P
CONDITIONING
ERFORMANCE
CYCLING
A NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO IMPROVING CYCLISTS
www.performancecondition.com/cycling
Specific Flexibility Training for Endurance Bicycling
Erik Moen PT
Erik Moen PT, CSCS is the owner of Corpore Sano LLC, an orthopedic and sports Physical Therapy practice in Kenmore, WA. Erik is renowned for his work with bicycling athletes.
Erik is a coach, racer, educator and author in the world of bicycling. Erik is an active sponsor
of ocal and regional bicycle racing teams. Erik has membership in the American Physical Therapy Association, USA Cycling, and National Strength and Conditioning Association. Erik is a
graduate of Pacific Lutheran University and University of Washington.
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lexibility is defined as available motion about a joint. Flexibility is affected by
mobility of muscle, tendon, joint capsule and ligament. People have varied levels
of flexibility or natural motion. Flexibility may be improved by performing the
activity of stretching. Stretching is an important part of readiness and recovery
Erik Moen
for the bicycling endurance athlete. Bicycles were not invented at the origins of the human body.
The human body was designed primarily to walk, run, hunt and gather,…not ride a bike. The human body does not naturally tolerate
positions on the bicycle. Advanced positions on the bicycle require flexibility unlike that of normal walking and running. An endurance athlete who does not have requisite motion for a given sport puts themselves at risk for an overuse injury. There is an
optimal level of flexibility or mobility for the endurance bicyclist. We gain flexibility through the act of purposeful stretching, or
stretching that re-enacts motion specific to a given sport. The development of flexibility specific to a sport takes time with intentional
effort. Flexibility training is much like fitness training with regards to invested time and effort. Effective flexibility development
can take years to develop, much like the time it takes to tolerate and perform racing at an elite level. Appropriate bike-specific flexibility, much like that of good physiological capabilities, is trainable and takes time.
Individual variations in baseline flexibility are normal for the human population. Some people have excessive flexibility
(hypermobile) and some have very limited flexibility (hypomobile). These two groups of people are those who frequently become
injured relative to a given activity. Those people between the two extremes (the vast majority) have reasonable flexibility but will
need to work on the fine flexibility details to meet the demands of their sport or activity. Your historical activity level will have an
effect on baseline flexibility. Inactive, desk-bound people will tend to have limited flexibility. People from athletic backgrounds
tend to have better baseline flexibility than an inactive population. Athletes from running based sports will have mild to moderate
flexibility challenges adapting to endurance bicycling. Athletes from skiing and skating sports easily adapt to bicycling due to similar
flexibility profiles. An individual’s flexibility can change. Research by Covert et al1 demonstrated that the most effective method of
stretching is prolonged static stretches when compared to other forms of stretching. Changes in muscle flexibility will mandate adaptive changes to your muscle function with regards to torque production, load attenuation, excursion, and sustained postures or positions.
Stretching strategies for bicycling can be fairly simple. There are two stretching categories we should consider; goals of
stretching and functional groups. Goals of stretching include the ideas of stretching for mobility/adaptation and stretching for recovery.
Functional groups of stretching include the ideas that we have different functional motion requirements on the bike; locomotion,
ventilatory, and postural. Chain Link: for more information on The Relationship between Postural Asymmetry and Cycling InjuriesBreathing click HERE.
Flexibility training for mobility/adaptation centers on the idea that we are gaining motion in our body around the vectors of
pedaling and ability to maintain certain positions. This idea mandates your flexibility training to be bicycling-specific in nature.
The end goal of your flexibility training should be your ability to freely attain the required motions and positions of your sport. This
becomes more important as you increase your bicycling competency. Increased endurance bicycling competency should include the
assumption of more advanced positions on the bicycle (such as TT, pursuit, tolerance of drops). Advanced positions on the bicycle
will improve your aerodynamics.
There have been numerous studies lately that demonstrate stretching should not be used as a warm up for endurance sports.
