Those of you riding on some kind of trainer through the cold months, this is a great time to think about your “form” on the bike.
It’s easy to get sloppy when riding a trainer that locks you into place. How you ride this winter will influence how you position yourself on the bike when the weather warms and you get back outside. Those of you who ride in the cold weather, well, kudos to you but you might also want to think about form as well.
You all know I am a big proponent of cadence, 80 rpm+ while riding. Power/speed/distance traveled in a reasonable amount of time is a function of how much power you generate and guess what, power equals pressure on the pedals x cadence. The faster you spin, with the same pressure, the more power you generate and then speed, etc. increase. Lower cadence has its place; long arduous climbs is one pf those places. To consistently spin at higher cadences, you will task your aerobic systems, and it may take a while to start to feel comfortable at a higher cadence and the resulting higher HR. The increased ability to “spin” benefits your aerobic base as well as increasing power/watts.
Riding a trainer and if you are riding in our Zoom trainer session window, or at home with a mirror, can help you understand all your body to bike contacts as well. Where are your hands, do you need to have your hands in a position that allows you to sit more upright? Are you trying to get low and “aero”? If you extend your hands onto bar positions like in the drops or on the hoods and you can’t hold that position, or you are riding with your hands in a position that allows your wrists to be at a significant angle, do your hands get “numb” while riding in or outside, maybe you should evaluate your bike fit. Is your stem length proper, your saddle height and for/aft position, reach and drop, correct? With your bike in a stand, you can sample positions and ability to hold those positions for extended times at a desired intensity. This is a great time to adjust to a more efficient and comfortable position.
Upper body thoughts, when your ride outside on a non-electric bike, does your body rock from side to side while riding at an easy intensity. I see that often when riding a stationary bike. Seems like a lot of extra energy that doesn’t propel you forward. If you were a sprinter, riding at max effort, your bike may be moving side to side under you, not your upper body moving side to side. If you are rocking, maybe your saddle height needs to be evaluated. You may be reaching for BDC (Bottom Dead Center) of the pedal revolution. I would like to think the idea of riding a bike is to move forward in space not side to side.
Let’s talk about your shoulders. If you are riding a bike and your shoulders look like a Minnesotan walking around in minus 20 degrees F, that is, they are bunched up around your ears, your form may be off. You’ve got back muscles that can pull those shoulders down, or just plain relax the tension and you might be able to breathe better as a bonus.
Flexibility, we hear the word all the time, what does it mean related to biking? I’m not a physio or a trained bike fitter but I do know that on a bike, and generally in life, pain free freedom of movement in most cases is a desirable thing. As we age, we tend to neglect practices like dynamic and static stretching, time for things like Yoga, Pilates, Alexander technique among lots of other routines that facilitate movement, on and off the bike. Taking time to do short practice sessions that work on flexibility might be a good goal, 10 minutes or so before bed or pick another time that allows 10-15 minutes to work on that nagging inability to raise your arms fully vertical while standing, carefully doing hand toe touches, joint rolls, the effort doesn’t have to be monumental, just easy, relaxed efforts that will pay big dividends in life and life on a bike.
Whatever your position, upright, slightly forward or full aero, riding indoors can allow you to evaluate your core strength. If looked at from the side while riding, is your back collapsed or is it supported and strong allowing you to breathe properly to support your efforts. Google pelvic tilt, you could find that position helpful. As we age and if we don’t do some kind of core work, yoga, etc. we will just droop even more and reduce to chance for enjoying your rides.
The new year is about here and as you ride indoors, it’s time to think about bike position and work on how you will adjust to feel the best you can be once the weather gets warm enough for most of us to get back out there.