No I'm not talking about the beer you have left over from Superbowl Sunday, I'm talking about the 6 pack that Brad pit was famous for in the movie Fight Club
Abdominal core strength is KING in cycling, Your core muscles help stabilize your upper body and hold posture for extended period's of time so that we retain proper pedalling technique on long rides
Once your core strength goes, and fatigue sets in your pedal stroke gets sloppy and that is when injuries have a tendency to occur.
Having those 6 pack abs might impress the ladies but if you want to impress on the bike, its extra bulk you don't need.
Cycling requires a different type of strength, similar to that required by serious freestyle rock climbers
Ever wonder how these guys can hang from one hand from a 1" ledge in the rock face.
I like to call it Static core strength, the kind you need to hold a static position for a long period of time
In order for your bike to handle properly, your centre of gravity needs to be over the centre of the bike.
For most of us, this results in approx. 40% of our body weight being on the handlebars.
Now that might sound like a lot of weight to you and its going to feel like a lot more weight if your core strength isn't where it needs to be. This results in the feeling of a lot of weight on your hands.
Next time you are on your bike start pedalling and consciously engage your core.
You will probably notice two things
One... That you feel less weight on your hands, and Two... That your cadence will go up, resulting in less pedal effort.
Strong CORE .... Strong RIDING
HOW DO YOU GET IT?
PLANK exercises not crunches, Crunches give you six packs. Planks win races!!
Go to this link to see Why planks are the best Ab workout
Try holding each of the 2 positions for 20 secs the first day and start adding 5 secs a day, Pretty soon you will be able to hold the position for 2 mins and your core strength will have doubled in a few short weeks.
Come back next week and we will talk about one simple exercise that will make you a much stronger standing climber.
CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL BIKE FITTING SERVICES AND BIOMETRIC ANALYSIS