Bicycling
Bicycling
| Peak Points * Perfect your cycling form for maximum enjoyment and minimum injury. * Upper-body exercise can improve steering and maneuverability. * Wear a helmet. Always. |
Anyone who has bought a bicycle in the past eight years knows that the market has split into two camps: road cycling and mountain biking. Different mentalities, different bike styles, different pleasures, different goals. The road cyclist covers the miles, gets into a rhythm, a zone, and stays locked in, often for hours. He''s more like a runner. The mountain biker is into the thrill, the flight, the risk, the bursts of power. He''s more like a white-water rafter.
You can love one or the other or both. We take no stand over which is more fun. But what''s certain is that the fitness needs of the two differ. If you want to ride a bicycle to your peak level, you first must determine how exactly you want to ride your bike (or bikes).
"Figuring out the right program for you depends first on the type of cycling you like to do. If you''re strictly a road cyclist, you have issues of endurance and form to contend with," says Bill Strickland, contributing writer for Bicycling and Mountain Bike magazines, and co-author of several of the magazine''s books of cycling hints and tips. You''ll need a training program that emphasizes proper form while building up cardiovascular and lower-body power at the same time.
These are also important issues for mountain bikers. But because of the rough-and-tumble nature of off-road cycling, you''ll need to work extra-hard to develop the skills and reflexes necessary to surmount countless obstacles and trail hazards. You''ll also need to use equipment and conditioning techniques that will help minimize the pounding your body is bound to take on a mountain-bike trail.
"Cyclists used to think all they had to do for training was just ride their bicycle—a lot. But nowadays, no matter what type of bicycling they do, cyclists are seeing the value of strength training and conditioning off the bike. That''s what will help them ride better and avoid injury when they''re on the bike," says John Graham, director of the Human Performance Center at the Allentown Sports Medicine and Human Performance Center in Pennsylvania, and strength trainer of champion cyclist Marty Nothstein.
Taking It on the Road
For road cyclists, most of the pleasure of the sport comes from the exhilaration of getting into a good pedaling rhythm and just cranking down the road. Whether you''re joyriding or competing, the only way to find that rhythm, maintain a good speed and keep your body in cycling trim is to get out there at least two or three times per week.
The more you bike, the more natural you feel doing it. That said, it''s always wise to pay attention to form. Improper body alignment—and improper bike settings, for that matter—hurt performance. If you have any doubts about your form, check it against these specifications. With a few basic tools, you can make these adjustments yourself.
1. Handlebars: The top of your handlebar stem should be about one inch below the top of your bike saddle. As you get more experienced, you can lower the handlebars a little bit more—the lower you can go, the more aerodynamic your cycling form.
Make sure your handlebars are shoulder-width apart. Also, the bottom part of the handlebars should be level or pointed slightly down toward the rear-wheel hub.
2. Brakes: Brake levers should be positioned so your wrists are straight when you grasp the levers.
3. Top tube/stem length: To make sure your tube and stem length are correct, sit on the saddle and put your hands on the brake hoods (the tops of the brake levers). Look down. Can you see the hub of the front wheel? If yes, move slightly forward or backward until the handlebar blocks your view of the hub.
4. Saddle: Your saddle should be level or pointed slightly up at the tip. To determine proper saddle height, pedal a few strokes. If your knees are slightly bent at the very bottom of the stroke, your height is good. Never put the saddle so high that your knees lock.
5. Knee-over-pedal: When your pedals are level, check your forward leg. The bony part just below your knee should be directly over the middle or axle of the forward pedal. If it''s not, adjust the saddle forward or backward slightly until you get it right.
6. Frame: To make sure you have the right size frame, straddle the bicycle. There should be two to three inches clearance between the top tube and your crotch. Another guide is to check your seat post. Assuming your saddle height is correct, roughly four to five inches of the post should be visible. If you can see more than five inches of post, chances are your bike''s frame is too small.
7. Feet: The widest part of your feet should be directly over the axles of the pedal. When pedaling, the angle of your feet should be natural—if it isn''t, adjust the cleats.
8. Crankarm: To know the proper size crankarm for you, you''ll need to know your inseam. As a rule of thumb, if your inseam is less than 29 inches, use 165mm crankarms; from 29 to 32 inches, use 170mm; 32 to 34, 172.5mm; anything more than 34 inches, 175mm.
Here are other tips for peak road-cycling performance.
Find your cadence.Pedaling fast and well is the absolute basis of powerful cycling. The trick is maintaining a consistent, even, speedy cadence—or leg speed—throughout a ride. Elite cyclists try to maintain a cadence where they are "spinning," a cadence that falls between 80 and 110 revolutions per minute (rpm). If you''re training to be a fast road cyclist, you should work to get your cadence up to those levels, too.
Casual riders only need to keep their cadence to around 50 rpm—keep that number firmly in mind as your training minimum. To determine your cadence, you can either hop on a stationary cycle with an rpm register, or simply count the number of times your right foot comes to the top of your pedal stroke. Do this for 30 seconds, then multiply the number you get by two. That''s your cadence.
