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Longevity on the Bike: Creating Balance in an Inherently Repetitive Sport

Longevity on the Bike

In this format, when I’ve never met you, never heard about your movement experiences and never seen you move I have to make some general assumptions about how cycling has, or potentially will, impact your body. These assumptions are based on my experiences, those of my cycling students and the more general cycling posture paired with the repetitive action of cycling which can create some pretty striking muscular imbalances, postural misalignments, and aches and pains over time. Taking this all into account, this 5-part series for longevity on the bike will address 5 themes:

  1. Thoracic Mobility in all Planes
  2. Forward Shoulder Posture and Neck Pain
  3. Hip Hinge – Neutral Spine/Core and Hamstring/Glute Strength
  4. Hip Mobility and Strength in all Planes
  5. Finding End Range Hip Extension – Balance of Ab, Psoas and Glute/Hamstring Strength

 

Thoracic Mobility in All Planes

Today we will focus on #1… “Thoracic Mobility in all Planes”.

First, the thoracic spine (mid and upper back) mobilizes in 5 directions:

  1. Rotation
  2. Lateral flexion (side bend)
  3. Flexion
  4. Extension
  5. Elongation/Decompression

 

What We Want to Do

On the bike the thoracic spine is static, held in a forward fold (flexed) position to reach your handlebars. Sustaining this posture can create muscular imbalances and a general lack of thoracic mobility for many of us cyclists.

So, what do we do? Put simply we want to:

 1. Mobilize the thoracic spine to counter all those hours of stabilizing in a flexed position (we can do this through breathwork, mobilizing the scapula (shoulder blades) and the spine itself) 

Axial Mobility with Seated Thoracic Work

Scapular (Shoulder Blade) Mobility

2. Build awareness of compression in our spines when flexed forward (and then learn to elongate through pelvic floor, abdominal and spinal extensor engagement)

Spinal Flexion with Half Roll Back


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Greater Awareness

Likely, the movements in the above videos are not new to you, but I challenge you to move slowly, curiously and potentially uncover new sensations. The goal is to cultivate greater awareness of what’s happening within your own body to:

  1. Dissociate your thoracic spine from your lumbar (low) spine and pelvis as well as your cervical spine (neck)
  2. Evenly distribute mobility in all planes of movement (most of us have areas of greater tightness that will not mobilize easily, creating hypermobility in other areas of the spine)

Many Years to Come

My hope is you will incorporate this newfound awareness into other exercises or perform the fundamental exercises above as a “maintenance” plan, done daily, to help keep you on your bike for many years to come! This will help you increase your longevity on the bike. Additionally, learning to mobilize the thoracic spine and scapula more successfully will prepare you well for what comes next, tackling… “Forward Shoulder Posture and Neck Pain”.

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Lily Matson Run Tri Bike Contributor

Hi there! My name is Lily and I’m a Pilates Instructor and year-round bike commuter in Portland, OR. As much as I love Pilates as a movement system within itself, a lot of my Pilates practice serves the sole purpose of countering the muscular imbalances, tightness and postural misalignment that biking to work everyday creates in my own body. After years of teaching students who’ve stopped biking due to various chronic aches and pains caused by the sport, I feel incredibly passionate about sharing how Pilates can help facilitate support for bike commuters, long distance weekend riders and spin class fans!