3 Posture Exercises to Keep You Cycling Strong

The cycling position is not natural. Our spine is designed to have three balanced curves in the shape of an "S". On the bike, our spine loses its shape as the body rounds forward from the tailbone to the shoulders when we reach between the saddle and handlebars. In this position, the pelvis, at the base of the spine, deviates from a neutral posture. The pelvis can tilt too far forward, pulling the lumbar vertebrae in the lower back out of alignment. This can cause pain and lead to lower back disorders.

When dismounting your bike after a long ride, you've probably noticed stiffness in your low back that makes it difficult to quickly come up to a full upright posture. What you're feeling is the tightness in your hip flexors that is not allowing your pelvis to rotate back to a neutral position. Your muscles hold you in a cycling posture even when you're no longer on the bike. Unless this tension is released regularly, your back pain will progress and your posture will deteriorate.

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Preventing back pain depends on keeping the hip flexors lengthened and strong. Perform these exercises regularly in the order presented to maintain hip flexor health and to keep pedaling pain free.

Posture Exercise #1: Static Back

Lie on your back with your legs up on a chair, your hips and knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Place your arms out to your sides at a 45-degree angle with the palms up. Breathe deeply into your diaphragm, expanding the air forward and into your sides. Hold this position for five minutes. The goal is to allow enough time for your entire backside, from your shoulder blades to your pelvis, to sink into the floor with equal contact from left to right.

This passive exercise allows all the muscles in the torso to relax and realign into a neutral position. Taking the body out of gravity with support from the floor, the muscles no longer have to work to hold you up and can lengthen and release. The 90-degree position with the legs resets the hips within the pelvic girdle and helps reduce pelvic rotation that may have developed from an imbalanced pedal stroke. The floor acts as a template for correct joint posture from the pelvis to head. Deep-diaphragm breathing enhances the muscles ability to lengthen.

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Posture Exercise #2: Knee Drops

Lie on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees and with your feet straight, placed wider than hip width. If using a yoga mat, align the inside edge of your feet with the edge of the mat on both sides.

Place your arms by your sides at a 45-degree angle with the palms up. Slowly drop both knees to your right allowing your left hip to come off the floor and lower back to twist. Rotate your head to the left, touching your ear to the floor. Hold the position for 1 to 2 seconds and then switch, bringing the knees to the left as the head rotates right. Keep your upper body relaxed and breath from your diaphragm as you rotate. Don't force or bounce during the stretch. Repeat 20 times on each side.

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This exercise will unlock your hip flexors and improve flexibility in your lower back. The psoas muscle is your primary hip flexor. Hip flexion occurs every time the femur moves towards the pelvis (like when pedaling a bicycle). The psoas is the only muscle that crosses the upper and lower body, connecting the lumbar vertebrae to the thighbone (femur). It's your deepest and most powerful core muscle.

As the psoas becomes tight and short, the lumbar vertebrae are pulled forward, creating an exaggerated curve in the lower back. Knee drops lengthen the psoas by moving the femurs away from the pelvis through rotation, mobilizing the lower back. As an added benefit, you'll feel a stretch of the quadriceps, another key cycling muscle.

More: 4 Ways to Fix Anterior Knee Pain From Cycling

Posture Exercise #3: Leg Lifts

Lie on your back propped up on your elbows with one leg straight and the other leg bent at 90 degrees. Roll your pelvis forward to put an arch in your low back. Maintain this position throughout the exercise. This pelvic position is critical to performing the exercise correctly and getting the most benefit.

Squeeze your shoulder blades down and together. Look straight ahead. Flex your extended foot back towards you, being careful to pull the big toe and pinky toe equally so that your foot is flat, not rotated. Tighten your quad by pushing your knee into the ground. Lift the extended leg until your thighs are parallel, then lower. Repeat for 10 to 20 repetitions before switching sides.

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This exercise strengthens the hip flexors. Although your hip flexors are tight it does not mean they are strong. The opposite is equally true; a tight, shorten muscle is a weak, dysfunctional muscle. Muscles create the most force at a certain length and tension. The first two exercises lengthen the psoas while this exercise retrains proper muscle function. Both are needed to generate maximal power on the bike.

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