Each week, work to increase your cadence by at least 10 rpm, until you find a rhythm that works for you. "Optimal cadence is a matter of personal preference and varies with terrain. Cadence decreases going up hills, for instance. Most accomplished cyclists keep their cadence in the 60 to 90 rpm range," says Don Cuerdon, senior writer of Mountain Bike magazine, and better known in the mountain-bike community as "Captain Dondo."
Stay narrow. The more your elbows and knees wing out away from your body, the more drag you''ll create, and the slower you''ll go. Instead, make a point of keeping your elbows tucked in as you ride, says Strickland. And if your knees are bowing out every time you pedal, take a look at your seat height—chances are it''s too low for you.
Get flat. Even amateur cyclists know they should try to ride as low in the saddle as possible. Even though you feel like you''re riding low, chances are you have an arch in your back, and that hump will make you less aerodynamic.
Practice flattening out your back and making adjustments in your form to make you even flatter, says Strickland. For example, rotating your hips forward in the saddle can help you straighten out and fly right. If you have an indoor wind-trainer or stationary cycle, set it up in front of a mirror. Or get someone to watch you on your bike. The point is to examine your form—are you doing all you can to keep your back flat and straight?
Don''t stand for it. When you come upon a steep hill, the natural temptation is to immediately stand up in the saddle and crank furiously until you''re over the top. The problem is that this position causes your heart rate to go way up, and you end up burning energy you might need later in the ride.
Instead, make a conscious effort to stay seated as long as possible. Switch to a lower gear if you have to, but keep your butt planted in the seat. Eventually, you may have to stand. "The point is not to make it an instinctive response—''Here''s a hill; I have to stand up now.'' The longer you wait, the more power you conserve," says Cuerdon. Practice this often enough and you may find you won''t need to stand up at all to take most hills.
Use the big gears. One tip cycling coaches recommend is deliberately cycling in the lower or bigger gears. This increases the resistance when you''re pedaling and gives your legs a great workout. If you''re going down a hill, don''t shift to a higher gear. Stay in the big gear and pedal as fast as possible—it''s a good speed-training technique, says Strickland.
Cycling Essentials Hey, you on the bike! Don''t you dare pedal another inch without making sure you have these velo vitals, says Don Cuerdon, senior writer of Mountain Bike magazine, and better known in the mountain bike community as "Captain Dondo." * Helmet. Most fatal or crippling cycling injuries are the result of not wearing a bicycle helmet. Need we say more? "There''s no excuse for not wearing a helmet, especially if you''re going mountain biking," says Cuerdon. For around $25, you can buy a basic helmet and look smart. For around $100, you can buy the latest, aerodynamic, shock-resistant helmet and look smart and cool. "Did I mention there''s no excuse for not wearing a helmet?" asks Cuerdon. * First-aid kit. Skid on pavement or down a rocky slope even one time, and thereafter you''ll be convinced of the need for a few medical necessities. Carry a few large adhesive strips, or a small roll of gauze and some waterproof adhesive tape. Also carry some antiseptic wipes, which are especially handy for cleaning out dirt and crud in cases of "road rash," if you''re luckless enough to take a spill. * Patch kit. Put enough miles on your bike and you''re bound to suffer a flat. "Murphy''s Law of Cycling absolutely dictates that will happen at the moment you are absolutely the farthest away from civilization," says Cuerdon. A patch kit will at least help you cope with the most obvious punctures. If you do mountain biking with any regularity, consider carrying a spare tube—insurance against the kind of off-road rips no patch kit can cure. * Bicycle pump. The patch kit is useless without it. * Water bottle. Feeling the coolness of the breeze against your skin may make you forget that you''re sweating up a storm with all that pedaling. Be sure to carry at least one filled water bottle with you. Drink from it often—at least every 10 to 15 minutes. * Snack. When you''re cycling, you are your own engine—don''t be caught in the middle of nowhere when you run out of fuel. Instead, bring your own, in the form of a sports bar, fig bars or even fruit. * Cash. In case you forgot to bring a snack, a few bills tucked into a sock or sleeve could come in mighty handy. At the very least, carry a couple of quarters so if you or your bike gets hurt, you can call for a ride home. Assuming you can find a pay phone five miles from the trailhead, of course. |
Proper Descent Techniques
For better control, squeeze the saddle with your thighs, and pump the brakes—don''t jam on them.
For maximum balance, extend your arms and slide your butt off the back end of the saddle.
Success on the Mountain
You don''t need to be very streamlined on a mountain bike, but you sure need good form. "In mountain biking, good form means getting to the bottom of the hill in one piece," says Cuerdon.
That means building sharp reflexes and plenty of upper-body strength to help you steer the bike over outrageous obstacles. Good lower-body and cardiovascular power, meanwhile, will enable you to enjoy many hours of churning up and down hills and up and over logs, stumps and rocks. Here are a few wise words to help you accomplish all these goals.
