These are the exercises for more flexibility:
If your back hurts when you're doing the rounds at home or your neck is as hard as concrete in the evening and makes your head buzz, then you should look into the causes of the painful pinching and twinging in your body. One of these reasons is often a lack of mobility, i.e. the flexibility of muscles and joints.
Bikers are often affected by restricted mobility due to hours of static posture on the bike. The focal points: Hip joint, shoulder, lumbar and thoracic spine. A certain degree of mobility is crucial for good, pain-free and wear-free movement without any loss of performance.
Sitting position when cycling contradicts the human posture
If you consider the typical position on a bike: seated, bent forwards, with the head on the back of the neck, then this contradicts the evolutionary, upright posture of humans enormously. If the joints and muscles are only strained in this position over the long term, the musculoskeletal system is reduced to this position.
Applied to bikers, using the example of the hips, this means that mobility is restricted to the forward tilted sitting position and other joints try to compensate for this - in this case the lumbar spine. This can result in pain in the lower back, which can be alleviated by special stretching exercises.
The same applies to the cyclist's hump: these joints and muscles in the upper back, which are bent in the typical cycling position, are best relaxed with dynamic stretching exercises, i.e. using your own muscle strength.
Active Agility training This means not only stretching, but also stabilisation at the same time. This helps to store the newly learnt range of movement directly in the nervous system. As with endurance training, the same applies here: Regularity is the key to success.
And success will soon follow. Whether cycling, strength training or in everyday life - the improved mobility has a positive effect in every area. However, the new range of motion should also be utilised! Because as it is controlled by the nervous system, it is otherwise quickly lost again.
"Long, static sitting in the saddle causes 'problem zones' for bikers." David Voll, BIKE author
In advance: Test your own mobility
The best place to start is with a self-test: In physiotherapy, the Functional Movement Screen (FMS), consisting of seven exercises, has established itself as a reliable test to identify deficits in mobility.
Slimmed down and less time-consuming, bikers can use the following three tests to determine their status quo at home and regularly check their mobility. If you notice any limitations, we recommend that you do the training exercises shown 10 to 15 minutes after each tour.
To maintain mobility, two sessions per week with one or two rounds of 30 to 40 seconds per exercise and slow movements are sufficient. The following applies: quality before quantity - the important thing is correct execution. Good luck!
Check: Stretch your arms
Your heels, buttocks, shoulder blades and head touch the wall. Now move your outstretched arms forwards and up towards the wall until your upper arms are next to your ears.
- Beginnersbuttocks, shoulders and head touch the wall, the thumbs do not.
- Advanced: The thumbs also touch the wall.
- ProfessionalsThumbs touch the wall. Head and shoulders can be released.
Check: Prevention
Straighten your knees. Now bend forwards and touch the floor with your fingers.
- BeginnersFingers reach up to the shins.
- Advanced: Fingertips touch the floor.
- Professionals: Hands can be placed flat on the floor.
Check: Squat
Stand barefoot, slightly more than hip-width apart, about 15 centimetres away and facing the wall. Turn your feet slightly outwards. Now bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor without touching the wall with your forehead or nose or lifting your heels off the floor.
- BeginnersKnees are roughly at right angles, heels on the floor.
- AdvancedThighs horizontal, heels on the floor
- Professionalsbuttocks touch the heels without lifting them off the floor.
Exercises for the neck and cervical spine
When cycling, the head is raised most of the time and therefore the cervical spine is either stretched or hyperextended, depending on the sitting position. This often results in tension in the surrounding muscles and headaches. The following exercises mobilise the cervical spine and loosen the muscles.
1 + 2 Rotate
Starting position: standing upright or sitting upright with your shoulders against the backrest. Execution: maximum rotation of the head, alternating from one side to the other (1). Utilise the full range of motion without twisting the body (2)!
3 + 4 Move
Starting position: standing upright or sitting upright on a chair or stool. Execution: fix a point on the wall or on the ground at the height of your nose. Now move your head forwards and backwards on this imaginary plane as far as possible (double chin!) without any evasive movements in the upper body.
5 + 6 Tilt
Starting position: preferably in a free standing position, sitting in a chair without an armrest if possible. One arm is stretched downwards, the other reaches over the head to the temple. Look straight ahead. Execution: The outstretched arm pushes towards the floor, the other arm tilts the head as far to the side as possible. Hold the position and then switch sides.
7 + 8 Nod
Starting position: standing upright or sitting upright (also possible in an office chair!). Execution: Move your head alternately backwards (forehead pointing upwards) and forwards (chin on your chest) without moving your upper body.
