THE BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR CYCLING.
Before entering the world of Yoga for Cycling and its benefits, let's answer a few questions:
What exactly is yoga?
In short, it's tougher than it looks. This ancient practice (it dates back to sometime around the 5th Century BC) was traditionally used throughout Asia to improve physical, mental and spiritual discipline. Today, more and more athletes employ it to improve core strength and flexibility with great effect, making it an ideal complementary exercise for cyclists.
How does it work?
Usually performed privately for the experienced, or in a studio with an instructor and a class, which typically last from 45 minutes to an hour. Perfect if you want to put your lunch breaks to good use. We were lucky enough to get a one-to-one session with our lovely instructor Nikita Akilapa. With a multitude of difficulty levels, it’s key that you’re honest about your abilities. Don’t assume this stuff’s easy – it isn’t!
Why is yoga particularly useful for road cyclists?
Yoga can really help to relieve the physical niggles that come with cycling – from tight hamstrings, calves and thighs, to lower back discomfort and shoulder pain. Not only does it help repair pain-afflicted areas, it protects your body by making it stronger. It helps mobilise the joints and strengthen the muscles around the joints to keep the joints safe. For young cyclists looking to get more serious about cycling, it’s a great way to improve your form on a bike. For veteran riders, it can undo the harm done by years of hard riding and the pain that all too often results.
What are the other benefits?
A big aspect of yoga is controlling your breathing, so you get more out of every breath. By breathing more efficiently you’ll improve your body’s ability to transport oxygen to your muscles. For many, yoga is also a form of meditation and can actually help you to relax your body and de-stress. In this sense it’s not dissimilar to cycling, meaning you’ll be able to find your Zen both in and out of the saddle.
- Improved Core Strength
The core, as defined by a physical therapist and medical professionals alike, includes 35 different muscles that connect the pelvis from the spine to the hips. Musculature includes (1) back extensors; (2) abdominals; (3) lateral trunk muscles; (4) hip muscles. With this amount of musculature, it’s a super important area of strength and stability –, especially for cyclists.
A strong core enables cyclists to maintain proper spinal alignment and posture – even when fatigue starts to set in on a long ride.
Yoga is a great way to improve postural alignment and functional core strength. Many of the fundamental asana poses are rooted in developing inner-abdominal pressure while maintaining neutral spinal alignment. This is beneficial to cyclists as it decreases the pressure on the shoulders and wrists that comes with riding postures.
A strong core is also beneficial as it decreases the risk of lower back injuries. Lower back pain is a common challenge amongst cyclists, especially those who spend long hours in the saddle, and this is often the result of poor core engagement and postural support.
- Improved Neutral Spine While Ridding
The back was not designed to be held in flexion for long periods of time, yet this is exactly what cycling requires from it. The position causes the supporting ligaments to become overstretched and weakened, and excess pressure to build on the intervertebral discs. This can lead to pain in the upper and lower back, shoulders, and neck.
Yoga poses that help realigns the neutral spine position, like Mountain, are beneficial to riders by providing a sense of spinal alignment both on and off the bike. Those poses that focus on the wide range of movements in the spine allow the back to become suppler and improves pelvic tilt position used to engage the core during correct cycling positions. Increased flexibility in the hips, glutes, and hamstrings also improves riding posture.
A common challenge of cyclists is to not fall victim to an excessive amount of upper body kyphosis due to excessive hours on the bike, sitting at computers, and using cell phones. This posture over time when riding causes cyclists to strain their neck to look at the road, resulting in pain in the lower back, upper back, shoulders, and neck.
- Increased focus and lower levels of tension
Physical, emotional and mental tension from the demands of life and poor riding postures drains energy. For cyclists, this has an impact on pedal efficiency and form. A lack of mental focus or too high-stress levels can decrease a riders ability to push optimal power levels. This makes a ride that may have previously been easy, seem incredibly challenging.
Yoga sessions can do wonders to increase mental acuity, decrease stress, and reduce the negative impact of muscular tension on the body. Whether it’s through a purposeful focus on breathing, the use of a mantra, or simply the calming nature of the practice, yoga sessions will improve cyclists focus on the bike.
- Reduced Risk of Injury
When yoga flows are used as a means of “prehab” training, common injuries in the back and legs are less likely to occur. Because yoga approaches movement from a place of balancing the common imbalances experienced in riding can be addressed and improved.
In cycling the leg never reaches full extension, thus giving the hamstrings little opportunity to fully lengthen. Over time this reduces the elasticity of the hamstrings and puts it at greater risk of strains and tears. Poses such as Standing Forward Fold aim to increase the flexibility of the hamstrings for riders.
As discussed above, improving core strength decreases the pressure placed on wrists while riding and improves neck and shoulder pain.
- More Efficient Breathing
The yoga breath is slow, controlled, and asks the breather to focus inward. This type of breathing is the opposite of the rapid breath taken by many athletes during higher intensity bouts of exercise. The ability to slow the breath down and focus inward at will allows participants to feel release from tension and control over their actions.
The ability to breathe better makes cyclists more efficient in their performance and allows quicker and more controlled to recover after hills and other high-intensity riding elements.
Individuals unfamiliar with focusing on their breath may find this portion of a yoga practice challenging and forgo its importance. However, professional athletes are known to have major connections to movement and breath. Cyclists, for example, are known to inhale and exhale with the cadence of their legs, ultimately controlling their breath versus letting the work control their breathing. This is especially important during challenging hill climbs, sprints, or accelerations.
Here are 6 exercises that every cyclist should practise regularly 3 to 4 times a week. Whether you are road cyclists, track cyclists, mtbiker, endurance rider, gravel bikepacker..these exercises will help your body to recover faster and stay healthy.
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