Can stretching help me get a lower position?

Cubic

Hi,

I'd like to get more comfortable riding in a lower/more aero position on my road bike. At the moment I tend to ride quite comfortably on the hoods, but I'm pretty upright and my back is probably at a 45 degree angle.
I can ride in the drops on downhills, but not for any extended period as my lower back will ache and I tend to feel quite cramped. Even when on the drops I think my back is far from the horizontal position that the pros tend to have.

I was wondering if there are any stretched I can do to help me achieve this?

My hamstrings are not very flexible I think, as I can't get close to touching my toes, so this is probably something to work on. Are there any other stretches I can do to help?

Thanks.

Herbsman

Have you had a proper bike fit? It might be worth doing that first. Though, I felt more comfy in the drops after a few months of regular stretching, so it could work for you.

Zoomer37

Not sure if there are specific stretches, but just make a effort to ride more in the drops on each ride. I used to have the same with a dull ache in my lower back, but now its cool and I can ride in them without any problem.

Make sure whilst in the drops theres hardly any pressure in your hands on the bars and your shoulders are nice and relaxed. I'd ride for 5 mins in that postion, then back up in the hoods and keep do it until it feels comfortable to be in them. Your body/muscles just need time to adapt to it.

ut_och_cykla

Yes stretching might help, so will progressively increasing time you spend in the drops. A good tip if you do intervals is to do them in the drops. But teh bike fit is an important issue - if its basically wrong for you , you might never get flatter for any length of time.

gilesjuk

Touching your toes as mentioned. But work on the back muscles and abs too as they will support your spine and stop you getting back ache so much.

Cubic

Thanks for the replies.

I'll try to spend more time in the drops and see if that helps. At the moment I'm just in the drops when freewheeling downhill, so the idea of doing some intervals in them sounds good.

I have had a professional bike fit last year, so hopefully my position is ok. I've always had poor flexibility though, so maybe some hamstring and back stretches will help too.

Does anyone have some examples of good stretches I could try?

Cheers.

SteveR_100Milers

I do three stretches regularly, as my hams are or were too tight. I stretch my hamstrings by placing my heel on the ed or a chair, and bending forwards to stretch them. I never lock my knee out, and always gently push into the stetch and hold it for 30s each leg, and do 3-4 reps a day. Already after 8 weeks I can stretch about 2" further than I could.

The second is a glutes stretch. Sit in a chair, cross your left leg over the right resting your ankle on your knee, then firmly pull your thigh over the right leg. You should feel your bum muscle in this one. Repeat with other leg etc
Last is a quad stretch - stand on one leg and grab your other ankle and pull up behind you.

All other stuff is done on a foam roller.

sagalout

When I did my bike fit they refused to fit me as my flexibility was so poor. I did 6 weeks of the stretching they recommended (always post ride, never pre) and my hamstring flexibility went from 45 to 60 degrees when I went back. I saw big effects in general riding within a couple of weeks, as even my pre-fit position (about 15cm drop from seat to bars) was too extreme for my level of flexibility

symo

Yoga, do the sun salutation session once a day for say 10 repeats. should make you catlike.