Exercises for the shoulders and thoracic spine
The sportier the riding style, the lower the handlebars and the forward bend of the upper body. The grip position causes the shoulders to rotate forwards. The back becomes "round". The following exercises improve mobility in the shoulders and thoracic spine.
1 + 2 Floor Slide
Starting position: Lying on your back with your arms at a 90-degree angle next to your body. Legs stretched out. Execution: Extend your arms until your upper arms are next to your ears. Your hands and arms should always be in contact with the floor. Then bend your arms again and start from the beginning. Tip: Raise your legs if your lumbar spine is too high off the floor.
3 + 4 Cat-cow
Starting position: four-legged stance, thighs perpendicular to the floor, hands under the shoulders for support. Execution: alternate between rounding your back as much as possible (pull in your belly button, chin on your chest) and bending as much as possible (pull your belly button down, head back).
5 + 6 BWS mobilisation with fascia roller
Starting position: Lying on your back, legs positioned at approx. 90 degrees, fascia roll approximately below the shoulder blades. Place your hands on your chest or in line with your spine. Execution: Alternate stretching the thoracic spine until the head touches the floor and then straighten up again. Avoid a hollow back, tense your stomach! The pivot point is the fascia roller.
7, 8, 9 Untwisting in the standing balance
Starting position: Standing balance with the leg closest to the wall. Inner shoulder and hip rest against the wall. Arms point vertically to the floor. Execution: Extend the outer arm over the side in the same plane as the inner arm until the outer arm also rests against the wall. Then move back to the starting position. Always follow the hand of the moving arm. Change sides.
10, 11, 12 Untwisting in kneeling position
Starting position: half kneeling position, upper body upright, both arms stretched forwards parallel to the floor. Foot, knee, hip, shoulder and arm touch the wall. Now turn the outer arm backwards on one level until it rests against the wall and then turn it back again. Follow the moving hand with your gaze. Change sides.
Exercises for the lumbar spine and hips
As with the upper body, the lower back and hips are also bent when biking. Many mountain bikers complain of pain, particularly in the lumbar spine. One reason for this is shortened hip flexor muscles caused by sitting a lot, which originate in the lumbar vertebrae and pelvis. The following exercises promote mobility in the hips and lumbar spine.
1 + 2 Immersion
Starting position: Prone position, legs straight and hands next to shoulders. Execution: Stretch your arms and lift your upper body upwards. Forehead points upwards. Now push your buttocks back towards your heels and bend vertebrae by vertebrae - similar to a wave movement - until your head is between your outstretched arms and your forehead touches the floor. The hands do not change their position.
3 + 4 Scorpio
Starting position: Prone position, arms spread 90 degrees to the side, legs stretched. Execution: Alternate between bringing your left foot to your right hand and your right foot to your left hand. The shoulders should not lift off the floor. Look towards the limbs that are touching.
5 + 6 Pool roller
Starting position: sit upright on a bench, chair or similar, legs at 90 degrees, hands on hips. Execution: Tilt the pelvis forwards and backwards, "rolling" over the sitting bones. The movement takes place exclusively in the hips. The upper body and legs do not change position.
7 + 8 Straightening
Starting position: bent leg with the lower leg against the wall, raise the other leg 90 degrees. Lean your upper body forwards. For better balance, support one hand on an aid (e.g. fascia roll). Execution: Alternate between straightening the upper body and "making it tall" to pull the spine apart and then bending it again. Practise both sides!
Interview with Marion Fromberger, World Cup winner
I notice that I'm much more relaxed on the bike thanks to the exercises.
BIKE: Marion, how do you benefit from mobility training for cross-country and eliminator races?
Marion FrombergerI find it extremely important as it increases my overall range of movement in all areas of training. Especially in winter, it is an integral part of my daily training routine. I notice that it makes me much more relaxed and relaxed on the bike. It also gives me a certain amount of structure: I do my exercises every morning after getting up and then feel fresher throughout the day.
Do you have an area that you are focussing on in particular?
Of course, I have favourite exercises that I do more often and more regularly. But I don't have a set routine. I start from the head to the feet with various stretching exercises, followed by light strength exercises using my own body weight.
And what are your favourite exercises?
My favourite exercise is the one-legged squat. Not only does it activate a large number of muscles, it also targets the deeper muscles. It also requires a high level of coordination and flexibility in the ankles and knees as well as the hips and back. Another favourite: the gluteal stretch. Lying on my back, I tilt my bent right leg over my stretched left leg and press it to the floor with my left hand. At the end, I spread my right arm out to the side. After a short time, I then stretch the other side. This helps me to prevent back pain even during long bike training sessions.
