Core Stability
It is back into the gym this month and a look at an area that is often overlooked by many riders. When you are riding, body position on the bike greatly affects your riding technique. With practice at a track your position on the bike improves and with it the way you ride. Fatigue is a cruel mistress though and ruins this technique as you start to run out of steam. Your position on the bike isn't how it once was and your balance and skill are greatly affected undoing all the hard laps you put in for the first 10 minutes!
We need to aim our training at improving balance and posture - two areas that will deteriorate greatly with fatigue. This type of training translates very well to your riding, so you are clear in the knowledge that it is directly helping your technique on the bike come the weekend.
The aim of training the 'core' muscles is to adapt your body to effectively recruit them; providing support to the trunk and lower back (Lumbar spine) during dynamic movements. The Lumbar spine is inherently unstable and relies on the surrounding muscles to provide support and stability. These exercises are especially beneficial to riders with lower back pain. The lower back is very susceptible to injury, so strengthening and stabilizing this area will help reduce the chance of injury and pain.
What are the muscles of the 'core'?
The muscles targeted are the smaller and deeper lumbar spine and trunk (stomach) muscles. They are not always used during normal sit ups and therefore are often neglected in favour of the search for the 6 pack! Many of the muscles are not visible but they play an important role so must not be overlooked.
The aim of the following exercises are to increase the endurance of the core muscles, as it is not necessarily the ultimate strength of these muscles that is important, but their effectiveness in working over a prolonged period of time without fatiguing. This therefore maintains the integrity of your posture. If you think back to a riding situation, movements that are quick and simple at the beginning of day before riding are easy, but come the end of the race, or end of the day and the same movement is a now a challenge! It is this 'strength endurance' of the muscles that we are looking to improve, not the pure strength of the muscles.
The success of the core muscles is achieved in maintaining correct posture when challenged. So for example; when feet are shoulder width apart, knees should be directly above ankles, and pelvis should be parallel - easy at rest but when you stand on one leg for example is it suddenly a lot harder to keep your pelvis parallel or your knee above your ankle - just try it!
In many exercises, the integrity of this position is challenged and it is your ability to try and maintain correct position is the major role of the core muscles.
The first position to try is the 'Abdominal Hollowing technique'. This helps you learn to recruit the deep core muscles, not just the main abdominals (6 pack).
- Lie on your back with your knees bent. You should lie in a 'neutral' position I.e. with a natural 'S' shape in your spine, which leaves a small gap between your lower back and the floor.
- As you breath in, pull your belly button down, as if you want it to touch the floor beneath you - like you are zipping up a tight pair of trousers. Hold this for 10 seconds and repeat 3 times.
- I find that putting your hands either side in the hollow of your lower back, and aiming to squeeze them as you do this helps focus on the correct technique. (By squeeze I do not mean forcefully, you do not need to strain to perform this.)
- Do not aim to contract your whole 'six pack' as it is actually the Transverse Abdominus muscles we want to focus on.
- Do not hold your breath whilst doing this, but try to relax, but still focus on 'tightening' and holding this position.
The next position is a development of the first technique; 'Leg Raises'
- Lie on your back with your knees bent, adopting the same position as for the 'Abdominal Hollowing' technique. Pull your belly button down to floor as before and as you are holding this.
- Slowly straighten your left leg and hover at about 4-6 inches. Hold for a moment and then return to the original bent position - but still just hovering. Repeat 10 times for each leg.
- Remember that your spine and pelvis should NOT move at all, if they do then you have not achieved correct stability. Use a slow and controlled movement.
These two exercises should form the basis to your Core Stability training and are worth doing with every training session. However, as mentioned previously, the aim of this training is to allow improved performance when on the bike, thus in a dynamic situation. So we should follow these exercises with those that are dynamic, and that will also challenge and therefore improve balance and the co-ordination of these muscles. This is where those large, inflatable beach balls come into play. Fashionable in gyms and known as 'Swiss' balls they were once shopping channel home exercise fodder, but are actually a very useful way to train. One of their best assets is that they are a very versatile way to train - and can improve core stability whilst training other muscles groups. As they are a large ball, they are not very stable, and as you will find the first time you try and climb onto one, they will quickly spit you off if you are not careful!
With practice, you will be able to train with dumbbells, do press ups on them and even balance on top of them. All the while you are challenging your core muscles to keep your posture correct and stable thus aiding all the areas we want to focus on, whilst training another area of the body too.
A very big thank you to Virgin Active Health Club for accommodating us. Virgin Active Health Clubs can be found nationwide and for more information or to find your nearest Health Club go to www.virginactive.co.uk or call 0845 1304747