One such study done by JM Wilson et al2 suggested that stretching before an endurance event may lower endurance performance
and increase the energy cost of running. There are other studies that suggest that stretching used as a warm up for an activity does
not decrease an athlete’s chance for injury. Most current schools of thought surrounding appropriate warm up activities include
functional/dynamic activities that simulate loads consistent with your chosen event. Therefore, the idea of incorporating stretching
as a warm up activity is not considered appropriate at this time. This paradigm shift should not dismiss the importance of stretching.
This paradigm shift should change the importance of stretching towards a training activity performed slowly over time. Stretching
should be viewed as a training parameter that allows you to efficiently perform your chosen activity. You should not depend on a
pre-event stretching event to “hopefully hit” mobility requirements for your sport.
Flexibility/mobility training as a recovery modality is important. Stressful training creates trauma to the body. This trauma
includes strains of muscles. Muscle strains limit muscles’ willingness for normal motion and load inductance/attenuation (e.g. hurts
to walk up and down stairs). Light stretching after an activity will help decrease muscle spasm and recover a muscle’s ability to
elongate through a normal range of motion. The phrase “move it or lose it” applies here. Recovery stretching is performed at a
gentle intensity so as to facilitate/encourage the resumption of normal flexibility.
There have been many studies that discuss effective stretching. Studies have compared stretching methods and appropriate
dose or duration/intensity of stretching. Research consensus demonstrates that the most effective means of stretching to improve
flexibility is a prolonged static stretch. There is not a clear consensus on effective stretch durations or dose. A good research-based
rule of thumb is the “two minute rule”. Your goal should be to perform a certain stretch for a combined period of two minutes (e.g.
3x40 sec, 6x20sec, 2x60sec, etc). The critical piece is the investment of stretch exposure with good form. Stretch intensity should
be such that you feel a good, moderate stretch but do not compromise good stretch form. “Hard” stretching is often coupled with utilization of poor, ineffective form. Stretching should not be painful. You can injure yourself with a stretch just like you can injure
yourself doing anything else. “Too much, too quickly” strategies puts one at risk for an over-strain injury. Stretching should not
cause sharp pains, numbness, weakness or referred pain. If these are occurring, simply back off of your current stretch. The presence
of a stretch-based weakness or numbness is an obvious concern. Consult a healthcare practitioner if this occurrence is regular. Make
sure you breathe when you perform stretching; controlled, calm breathing in and out. Static stretching implies no bouncing. Flexibility
training is just that. Flexibility training needs to be performed consistently over time. Just like physiological training, it needs a minimum frequency of three times a week.
Functional groups of stretching are intended to meet the basic needs of endurance cycling. Stretching can aid in the mobility
of lower extremity locomotion, maintenance of normal human posture/positions, and the improved ability for ventilation (moving
oxygen in and carbon dioxide out). There are many ways and reported methods to stretch certain muscle groups. The intention of
this document is to demonstrate some basic stretches that will meet the needs of most bicyclists. The below stretching descriptors
include targeted muscles and why you should consider them for stretching. This list parts you are trying to affect and why you want
to affect them. There are also suggested ranges of motion that are important to include in your stretching goals. Having goals for
any training helps improve motivation and meaning to your training. Congratulations if you are one of those that are able to achieve
normal flexibility levels. Just maintain and strengthen what you have.
Wall Flatteners
The wall flattener exercise achieves many things relative to postural and ventilatory muscles and
joints. This stretch reverses the flexed position of reaching to the handlebars. This stretch helps improve
mobility for the pectoralis muscle group, thoracic spine and suboccipital (just below the back of the head)
muscle groups.
This stretch is best performed by starting from a basic wall sit, knees at 45degs of flexion. Tighten
your abdominal muscles to flatten your low back to the wall. Then flatten your thoracic spine (or mid back)
to the wall. Tuck chin and try to flatten the back of your head to the wall. Bring your arms up in front of
you with elbows the level of the chin and elbows bent to 90degrees. Keeping your back flat to the wall, attempt to pull your arms back to the wall. Only go as far back with the arms as you can keep your back flat
to the wall. Try pulling your elbows downwards to no lower than the mid chest. Hold this position for 1020 seconds. Repeat 3-4 times. Normal motion would be
demonstrated by a person’s ability to flatten from low
back to head and then arms to the wall.
