Yoga or similar for racing?

ric/rstsport

It's unlikely that for anyone racing that things such as yoga or core training would help increase performance. There's no evidence to suggest that it would, and evidence to show that things such as stretching leads to more injuries than if you exercised without prior stretching.

furthermore, while it is possible that 'core' work may make you feel more comfortable on a bike (e.g. less back ache) this is generally symptomatic of either a poor bike set up / position or just a general lack of training. In other words you either need to be training more (on the bike) or get your bike set up correctly.

Ric

tomstickland

I do yoga because it makes me feel really good. I think I've been lucky in bumping into a great instructor on my first attempt. It's certainly not a chore. I can access the physical sensations and the high within minutes of getting started.

buckles

I get a similar feeling from LSD

jgsi

Tom, I agree I reckon those idiots who chase your break down in a race and drag the bunch with them are high as kites on yoga as well!

racingcondor

Stretching certainly helps for me. I've just started doing quite a bit of track and my thighs and calves have tightened up dramatically in the last few weeks which since I have a leg length discrepancy will probably result in injury problems if I don't stretch (most road riding doesn't cause me to tighten up anything like as quickly so I usually get away without).

Not tried yoga or pilates but since I get bored easily and don't stretch properly as a result I probably should...