03/13/2021
Itās bike season! *DING DING* And, if you donāt have a bike or havenāt gotten one yet I suggest you do so immediately! Rumour has it the supply chain is having a hard time keeping up with bike sales and the stores may soon be out of them. No joking! Check out B&P Cycle quickly!
If you are one of the lucky ones to have a bike hereās a few tips you may want to be aware of. We all know the saying, āeasy as riding a bikeā. Well, easy yesā¦until your neck is suspiciously sore or your knees or (butt, lol, but(!) there are bike shorts designed to help with this particular problem.š).
Most bike stores will help you set up your bike. But remember, this is usually a static posture. Once we start moving things change. We get more focused on moving ahead and start to pay less attention to our posture and āhowā we are moving forward (kind of like life I suppose, but thatās a totally different topic!).
Try this when you hop on your bike next time. Place your hands on the handlebars. Notice where your hands are in relation to your wrist/arm. Are your hands at an angle to your arms? Hold on with your first finger and thumb wrapped around the grip. What happened to your shoulders? You might feel your shoulders creep towards your ears (internal rotation). This is going to put a lot of extra pressure around your upper traps and neck. The next thing that will happen is you need to see ahead (of course!) so you tip your head back. Now can you feel the pressure at the back of your neck? Not so bad if itās only for a minute or two but can you imagine what that is doing to the muscles and vertebrae at the back of your neck over the length of your bike ride? We try to soften that tension by shrugging our shouldersā¦which is exactly what got is in this neck jam in the first place!
Now try this. Try to align your wrist and hand in line with the rest of your arm. With your hands wrapped on the grip, gently open the front of your chest and now think about gently engaging your pinkie finger in this grip. This will help engage your serratus/teres/lat muscles (the under arm/back muscles). Can you feel your shoulders glide down ever so gently and feel the slight engagement of the muscles under your arms? Perfect! Now your shoulder blades are supported which will allow your thoracic spine (upper back) to have more movement. (I love this stuff!) Instead of tipping your head back, think about the top of your head reaching up at the same angle as your spine. Try to bring your ears over your shoulders and now you can look forward/ahead without all that extra tension. Do we really need more tension??
Well, that covers neck and shoulders. Stay tuned for knees/hips and stretches in another post!
Wear your helmet, use your bell and ENJOY YOUR RIDE!
Cheers!
Brooke
Note: These tips are meant for weekend warrior bikers. If you are a competitive/long-trek biker I am happy to recommend a professional cyclist/bike fitter/Pilates Instructor/Physiotherapist who can help you navigate proper technique depending on your exact needs.
