Ride Strong Read online

  Contents

  Acknowledgements

  About the Authors

  Introduction

  1.Body Meet Bike

  2.Essential Stretches

  3.Essential Strength

  4.Essential Core

  5.Cross-training

  6.Periodization and Planning

  References

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to acknowledge the importance of what I have learned through the CHEK institute in enabling me to write this book. Much of what I apply in my work with cyclists is an amalgamation of learning, but I rely on the knowledge I have gained through the CHEK institute the most.

  I would like to thank my exercise models: Paul Callahan, Jake Martin and Nichola Roberts, who bring the book to life with the bodies of real cyclists. This makes the exercises all the more relevant and meaningful.

  Hamish Brown has provided the stunning photographs that illustrate this book. I would like to thank Hamish for his support on this book as an artistic project. Thanks also to Robin Bell for allowing me to use his picture of Paul riding from Lands End to John O’groats on the contents page.

  Most of all I would like to thank my close friends and family who have helped me take this book through its various incarnations to final completion. You know who you are. THANK YOU.

  About the author and contributors

  Jo McRae is a lifelong cyclist whose experience crosses a range of disciplines at national level competition with road racing, criteriums, time-trialling, track and cyclo-cross. She started racing bikes as a young girl, and having graduated from Loughborough University with a first class degree in sports science in 1998, she briefly represented Great Britain on the road in Australia before racing for a season in France supported by the Dave Rayner Fund.

  On her return in 1999, Jo found work in the fitness industry exploring all avenues of teaching and training to build some real-world experience on top of her academic knowledge. Over the past 15 years she has developed a skill base that allows her to bridge the gaps between rehab, fitness and performance – merging several fields that otherwise have operated in isolation – and provide exercise programmes that meet the needs of the individual across the spectrum.

  In recent years she has brought this knowledge back home and applied it to cyclists, specializing in providing off-the-bike conditioning programmes that dovetail with a rider’s cycling training to maximize gains in performance and to minimize risk of injury.

  Jo continues to ride regularly herself, but it’s the challenge of getting the best out of other riders in her role as coach and mentor that she enjoys most.

  You will see her throughout the book making adjustments to the models in Chapters 2, 3 and 4 as they work through the exercises.

  Paul Callahan is a weekend warrior and family man in his 40s who enjoys riding his bike to stay fit, to commute, and to get outside. He has dabbled in a bit of road racing and done a few time trials but mostly enjoys riding for the fun of it. In 2014 he rode from Land’s End to John o’ Groats with eight others, raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. He says of the journey: ‘It was the ride of a lifetime, riding until sunset on an unknown path, making great friends and memories along the way.’ The photo on the contents page shows Paul on that epic ride. He has promised to one day repeat the route with his wife, Tosie.

  Paul illustrates the essential stretching exercises in Chapter 2. These are the most relevant for riders like him who benefit most from flexibility work.

  Jake Martin is a young (almost) full-time cyclist competing at national level in the UK at the time of writing. In recent years Jake has been trying to make a name for himself on the tough UK circuit. 2014 was a difficult season for Jake and his body shows the scars of the many crashes and injuries he sustained throughout that year in our photo shoot.

  Jake illustrates the essential strength exercises in Chapter 3. These exercises are most relevant for riders looking to develop that extra edge in their performance and training and are willing to work consistently year round to gain the benefits.

  Nichola Roberts started competitive life late as a triathlete. After a cycling incident in 2012 prevented her running and swimming, she focused solely on cycling and has not looked back. She has competed in road racing to Cat 2, completed the Haute Route Pyrenees in 2013, finished first woman at Ride London, and has competed in various European Gran Fondos. Mostly, though, she cycles for the love of it and is never happier than when lost in the country lanes of Britain or the mountains of Europe.

  Combining her passion for cycling with her profession as a physiotherapist, Nichola set up Velophysio in order to help people interrupted by injury to achieve their cycling goals. With 15 years’ experience of working as a physiotherapist on sports injuries, together with specialist training in cycling, Nichola has found her calling.

  Nichola illustrates the essential core exercises in Chapter 4. These exercises are most relevant for women and those with ‘instability issues’. She demonstrates the ‘more flexible’ examples of stretches to contrast with the ‘stiffer’ examples given by Paul in Chapter 2, and also appears in the strength exercises in Chapter 3 with Jake.

  Introduction

  One of the best things about riding a bike is that it reminds us what it feels like to be a kid.

  It gives us back the sense of pleasure and play that can be lost because of the pressures of modern life and being a grown-up. A bicycle can take us to amazing places, both physically and metaphorically. And often a reintroduction to the bike can kick-start a love affair with health and fitness too.

  But I have some bad news that I want to get up front straight away. In many ways the human body is not designed to ride a bike.

