Why is your Posture Important to your riding?
- Jun 21, 2014
- 2 min read
James Wilson talks about the benefits of a good posture on the bike, especially in regards to the shoulders.. A lot of your posture on the bike depends on your hips, however your shoulder position is just as important.
When your shoulders are hunched up and/ or rounded forward they become far less stable, which...
- Makes it harder to stand up and pedal since you can't support as much weight on your arms.
- Compromises your low back position which results in less leg strength and power.
- Makes it harder to get a full diaphragmatic breath which decreases cardio capacity.
- Increases the stress on the Rotator Cuff, Bicep Tendon and AC Joint, which can cause pain and long term damage to the shoulder.
When doing movements in the gym as well as on the bike you want to keep your shoulders "packed", which basically means keeping it in a strong stable position as you move.
In this video there are some tips on how to keep your shoulders packed while seated and standing on the bike. It should give you some insights to help you increase your performance by fixing bad habits you don't even realize are holding you back on the bike.
As you'll see in the video, being able to keep your shoulders packed in a variety of positions is important on the bike. This is one of those fuzzy areas where strength and mobility lead to the potential for more efficient movement and breathing, plus the ability to resist changes in the face of fatigue.
It isn't "cardio training" but it can have a positive - or negative - effect on your cardio. This means that your mobility and strength in that area are things you have to actively work to improve or maintain. If they start to go and you can't keep your shoulders packed then you will start to suffer one or more of the negative side effects I listed above.
Start working on your shoulder position both on and off the bike and you'll find your ability to breathe and stay stable on the bike will improve a lot. Your upper body is often forgotten about when talking about performance on the trail and with this advice you can tap into the other half of your body to help you have more fun on the bike.
Check out www.bikejames.com for more of his blog posts and videos.
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