Off the Bike Training
Free weights, machines, Yoga, Pilates, Kettlebells...which is best for a cyclist? Do any of them work?
The answers are 1. they all can be effective depending upon individual needs and 2. they all can work or be quite detrimental depending upon who supervising the training (and I hope it is supervised!)
For starters, you must have a proper initial evaluation, commonly called a functional movement screen, to determine your muscle imbalances, i.e. muscle weakness and muscle inflexibility. The next step is to determine why these problems exist. Is it trigger points/scar tissue binding these areas and preventing movement and proper neural flow, is joint dysfunction adding to the problem, is it your daily posture and lack of proper ergonomics? Once these areas are detected and the problems uncovered an off the bike training program can be designed to improve performance and prevent injury.
What makes CycleLifeUSA so unique is that after I perform this evaluation, I work closely with Colin Shah (our Director of Fitness Training) and Josh Frick (our Bike Fit expert) to write a proper off the bike training program that will address your specific needs. Balancing your body will pay big dividends as you will notice a big improvement in your cycling.
The next several posts will address the specifics of this type of program. Stay tuned..............