength
Prevention of lower back painImproved balance
More efficient recovery of leg muscles
Better endurance through focused breathing
Correction of muscle imbalances
If that doesn’t sell Pilates to all the cyclists out there then I don’t know what will!
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