COMING OUT OF A TUNNEL
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If your young, old, or in the middle and you stop and visit here please leave a comment if you are doing any counter exercises or stretching to enhance your bicycling I'd like to get an idea on what is working for you, or if you don't need to do anything but ride and lift a pint or two afterwards. Thank you.
Peace.
Dave
Mr. Bill my bik'n friend from down Linden Texas way, asked in my last post how my shoulders and other body parts were holding up. Awhile back I went through a serious bout of rotator cuff injuries, along with carpel tunnel flair ups, and general all around soreness and stiffness. I think it all started with several fly off the bikes banging down hard on ice and snow. So after a run with a chiropractor, a neurologist, who confirmed the nerve impingement in both wrists and a ortho doctor who confirmed the rotator cuff injuries I was given two heavy doses of shots of cortisone in each shoulder. In a few days that really got everything to flair down. So now I have become a believer in stretching and strength building exercises I try to do at least 5 times a week to help prevent these conditions. It doesn't take long about a half hour each of stretching and strength work. I found with 1000s of hours bicycling and not doing any counter stretching or exercising wasn't going to work on an old carcass my age. Particularly stretching the hams, and shoulders, and building some upper body strength. It's a pain in the butt for me, I can ride and enjoy 1000s hours of pedaling easily but strain at doing any stretching or stregth work. But I am trying to make this part of my routine, I need too. I need to keep pedaling and now some auxiliary body maintenance is needed.
Perhaps a bit about nothing for some here, but if your getting up age like me, Mr. Bill, Trevor, even that young looking DanO, and Tom the rocket guy up north and a bunch more I didn't mention give this stretching some consideration. Like I said, I'm feeling the best I have in a long time, and looking forward to building a real solid bicycling base.
If your young, old, or in the middle and you stop and visit here please leave a comment if you are doing any counter exercises or stretching to enhance your bicycling I'd like to get an idea on what is working for you, or if you don't need to do anything but ride and lift a pint or two afterwards. Thank you.
Peace.
Dave
9 comments:
I'm taking your advice and am going to start a routine of lifting a pint a day.
Thanks for the encouragement, and for calling me younger.
After our ride tonight, Bike man asked me if I had done my abdominal exercises....I said, sure honey (with a smile)....Not!!!!
I hear ya and I really need to get back to my weight training.
HA HA....... yup I just did two 12 oz. Curls with a couple Summit IPA's. Is that what you're getting at?? ;)
they make us stretch for 5-10 min. At work each morning........ I start at 5 a.m. and the 4 of us who are there.......always do our stretches!!! ;) ;)
On a serious note, yeah right, I usually take my 1st mile or two to stretch things out before I ride; enough? Probably not, but for now it'll do!!
Peace
I KNOW I need to do more strength training (especially core training), but haven't done a lot yet. Stronger core would make for less weight on the hands and less pressure on the shoulders, etc. That said, I do the following regularly: stretch during and after a ride, make use of a foam roller, visit my sports massage therapist, and visit my chiro.
I have gotten into the habit of stretching in bed every morning before I get up, and again in bed just before I go to sleep. Its Great! Give it a try. I push my heels down, one at a time and stretch my legs out and twirl my feet. It feels as though I grow a foot in length and helps (i think) to keep me more nimble - or rather - less cramped up!
Over the winter I was lifting weights a few times a week, alternating between upper and lower body. Early on in the season I switched that to upper body twice a week, but I haven't done any lifting in the last six weeks or so. I'll be getting back on track with that however since my rides are getting regularly longer and I feel it helps with fatigue. I'll also try to throw in some stretching routines since I don't have a lot of flexibility, but I haven't done much of that up until now.
I do nothing but ride - no weights, stretching, running - nada. Lame, I know. I really need to add some other activities into the mix.
Yeah, I can ride. But if I go for a decent hike, or use non-biking related muscles for anything else - I'm sore as hell the next day. Pitifully sore.
In the winter, after riding the trainer, I do some sit ups and push ups. I'll get something going eventually.
Does cutting the grass count? It is a push mower after all...
Godd advice MrDaveyGie, I try to do a few kettle bell exercises before and after a ride, and I do alot of stretching in bed.
I do an upper body/core routine including pull-ups, push-ups, and a few others (all bodyweight stuff) to strengthen myself for mountain biking and xc skiing. To combat some chronic lower back pain I do planks every night (haven't been to the Doc, but everything I read recommends them). I have never been into stretching, but it would probably help.
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