Cycling carries awesome health benefits, it has been known to boost mental health, decrease risk of coronary heart disease and improve coordination. Cyclists need to be well rounded athletes, recognising that strength on the bike drws from all the bodies muscle groups.
When riding a bike you need balance, you also need balance in your training, become too one sided and you may just fall off with an injury you never expected!
The repetitive motion of cycling can cause muscle imbalance that Pilates can help fix. On Saturday 20th June I am going to run a Pilates for cyclists masterclass aimed at helping cyclists become more efficient on their bikes by fixing muscle imbalance and weakness caused by repetitive motion of pedalling.
As a cyclists myself I have competed for 7 years at cross country mountain biking and have always used Pilates as my off bike training to strengthen up my core and back.
Pilates is a super off-bike workout for cyclists, whether you are just getting into cycling and want to build strength in your core and legs so you can ride for longer, or you are a seasoned rider. Pilates can help to correct muscle imbalance, improve bike handling and strengthen up your core muscles for better pedalling efficiency through hip stability.
Some of the things Pilates will help with are:
> Enhance muscle strength
> Increase flexibility and coordination
> Decrease muscle imbalance by improving your posture
> Healthier bone density – through resistance based exercise
> Improved power to weight ratio
