I was talking with a friend the other day who is an elite athlete – yes if you think I am talking about YOU, I am. It got me thinking that aren’t we all elite athletes? If we are out there jogging on a regular basis, riding out bikes whether it be a Charity Ride or a Race, swimming any type of distance; we are elite athletes. As such our body needs maintenance.
My friend was telling me about back pain which seems to me is becoming chronic and I realize that it is just too important to do Foundation or Grounding exercises to maintain a happy and healthy body as well as a prevention for injuries. The natural return argument is “I don’t have the time” but if you take the time you will perform that much better. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people not getting out of the saddle for a sprint in a crit because their back hurts or their leg is about to seize. I have seen bike riders get off their bikes during a race just to make themselves comfortable.
A daily exercise routine need not take a lot of time and can be as simple as adding 5 or 8 exercises each morning:
Heel Slides
Bridging
Knee Folds
Knees Side to Side
Chest Lifts
Chest Lifts with Rotation
Side Leg Lifts
Back Extension
These exercises are simple, but they can also be varied to accommodate your needs. Lets do a break down
Heel Slides:
Lie on your back with both knees bent, otherwise relaxed. Straighten one leg along the floor. Pull back on your foot as much as you can (Dorsi Flexion). Now drag your heel along the floor bringing the knee as deep into flexion as you can, then press the heel out getting the leg as straight as you can along the floor. I like to use the image of digging a trench with your heel. Repeat 5 times then do the other leg. The whole time check in with your pelvis that it is staying absolutely still, this requires stabilizing with the abdominals.
The focus here is to drag the heel in with your hamstrings (back of the leg) and use the same muscle to push it back out. When the leg is extended you should feel the quad (front of the leg) fire.
Bridging:
Lie on your back in the Hook Lying Position. Knees bent, hip width apart – feet flat on the floor also hip width. Establish neutral pelvis and engage core: There are a number of cues to engage core, I like to think of Kathleen Stanford Grants Song. Now you can either push into the feel to lift your hips or you can tuck the pelvis and articulate your spine off the floor, hold 5 seconds then roll back down. The focus is your core, hamstrings, inner and outer thighs and the core muscles of the spine. This is a big help for those that are experiencing back pain.
Knee Folds:
Start in Hook Lying Position: Exhale and lift one leg off the floor, inhale lower it back down – Repeat 5 times then switch to other leg
Alternating Knee Folds or Marches: Exhale lift one leg, inhale with no movement and on the exhale change legs – Repeat 5 times.
Knees Side to Side
Hold the knees over the hips in a table top position. On an inhale let the legs rotate from the waist to one side, use the exhale to draw the legs back to center. Alternate side to side – Repeat 5 times
Chest Lifts
Interlace the fingers behind the head: with an exhale lengthen through the crown of the head and focus on using the abs to float the chest up. Careful to maintain your posture as you lengthen the head to keep the focus on lifting with the abs and not using the neck. Repeat 5 times
Chest Lifts with Rotation
Stay lifted on the last Chest Lift. Now as you inhale visualize the air going into one lung lifting that side and generating a rotation to the other side. Exhale as you draw the abs to the center and repeat to the other side. An inhalation facilitates a rotation – you should twist better. Repeat 5 times to each side.
Side Leg Lifts: Follow Link for a video——> Leg Lifts and Leg Changes
Lie on your side maintaining neutral posture. On an exhale engage core and lengthen and lift both legs from the floor – the work is your abdominals top side. – Repeat 5 times, then roll over and do the other side.
Back Extension
Lying on your belly hands by your side, on an inhale slide the shoulders down the back and lift your shoulders, neck and head from the floor, exhale as you come back down. REpeat 5 times.
Childs pose: Finish with a rest.
Some of these exercises you may need instruction from a teacher, but once you have the basics you should have no problem performing the exercises on your own. Once you are down with it you should get through the routine in about 12 to 15 minutes. A small price to have a healthy back and strong core. Please realize that this is designed as a warm up before Cycling, Running, Swimming or whatever.
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Great to hear you are back out there with your racing team. Even if you are not riding yet, you play an important role. Plus it must be great just to be outdoors
Suprising, that at that high level of athleticism, some riders will stay on the saddle due to back pain. Harvey and I have had that conversation before about athletes and dancers needing to “tune” their ” bodies first before pracitice. It’s a hard lesson for many of us who don’t understand it until we get injured and can’t get onstage or in the arena of our sport. Thanks for posting the foundational exercises. Life is better when we bridge and curl.
Hi John! Glad you liked the article! The knee poisoitn is actually a trade-off, in this pose as in simple twist. If you force the knees to be stacked, you may limit the extent of the twist you can achieve. And likewise if you let the knees move too far apart, you do the same. So as in all things Viniyoga, focus on how the posture FEELS more so than some aribtrary rule on where the knees or shoulders should be. At what knee and shoulder poisoitn do you feel the most stretching in the front of the shoulder and best twist in your upper spine? That’s the one you should choose. Your yoga teacher should be able to help you figure it out if you’re not sure .