Cycling, whether recreational or competitive, places unique demands on our bodies that can lead to imbalances in our structure. In our modern life, we spend a great deal of time sitting for work, travel, etc. This creates shortness in the hip flexors and hips as well as compressing the front of our bodies. For those of us who spend hours on our bike for exercise, the above problem is compounded by the flexed forward, compact position we adopt our our bikes.
There are many performance advantages that can be gained by restoring optimal mobility, flexibility and stability to the cyclists myofascial and joint complex. To generate balanced power on the bike with the greatest efficiency we must have free movement around the hip, knee and ankle joints as well as a strong connection of our legs into our spine and torso. Many cyclists are working against themselves throughout the pedal stroke and working much harder than needed at a given intensity.
Maybe more than any endurance sport, cyclists don’t bat an eye at spending thousands on a lighter bike but often overlook the major performance benefits that can be realized by hands-on work such as Rolfing. It is strongly suggested that before getting a professional bike fit that you come in for a few sessions of Rolfing to release structural restrictions. This will result in fitting to the bike to your body in its more ideal, elongated state, rather than fitting the bike to a body with imbalances and compensatory patterns.
Benefits of Rolfing to Cyclists:
- Greater pedaling efficiency, rotational ease at the hips
- Improved respiratory efficiency and capacity
- Reduced strain in shoulders and neck
- Get the kinks out of your structure before a bike fit
- Reduced wear and tear of training and competition
- Maintaining an upright and balanced posture off the bike
Contact Adam for a consultation or to schedule an appointment at [email protected]
For more information on Rolfing and cycling please check out this great article by fellow Rolfer, Erik Dalton. The Bike Body
An avid competitive endurance athlete for three decades Adam currently is rekindling his passion for competitive road cycling and will be racing with the RealD Amgen Masters cycling in 2012. He competed at a high level in triathlons beginning as a high schooler in 1982 and continued competing in half Ironman and Inronman distance races for the next few decades. Over the years, Adam has worked with many competitive athletes (from scholastic to elite level) first as an exercise physiologist and then later as a Rolfer.