  The good news is that this book will give you the understanding and know-how to keep you riding your bike happily and healthily long into the future.

  Even better, the same fundamental approach can make you a stronger, fitter cyclist. It will make you more able to climb hills, more able to cover long distances comfortably, and more able to sprint when the mood takes you. The exercises contained in this book will keep you problem free and allow you to reach your cycling potential within the time you have to exercise. I have written this book because this is what I want from my cycling, and because I know you want it too.

  About this book

  In writing this book I have had to make some generalizations about the likely readership, but just because I have taken a broad approach it doesn’t mean that the information here is general. Each exercise has been carefully selected based on my knowledge and understanding of cycling, how the body works (and doesn’t work) and more than a decade of experience working in health, fitness and sport.

  This book is written for keen amateur road cyclists who work full-time and cycle for fun and fitness, or semi-competitively in races or sportives. The concepts outlined here are most relevant to ‘time-poor’ cyclists who perhaps ride between 6 and 14 hours a week and are looking for efficient ways to improve and enhance their performance and avoid pain and injury problems.

  This book is written for both men and women, for the most part between the ages of 25 and 55. If I wrote a book specifically for women, for younger riders, or for older riders, there would be some differences in the exercises, but much of what I have to say here would still be relevant and useful.

  For women reading this book, everything here still applies to you, but you are likely to find the ‘strength’ and ‘core’ exercise sections the most important. For most men in the upper end of this age bracket, starting with the stretches alone will give you enormous benefits.

  Either way, for both male and female readers I would advise that you follow the basic principles outlined later by prioritizing flexibility first, then looking t
o improve your core control, before finally moving on to some more ‘integrated’ strength work. As is often the case, the exercises that you find the hardest will probably be the ones that you need the most. Chapter 6 on planning and periodization will help you find the right balance of exercises to meet your personal needs.

  What will I need to get the most out of this book?

  To maximize the benefits you will need a willingness to try some of the exercises yourself, and this will probably mean purchasing a ‘Swiss ball’ (gym ball), some foam rollers, some light dumbbells for use at home, and a yoga strap or martial arts belt to help with the hamstrings stretches. ‘Spin lock’ dumbbells that allow you to increase or decrease the weight by adding or removing small discs are the most convenient for at-home use as they take up the least space. A dimple dowel rod or broomstick handle can also come in useful for some of the exercises, as you will see later on.

  I use Swiss balls a lot in my exercise programming because I find them to be a simple and versatile tool for home-based stretching, core and strengthening exercises. The exercises in this book are simple and straightforward, and I have pitched them at a level I feel you will be able to master on your own by following the instructions given. Don’t let fear of ‘doing them wrong’ stop you from giving them a try.

  For Swiss balls, AOK ‘Duraballs’ are the best on the market. In general the better the ball, the more you pay, but it’s worth getting a good one. Check the ball you are using is burst-resistant and can withstand a user weight of 400kg. Your ball should not ‘sag’ when you sit on it and start to exercise with it, even with added weight.

  As a size guide, most women will need a 55cm diameter ball (height 5’1–5’7”) while most men will need a 65cm diameter ball (5’7”–6’2”). For those over 6’2” a 75cm ball may be considered, but a 65cm ball is often adequate and more practical because of the storage space needed for the larger ball.

  If you feel inclined to progress further with the strengthening elements in particular, you may want to consider joining a gym or working with a trainer like myself on a more challenging or personalized programme. However, I have chosen the exercises in this book both for their effectiveness and also because you will be able to do them at home by yourself with very little equipment. For many cyclists, gym membership is unappealing for a number of reasons, so the Swiss ball offers a cheap and effective tool that bridges the gap between rehab (or ‘prehab’) and fitness where most everyday cyclists need to start.

  Quick equipment checklist

  •4-inch-diameter foam roller, 35 inches in length, or longer for very tall people

  •6-inch-diameter foam roller, 25 inches long is adequate

  •Tennis/cricket ball

  •Swiss ball/stability ball

  •Martial arts belt or yoga strap, non-elastic

  •Spinlock dumbbells (York ones are widely available)

  •A stick as a technique training tool and for support with some of the strength exercises

  All the exercises in this book can be performed at home with a small amount of space and some simple equipment. Together with these tools, and a willingness to try the exercises, this book is all that you need

  What this book isn’t

  Although I mention and discuss common injuries and issues associated with cycling in this book, it is not a substitute for ‘treatment’ of any of the injury problems discussed.

  If you are in pain and are looking for ways to alleviate that pain then I suggest you see a physiotherapist, osteopath or remedial/sports masseur/therapist, depending on the nature of the problem.

  Then when you are out of the ‘acute’ phase of the injury you can start to build a stronger, more resilient body using the exercises in this book to prevent the problem recurring.

  In Chapter 4 on essential strength exercises I am acutely aware that I am only touching on a huge subject area and introducing the very basics to make a start.

