I’ve been cycling for decades. While I’m not a world class cyclist, I consider myself a strong cyclist. However, my increased strength hasn’t come without a cost. Although the repetitive motion of cycling has strengthened some muscles groups, it has also weakened others. As a result, overtime as my strength has increased, my flexibility has been decreasing.
In essence, it is the same reason cyclists have skinny arms. While our sport helps to develop strong calf, thigh and glut muscles, it doesn’t work the biceps and triceps nearly as much. But it doesn’t end there, our whole muscle structure is impacted by cycling both in a positive and negative way.
The first step to resolving the negative impact of cycling on the body is to identify the problem. To help me identify the negative impact of cycling on my body, I started with three private sessions with a yoga instructor. The first session was to evaluate my flexibility. While this approach is a bit more expensive than simply starting yoga classes, I was hoping it would pay off by having the yoga instructor develop a yoga routine that would target my cycling specific problem areas.
Ken Whittaker