Guru of Gears: Mountain bike champ and EO contributing editor, Sonya Looney, gets her Asana on at Yogapod in Boulder. Photo: Cameron Martindell/offyonder.com
“I’m just not that flexible.” Sound familiar? It’s a fact that most cyclists do not dedicate enough time to the restorative parts of training like stretching. Most bike fitters have to compensate for cyclists’ tight hips and hamstrings. Consider this: by improving flexibility through stretching, you’ll gain more power on the bike from increased range of motion. My preferred method is yoga. It can be overwhelming at first, with difficult poses, Sanskrit names and the Namaste culture. But you don’t need any of that if you don’t want it—you can stretch in yoga poses in the comfort of your own home. Here are my five essential poses. All you need is 15 minutes. You can even wear your kit.
Floor Figure Four
Lie on your back on the floor, bend one knee and cross your opposite ankle over it. Feed your arms through the “4” shape of your leg and grab the thigh behind the bent knee, hold.
Target: Hips and hamstrings. Cyclists spend hours leaning forward on the bike causing hip flexors to shorten. Figure four counteracts that effect.
Up Dog
Lie flat on your stomach, press your palms into the ground at your armpits and raise your upper body. Engage your core, don’t collapse it, and hold. On the bike, think of rolling your shoulders down your back while you ride.
Target: Shoulders and mid-back. Cyclists naturally hunch on the bike. Without stretching, the shoulders round forward and the mid-back muscles over-lengthen resulting in pain in the shoulders and traps, and a collapsed chest. An up dog posture on the bike will increase lung capacity.
Reclining Bound Angle
Lie on your back on the floor, bend both knees and open the legs by putting the soles of your feet together, hold. If it’s overly uncomfortable, place folded blankets under both knees for support.
Target: Inner thighs, groin. Cycling is very two-dimensional and the repetitive motion can cause an over- tightening of the upper leg muscles. This pose releases and rebalances.
Cow Face Pose
Sit on your knees on the floor like a samurai. Cross one knee over top of the other and sit back on the floor, or on a blanket, depending on flexibility. Place your hands on your ankles and hold. Switch sides.
Target: Hips, thighs, chest. The chest is rarely lengthened on the bike due to the nature of the handlebar position, which restricts breathing and can decrease essential oxygen intake.
Seated Twist
Sit on the floor with both legs straight out in front of you. Bend your left knee, bring your right elbow to the outside of your left knee and twist, keeping your spine straight.
Target: Hips and sides opening the sides of your torso will help increase lung capacity on the bike.