Quadriceps Stretch
Quadriceps are the primary muscles of pedaling locomotion. The quadriceps usually has normal flexibility in the bicyclist. Poor flexibility of the quadriceps
can put the anterior (front) knee at risk for a compression injury or pain syndrome.
The best stretch for the quadriceps is performed from a side lying position.
This position will ensure a good stretch vector to the quadriceps consistent with
the pedaling motion. This is in comparison to a standing stretch where most people struggle with maintaining balance rather than
effective stretch of the quadriceps. Assume a side lying position. Tighten your stomach to prevent an arching of your back to an extended position. Grab your foot/ankle while keeping the leg level and square. Pull heel towards buttocks and then rotate your leg
back through the axis of the hip until a stretch in the quad is experienced. A tight quadriceps will limit your ability to bring the
femur down to a neutral position in relation to the hip. Normal motion allows heel to buttocks and the femur just past neutral into
an extended position of the hip.
Hamstring Stretch
Hamstring flexibility is important for endurance bicycling. Hamstrings have postural and
locomotion rolls for the endurance bicyclist. Combined flexibility of the hamstrings and gluteals
allows the pelvis to roll forward about the axis of the hip while keeping the back in a good position/posture. Forward rotation from the pelvis/hip is necessary for the assumption of low, aerodynamic positions required of advanced endurance bicyclists. Poor flexibility of the hamstrings will
create strain to the low back, disallow comfortable reach to lower positions of the handlebars and
may create irregular motion at the knees from the frontal plane (varus/valgus oscillations). Your
hamstrings run from your ischial tuberosity (“butt bone”) to the back of your knee. The hamstrings
are comprised of the biceps femoris, semimembranosus and the semitendinosus.
A nicely effective hamstring stretch may be performed from standing. Stand in front of a
chair-height object (see bench below) with feet hip width apart. Lift one foot/leg onto the chair.
Maintain feet hip-width apart and feet straight forward/up. You should keep your pelvis square to
your legs and your back flat. The stretched/forward leg should have a slightly flexed knee. The
stretch is actuated by rolling forward through the axis of the hip. The cue of “stick out your butt
and chest” is frequently given to help ensure proper rotation through the hip and a straight back.
Normal range of motion for assuming aero positions is at least 90degrees of straight leg hip flexion
relative to a straight torso.
Gluteal Stretch
The gluteals serve as one of the primary propulsive forces in pedaling or locomotion. It acts to extend the leg, or push down on the pedal in concert with the quadriceps.
Flexibility of the gluteals are important for endurance bicycling. The endurance bicycling
position requires a forward bent pelvis and spine which puts the gluteals on a relative
stretch bias. Flexibility from the gluteals is primarily required at the top dead center of
the pedal stroke. Poor flexibility of the gluteals will result in irregular leg trajectory at
the top dead center of the pedal stroke, possible gluteal strain, or onset of low back pain.
The below gluteal stretch is preferred. This stretch allows you to easily stabilize
your back so that you can focus on stretch of the gluteals. Start from a hook-lying position
(aka knees up, feet on ground). Cross your left leg/ankle over the right sided knee. Grab
under the right sided knee and pull knee towards your same sided shoulder. You should
feel a stretch in your left gluteal. You may accentuate this stretch by pushing out on your
left knee to enhance femoral rotation and thus gluteal stretch. Do for both sides. A desired
normal for this stretch your ability to pull the right sided knee/hip up to 90 degrees at the hip and then having nearly 90 degrees of
femoral external rotation.
Calf Stretch
The calf muscle is comprised of the gastrocnemius and the soleus. They have a common
attachment to the heel through the Achilles tendon. The gastrocnemius has its attachment above
the knee, the soleus attaches below the knee. The calf muscle is primarily used to help accentuate
the lever of the foot as it transfers force from the quadriceps and gluteals to the pedal/drive-train.
The calf and subsequent ankle does not experience its normal range of motion during the process
of bicycling. Thus it is very important for you to help maintain the calf’s normal motion mobility.
Walking and running over varied terrain requires up to 40 degrees of calf flexibility (dorsiflexion).
The motion of bicycling at normal cadences rarely moves the ankle past anatomical neutral for
dorsiflexion. The foot and ankle stay in a mostly plantar flexed (mild) position during a normal
pedal cadence.