Be a part-time roadie. Although some die-hard mountain bikers look down their nose at road cycling, doing so robs them of a great cardiovascular workout. "There''s nothing wrong with taking your mountain bike out on pavement. Road cycling helps train your heart and lungs better. Believe me, that will come in handy when you''re out in the woods trying to make it up a good, steep, crumbling hill," says Cuerdon.
Develop foresight. A mountain-bike trail is absolutely studded with obstacles. "It wouldn''t be a mountain-bike trail—and it wouldn''t be fun—if it wasn''t," says Cuerdon. What''s not fun is hitting a rock or root and doing an endo—short for "end over end"—because you weren''t prepared for it.
This most often happens because you overfocus on one object—the one right in front of you—and not enough on the rest of the trail. So work to widen your vision. Train yourself to see all the potential pitfalls on the next several feet of the trail—not just what''s about to go under your wheel. "The trick is to see the log just ahead as well as the rocks two feet beyond that and the roots five feet beyond that," says Cuerdon.
Use the granny gear. When you''re trying to crank up a hill, don''t be afraid to shift up to the smallest front gear, also known as the granny.
"I think the name makes guys shy away from it. But it''s there for a reason—to make your life easier. Go ahead and use it," says Cuerdon. As you climb, lean forward, almost putting your chest to the handlebars. This will make your climb easier.
Stay padded. In mountain biking, you might take harder knocks than you did in high school football—and you wore a lot more padding in football. To protect against some of the most common mountain-bike traumas, wear padded gloves and some sort of padding for your nether regions. "You don''t have to be one of the shiny blue people, wearing those skin-tight, padded cycling shorts," says Cuerdon. If you want to be more discrete, you can buy padded underwearlike liners for your usual shorts. "Your butt will thank you," says Cuerdon.
Descend smartly. You''re going down a steep hill, your speed''s picking up, the bike''s bouncing on rocks and sticks. Unless you learn how to control your descent, you might end up paying a steep price. Here''s what to do, according to our experts.
Make sure your bike is in a high gear and pointed in the general direction of where you want to go. As you start downhill, don''t let your weight slide forward—if you hit a big rut, you''ll go flying. Instead, extend your arms and slide your butt back off the back end of the saddle. Keep your pedals parallel to the ground to avoid catching them on low obstacles.
For better control, squeeze the saddle with your thighs and pump the brakes—relying mostly on your front brake. Don''t jam on them. When you get to the bottom of the hill, resume your normal position and start cranking.
Strength Training for Cyclists
Whether you''re a road cyclist or a mountain biker, your workout is going to be pretty much the same.
"Cycling is universally hard on the legs and lower back. But because you''re using your upper body to steer and help control the bike, you''ll also want to pay attention to muscles there—that''s something a lot of cyclists forget," says Graham.
The Core Routine on page 121 should help you keep a proper fitness balance between your upper and lower body. Meanwhile, to target your cycling muscles exclusively, include the following exercises in your workout, says Graham.
Arm Exercises
Whether you''re bumping down a long, rough mountain or tugging on those handlebars as you climb a steep hill in the road, you''re going to need strong arms to handle the job. "Barbell and dumbbell curls will strengthen the biceps, but don''t forget the triceps for muscle balance and stabilization," Graham says. He recommends overhead triceps extensions. Also do wrist and forearm exercises, such as wrist curls and reverse wrist curls, to give you plenty of strength and endurance to keep the bike stable.
Rows
Along with your arms, your upper back is going to help you pull up on the handlebars when you''re climbing; it also absorbs plenty of shock during a ride. One-arm dumbbell rows and bent-over rows will enhance muscle strength and endurance for the upper back.
Leg Exercises
Yeah, you''d think pedaling over hill and dale would be exercise enough for the legs. Don''t believe it, says Graham. "Cycling really works the quads and the muscles on the outside of the thighs. The rest of the leg muscles don''t get as much benefit." That''s bad—it can lead to a strength imbalance in the leg muscles, which could in turn lead to a serious muscle injury that could take you out of the saddle for several weeks.
Focus on building well-rounded leg strength. Perform squats, leg presses and leg curls to ensure proper balance between the quadriceps and opposing hamstring muscles. Also, to strengthen your inner- and outer-thigh muscles, do some abductor and adductor lifts, either lying on the floor or using a cable machine.
When to Exercise
If you''re the least bit competitive in your cycling—or you want to be—you need to partition your workouts according to the cycling season, off-season and pre-season.
Traditionally, the off-season, which runs October to January, is your time to focus on weight training. Do it three to four days a week. Keep your cycling muscles limber on a stationary bike or wind-trainer—use that as a warm-up or aerobic workout.
Long about February, you''ll start to move into the pre-season phase. Here, Graham suggests riding more and cutting back weight training to two to three times a week. "Don''t go easy on those days. Keep up the intensity of your weight training," he admonishes.
By April, you''ll be getting into prime cycling season, and most of your exercise time will probably be devoted to riding. Don''t abandon weight training, though. Graham recommends continuing to lift two days a week throughout the season. That should be enough to maintain your muscle until you get back into the off-season again.