  If you are keen to develop your strength as much as possible then you may want to seek out a strength and conditioning coach (UKSCA) to maximize your progress.

  How to use this book

  I would love for you to read this book from cover to cover and digest its contents thoroughly. However, I am a realist and would like you to glean something useful from it even if you find yourself dipping in and out over coffee after a weekend ride. For the browser, I have highlighted key points throughout the text in a bolder font.

  CHAPTER 1 of the book explains the background thinking behind my approach, giving the chosen exercises some context and illustrating why I have selected the exercises in this book. I will introduce you to the idea of the ‘primal patterns’ and why they should provide a framework for strength training for any cyclist – to prevent injury and enhance performance.

  CHAPTERS 2, 3 and 4 are practical explanations of essential stretching, strength and core exercises, because more than anything I want you to try a handful of these so that you can immediately feel the benefits. There is nothing more compelling and motivating than noticing a difference straight away when you hit on an exercise that targets your weak spot. For this reason I have listed the exercises at the start of each section in these chapters, so that you can quickly scan through and find what you are looking for. For example, if you want to learn how to stretch your hamstrings because you know they are tight, you can go to the index for the ‘essential stretching’ in Chapter 2 and go straight to the stretch you need. I have also included a ‘ready reference’ of thumbnail pictures of the exercises at the end of each of these chapters to help jog your memory as you work through them.

  CHAPTER 5 will cover some general cross-training principles and highlight why some forms of exercise are complementary to your conditioning. Once again, the index will list the topics so you can go straight to the mode of exercise you have in mind. For example, if you are thinking of running in the winter as a form of cross-training, you can look it up in the index and go straight there.

  CHAPTER 6 will explain how to design and periodize your own programme to create a year-round training plan dovetailing all the elements in the book with your cycling season to maximize your gains in fitness. The emphasis of your programme will likely change throughout your season, so the balance of stretch, strength and core exercises is likely to be different depending on where you are in relation to your goals.

  Remember the success formula:

  FLEXIBILITY + CORE STABILITY + STRENGTH = POWER POTENTIAL

  1. Body meet bike

  Overview of this chapter

  •Cycling in the context of human movement

  •Two feet good, two wheels bad

  •Body, meet bike

  •Sitting culture, seated sports

  •The primal patterns and their importance to cyclists

  •Functional strength basics for cyclists

  •General conditioning vs cycling specific training

  •Essentials of on-and-off-the-bike training

  »Squatting – for jumps, standing accelerations and climbing

  »Bending – to prevent poor posture and lower back injuries and to enhance optimal bike fit

  »Lunging – for single-leg strength, muscle balance and standing strength

  »Pushing – to prevent shoulder and neck problems

  »Pulling – for upper body strength for climbing and sprinting, and for improved posture

  »Twisting – for maintenance of mobility and spine health, and to connect other movements

  •Gait – walking and running

  •Knowing where to start

  •Following the ‘success formula’

  •The success formula

  •If you don’t use it you lose it – and how to get it back

  »Flexibility first

  »Core isolation second

  »Integrated strength last

  Cycling in the context of human movement

  In health and fitness circles the notion of ‘primal’ fitness has gained momentu
m over the last decade, with the key concept being that we have evolved to move through certain ‘primal movement patterns’ on a daily basis to maintain our physical potential.

  In this chapter I am going to outline what these basic human movements are and their relevance to cyclists. Later, in Chapter 3 on essential strength exercises, I will give you some practical ways to train with these movements yourself.

  This notion of primal fitness may seem like just another trend to some, but it is this simple but fundamental idea that forms the foundation of my approach to conditioning the body for the bike. It may seem counter-intuitive, but understanding our bodies in terms of our essential movement needs provides a solid conditioning platform upon which our cycling fitness can be built, pain and injury free, and with the greatest potential for optimal performance.

  Two feet good, two wheels bad

  The simplest and most obvious example of how our day-to-day movement has become ‘unnatural’ as we have modernized can be seen in how we get from A to B. The human body has spent thousands of years evolving a specialist movement pattern for that purpose. Collectively termed ‘gait’, our ability to walk, jog and run upright is what makes us unique among the animal kingdom. The human spine is especially adapted for being upright, and its curvatures have developed to facilitate our physical function.

  We have an inward curve at the lower back (the lumbar lordosis), an outward curve at the upper back (thoracic kyphosis), and an inward curve at the neck (cervical lordosis). The discs between the lumbar vertebrae assist with cushioning against load, and the shape of the thoracic vertebrae facilitates rotation and maximizes mobility. These curves of the spine, together with its rotation as we walk and move, makes human gait extremely efficient and specialized, with our opposing arm swing adding to the movement via the connective tissue of the core (Gracovetsky, 1988).