This stretch is started by standing in front of a wall with feet hip width apart. Reach out
to the wall with your hands (to support your weight) and slowly slide one foot straight back. Keep
foot straight forward and back (there are rare exceptions). You should start to feel a stretch in your
calf. Keep your foot flat to the ground. Do not raise your heel. Ensure that your pelvis stays
square to your stretched calf. Your weight should be mostly on hands and forward leg. You should
be able to relax into a stretch at your calf. This stretch makes a primary bias on the gastrocnemius.
A stretch may be biased to the soleus by slightly bending the knee of the stretched calf and assuming a similar stretch position.
Hip Flexor Stretch
The hip flexor muscle is comprised of two conjoined muscles that is known as the iliopsoas. The
hip flexor muscle has origins on the front of your lumbar spine and on the inside of the iliacus. This
muscle has it’s attachment to the femur. It’s action is to flex the hip. In bicycling, the hip flexor works
primarily on the back side of the pedal stroke, helping to return the leg.
The hip flexor in cyclists tends to become short as it is maintained in a shortened position on the bicycle. A short hip flexor will limit your ability to stand tall and limit your ability to extend the hip consistent with the normal ability to walk and run. A short hip flexor muscle can be the origins of low
back pain. A shortened hip flexor muscle and chronically assumed positions of hip flexion can be a
risk factor for the origins of anterior iliac artery compression.
This stretch is performed by assuming a kneeling position as pictured. You will need to keep your
stomach muscles tight. Tight stomach muscles will keep the back from extending and will help maintain
efficacy of your stretch. Shift your weight forward to the forward foot keeping knees over respective
feet. You will start to develop a stretch at the front of your aft hip. You will need to ensure that your
pelvis stays square to your legs. Reach your arm up over head on the same side of your stretched leg.
Normal range of motion is 10-20 degrees of hip extension from this position.
Neck Stretch
The endurance bicycling position maintains an extended upper cervical spine. Prolonged
positioning of the head/neck in extension can be a source of pain and headaches. This simple
stretch will help you maintain normal flexibility in cervical spine. This stretch is considered a
postural stretch. It stretches muscles of the neck, such as the upper margin of the trapezius and
the suboccipital muscles (splenius capitis, splenius cervicis, and semispinalis capitis).
This stretch is performed by starting from an upright sitting position. Hold your hands
behind your back to keep your shoulders down. Tuck your chin. Start to roll your head forward
to a flexed position. You will experience this stretch at the back of your head/neck and sometimes
down into your middle back. Variations of this may be performed by first rotating your head
about 45degrees to one side, then tuck your chin and roll your head forward along that rotation
bias.
Summary
Stretching for endurance bicycling should be done with meaningful goals in mind. Just like bicycling training, training without a goal will get you nowhere every time. There are no commercially available short cuts to improving flexibility/mobility. The
most effective method of stretching is prolonged static stretches that are specific to the motion demands of your chosen sport. Are
there other ways than what has been described above to stretch? Yes. There are many ways to “cook chicken noodle soup”. The
above demonstrated stretches are a few that will help ensure that you attain and maintain normal mobility for the performance of endurance bicycling. There are many more stretches that can be performed, maybe even should be performed. Please consult a Physical
Therapist (Chain Link www.APTA.org “Find a PT”) to help ensure a proper stretching program especially if have a special orthopedic,
neurologic, or recent injury issue. Performance bicycling must include strategies to assume certain positions on bicycles. Low
reached, elongated positions on the bicycle require flexibility. Your development of mobility normal for the sport of bicycling will
help ensure good bicycling economy and minimize your exposure to overuse injury. Endurance bicyclists should include specific
flexibility goals as a critical part of your training success. O
Chain Links: contact Erik at [email protected]
References:
1 Covert AC et al. Comparison of ballistic and static stretching on hamstring muscle length using an equal stretching dose. J of
Strength and Cond Research, 24(11), 3008-3014.
2 Wilson JM et al. Effects of static stretching on energy cost and running endurance performance. J of Strength and Cond Research,
24(9), 2274-2279.