Yoga for Cycling
I am thrilled to be working with the US Pro Cycling team today. As a lifelong athlete and sports fanatic, I love witnessing other athletes discover the power of yoga to tap into their greatest potential. Yoga works on two levels for an athlete: first, it helps restore and balance the body by undoing the damage of repetitive motion inherent in any sport; second, it helps an athlete tap into “the zone” mentally.
Today, as I work with the cycling team, we’ll primarily focus on the first issue. Cycling is a highly repetitive motion. Think about it – the entire time you are on the bike, your body is in one position, with your knees bent, hips repeatedly flexing to pull the pedals up and push them down.
Here, “flexing” describes the action of shortening a muscle or joint angle. This image shows the primary muscles involved, most notably the psoas and the iliacus (commonly known as the hip flexor).
When you cycle, these muscles are constantly in a “flexed” position. They are never “extended,” meaning they never stretch the opposite direction for more than 90 degrees. What do you think happens to a muscle that is always flexed and never extended?
It shortens. In cyclists, “tight” hips is a common problem. In fact, the motion can lead to tendonitis of the hip or even a stress fracture.We’ll work on stretching out the muscles of the hip to undo the damage of repetitive motion. Here are some of my favorite hip stretches in yoga:
Lizard Pose - Hold 3-5 minutes
Dragon Pose - Hold for 3-5 minutes
It is also a good idea for a cyclist to stretch the quads with a pose like vajrasana, gluteus minimus (upper butt/outer hip) with pigeon or gomukasana, and lower abdominals with bridge or wheel pose. In each pose, the cyclist is re-lengthening the muscles that have been shortened by repetitive motion.
Another great tip is for the cyclist to choose exercises that extend the hips on days off. For example, running or using an elliptical machine would not be a good choice since they also flex the hip. I’m partial of course, but I would recommend a yoga class on off days for any cyclist looking to conquer chronic pain in the hips or upper legs.
Before and after a day of cycling, you may not have the time to dedicate to fully stretching. Try this: every morning, perform classical sun salutations. These are designed to fully extend the whole body in a quick stretch. Try doing 3-5 rounds. Here’s a video to help:
If you are interested in learning more about addressing sports injuries with yoga, look into my Yoga for Athletes program this September!
