Valuable lesson learned - I need to stretch first

redrabbit

I'm 30 and really into bodybuilding and powerlifting. I'm new to cycling and enjoying it as a form of cardio. I suffer from muscle tightness, and quite often lower back soreness.

Before the gym I always do about 20 minutes of foam rolling, stretching all body parts very deeply, dynamic stretching, rolling on a hard ball, etc...

The other day I went for a ride (only my 5th ride) and it was a short one ahead of a 50 mile one I have on Sunday. I rode for around 45 minutes and covered just over 10 miles but it felt a lot further and was hard.

Most of the way I felt very stiff in my lower back, and have actually pulled a muscle in my neck - I think as I was on the drops a lot and probably stiff and maybe in a poor position. The bike is professionally fitted.

Anyway, I got back home, did all my stretches and just felt lots of stretches, particularly my hamstrings, hips and lower back. They were extremely tight.

Conclusion - I think for my personally, I need to stretch properly before each ride, particularly as lower back is an issue with me.

Has anyone else encountered this - that stretching before is required?

danlikesbikes

Sounds like you you have a muscular imbalance as your have stated you pulled a muscle in your neck and regularly have lower back muscle issues.

Would suggest that stretching will help but is not the cause of the issue and perhaps you need to strengthen though muscles to stop this happening regularly?

olake92

This makes perfect sense. Although with some corrective exercises you would need to stretch less. I stretch and foam roll before most rides and have done lots of corrective functional strength work to alleviate most of the problems I have had.

You might have some muscle imbalances caused by your lifting, so looking into these would help. Do you skip leg day? On a serious note, would you say your glutes are strong and firing properly? Are your squats quad or glute dominant? Mine were always quad dominant, now I use more of my glutes and my back hurts a lot less. This might be a factor in your back pain.

As mentioned by others, have a look at your bike fit. I'd disagree slightly with oxoman and say that I can sit on the drops for a very long time and sometimes it's more comfortable than the hoods, but that will depend on your fit. My bars are a bit higher than all my team mates, but I'm just as aero. Nowadays my saddle/bar drop is 105mm; it used to be 130mm. What's your's? This might be a contributing factor, in particular with the neck pain.

Also, remember that you're a newcomer to cycling, so you'll build up strength as you train more. I'm 6 years into it and riding full time, but I still get niggles and pain!

redrabbit

Danlikesbikes wrote:

Sounds like you you have a muscular imbalance as your have stated you pulled a muscle in your neck and regularly have lower back muscle issues.

Would suggest that stretching will help but is not the cause of the issue and perhaps you need to strengthen though muscles to stop this happening regularly?

You're probably right, but strengthen what muscles? I have no doubt my back is strong from powerlifting and I have large broad shoulders. I think it is an imbalance as you said, and possibly also core strength related.

oxoman wrote:

Most people don't ride on the drops so try using the hoods it will stop you reaching down as far. Riding head down for to long will hurt if not used to it. Take it steady and try to loosen up a bit before hand. Also assuming the bike is the correct size for you and reasonably set up, bike fits are well worth it if struggling and doing a lot of cycling.

I went for another ride today, tried to keep my body very still other than the legs, and also kept the drops to a minimum. Ended up doing 35 miles (that's a lot for me) and feel fairly well after.

olake92 wrote:

This makes perfect sense. Although with some corrective exercises you would need to stretch less. I stretch and foam roll before most rides and have done lots of corrective functional strength work to alleviate most of the problems I have had.

You might have some muscle imbalances caused by your lifting, so looking into these would help. Do you skip leg day? On a serious note, would you say your glutes are strong and firing properly? Are your squats quad or glute dominant? Mine were always quad dominant, now I use more of my glutes and my back hurts a lot less. This might be a factor in your back pain.

As mentioned by others, have a look at your bike fit. I'd disagree slightly with oxoman and say that I can sit on the drops for a very long time and sometimes it's more comfortable than the hoods, but that will depend on your fit. My bars are a bit higher than all my team mates, but I'm just as aero. Nowadays my saddle/bar drop is 105mm; it used to be 130mm. What's your's? This might be a contributing factor, in particular with the neck pain.

Also, remember that you're a newcomer to cycling, so you'll build up strength as you train more. I'm 6 years into it and riding full time, but I still get niggles and pain!

Haha, I NEVER skip a leg day - it's my favourite day as I love squats.

I would guess my glutes are NOT firing properly. I think one thing I've struggled with in the past, is getting them working on the deadlift in particular. I also would guess I am more quad dominant like you were.

I will look up some tips on getting the glutes firing a bit more.

Btw, after stretching really well, the ride today was far more comfortable.

danlikesbikes

redrabbit wrote:

Danlikesbikes wrote:

Sounds like you you have a muscular imbalance as your have stated you pulled a muscle in your neck and regularly have lower back muscle issues.

Would suggest that stretching will help but is not the cause of the issue and perhaps you need to strengthen though muscles to stop this happening regularly?

You're probably right, but strengthen what muscles? I have no doubt my back is strong from powerlifting and I have large broad shoulders. I think it is an imbalance as you said, and possibly also core strength related.

Neck muscle, basically you just need to get over your minor injury, then it's either unrelated or you need to get used road bike riding I.e. It will get easier &/or you need strengthen that muscle/group.

Lower back I was simply referring to your comment that you regularly have issues with it, so same as above it's either minor and you need to get over the injury or it's some sort of unknown issue one of which could be you need to resolve the imbalance so would suggest your not strong enough if you keep having issues

imposter2.0

redrabbit wrote:

I'm new to cycling

In which case, nothing you have said is really an issue. You just need to adapt and I would suggest that there is no remedial work needed in the meantime.

olake92

redrabbit wrote:

...and also kept the drops to a minimum. Ended up doing 35 miles (that's a lot for me) and feel fairly well after.

That's good news, maybe your handlebars need to come up a bit so you can sit in the drops comfortably? Obviously I don't know your position so that's pure speculation.

redrabbit wrote:

Haha, I NEVER skip a leg day - it's my favourite day as I love squats.

I would guess my glutes are NOT firing properly. I think one thing I've struggled with in the past, is getting them working on the deadlift in particular. I also would guess I am more quad dominant like you were.

I will look up some tips on getting the glutes firing a bit more.

Btw, after stretching really well, the ride today was far more comfortable.

YES! I've got some friends who love their bodybuilding but always seem to skip or neglect legs!

The deadlift is always my weakness (although I've struggled with curving my lower back at the 'dead' phase). Core Cambridge are my go to strength and conditioning experts and they gave me a low intensity prep routine that helps. Doing this before rides for a month or two (along with stretching and foam rolling) really helped me to get my glutes firing. I don't need to do it now except when in the gym. The more relevant things are prone cobras, cook hip lifts, x band walks and single leg semi-straight leg deadlifts. I also found that RKC planks are much tougher than standard planks for core work. Side planks strengthen the obliques as well, and they stabilise you while on the bike.

In the spirit of my first S&C coach, I've tried to pick as many videos with good looking young women to keep you paying attention and to make sure you watch the video!

Apologies if you knew all those exercises already!