If you love cycling, you should be doing Pilates
When I took up cycling approximately 15 years ago or so it was my primary athletic activity. I started like you always do, with shorter rides and working up toward century rides. One of the things I noticed was that after a while on the bike, in addition to the pain in my butt, my neck and shoulders would get very achy. I attributed that to not being used to holding my body in the cycling position, and figured it would go away with time. While the pain in the butt got better with more saddle time, after a long ride I would still have an achy neck. I also felt that while my legs got a lot of work, I really wanted to find something that would work on my core. Approximately 11 years ago I started Pilates, and I’ve never looked back.
If you are an avid cyclist, you probably know that cycling requires core strength but does nothing to build it. Practicing Pilates not only builds core strength, but also helps with muscle tightness and imbalances that can affect your cycling performance. Foundational Pilates exercises such as the hundred, the stomach series, and the teaser develop a strong connection to the center, “core” of your body. The core work of Pilates requires conscious movements with an emphasis on the quality rather than the quantity of movement. Pilates exercises work the deep muscles that stabilize your spine. Having a strong core means that when you’re on the bike, your energy can be channeled into turning the pedals and propelling the bike forward, reducing the rocking of our bodies side-to-side.
A strong core helps to reduce fatigue in your arms and shoulders because you don’t have to depend solely on them to hold up your spine. My sore neck? Pilates exercises that help with spine mobility, as well as neck strengthening exercises, have helped reduce the amount of discomfort I feel in my neck from the cycling position. While I never suffered from much lower back pain while cycling, this is a common problem, and developing a strong core can help reduce or even eliminate back pain from cycling. Pilates helps to strengthen as well as improve flexibility in your hip muscles, focuses on postural alignment, and this, combined with the core strengthening, helps you maintain strong form on the bike.
I have found Pilates to be a great complement to cycling. My husband also started Pilates a few years ago and he credits it with increased power he has experienced while cycling.
If you’re ready to add Pilates to your cycling life, send me an email or give me a call to get started!
P.S. Yes, that sign in the photo says 25%! A friend snapped a photo as I reached the top of that climb—the only thing that kept me going was fear of tumbling back down the hill! My legs were jelly when I got to the top.