Warm Up & Cool Down for Cyclists
Why is Warm-Up & Cool-Down Necessary, and how can you go about doing it properly?
Here's an article that solves all your doubts about this mystery.
Cycling is fun and tiring at the same time. But sometimes we tend to tire ourselves so much that it ends up into vague injuries that usually go unnoticed.
Many novice cyclists have the tendency to directly rush to their cycles and enjoy an amazing ride. But sometimes things don’t go the way we want them to happen.
Before getting straight to warm-up exercises, let’s first understand,
What are Warm-Up Exercises?
Warm-up is nothing but preparing your body for the upcoming high-intensity activities. Much like how we prepare for our exams (though many of us don’t but still), just an analogy. So how we study for exams so that we can perform well in exams that’s exactly how we need to prepare our bodies to before some high-intensity exercises like cycling, running, or HIIT.
Why Warm-Up Exercises are necessary?
Warm-up exercises are necessary as it gets your muscles that will be involved in the cycling fired up. Prepping the muscles up before performing exercises can prevent you from developing catches or muscles strains during the session. It basically helps in preventing your body, precisely your muscles, to take on the incoming attacks.
Warm-Up Exercises You Can Do Before Cycling
Stand Tall and Stretch
Simply begin with your warm-up session with by standing tall and stretching. Stand tall and stretch as far as you can so that to flex all of your muscles. To activate them.
The Founder
It is a variation of the ‘Stand Tall and Stretch’. This exercise targets your posterior muscles and gets them firing for the upcoming cycling session.
Here’s how you can do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWV6keJUDeo
Squats
Squats are the best to target and activate the gluts muscles as they are the major muscles that help us the most in cycling. The major thing to pay attention to is that your knee should not go over your toes while coming down for a squat. If the knee goes beyond your toes then the entire weight gets transferred to the knee and can have major consequences. Repeat it 10 times at least before getting onto your bike.
How to do a proper squat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aclHkVaku9U
Plank
This is a perfect exercise to fire up all your core muscles along with your abdominal muscles. Hold plank still for almost 30 seconds.
How to do Plank:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdvN_XEl_c
Bridges
Bridges are yet another core strengthening exercises that will get your core firing up before getting onto the bike. Repeat the same for a minimum of 10 times.
Bridges and the proper way to do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WowARnE-p0s
Single-Legged Bridge
Swiftly change from a normal bridge to a single-legged bridge and this may is the ultimate balance exercise to get necessary stability on your bike. 5 repetitions on one leg and other 5 repetitions on the opposite leg.
Here’s how to do Single-Legged Bridge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KEhga2e2r4
Warming-up is extremely necessary before putting your cycling skills to action.
After an extravagantly tiring cycling session, it’s time cool down your pacing heart.
What is Cool-Down?
Cool-Down Exercises are really important after an immensely exhausting cardio session. These are a series of exercises that eventually lower your heartbeat and help you get your heart beating to its normal pace.
Why is Cool-Down Exercises are necessary?
Cooldown exercises are overlooked and people are readily tempted to grab their favourite snacks after the huge amounts of calories that they have burnt or hop into a shower. But it is initially important to slowly taper your heartbeat down to normal. Also, these are a series of stretches that prevent any further minor injuries after heavy pieces of training.
Cool-Down Exercises After Cycling Sessions
Here’s a list of all the exercises and stretches that you can do, to not fall prey to catches and other minor injuries.
Spinal Twist In Supine Position
It is the best stretch for relaxing the thoracic muscles. You can tilt the head to the opposite direction to increase the intensity. Also, you can use your spare arm to push the knee further down for an additive effect in the stretch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezyMaQEaVaI
Lunge With Arm Stretch
It’s nothing but a simple lunge with arms stretched up so here it works both the legs and the thoracic region. The knees shouldn’t go beyond the toes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RhkHErs_lU
Calf Stretch
This is a simple stretch that can be done on a ledge or a rock. Standing straight on the rock or a step, whatever is comfortable with you, then place one leg on the ledge (so that the end of the leg is little at outside the ledge or the end of the rock). Apply pressure on the leg at the leg so that the end of your leg is moved a bit towards the ground. You can further bend the knee to have an additive effect on the calf and the muscles below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU6Thh4ct7A
Hamstring Stretch With Band
It is not necessary to go out looking for a band, or go and shop for one. Instead, you can take a piece of cloth that roughly is double the distance between your arms and toes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTtmKKpbI58
Glute Stretch With Thoracic Spine Rotation
This is really important for cyclists, as it can stretch the glutes very well. Relax them after a strenuous cycling session.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRCpceBhcm0
Neck Flexion & Side Flexion
It is a stretch that targets the neck muscles. All you need to do is interlock hands behind, drop your chin downwards and then you will feel the stretch at the back of your neck. For the side flexion, bend your ear to the same shoulder and for adding a further stretch to it, pull the head on the same side with the help of the same arm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NOsE-VPpkE
In the end, all we want to say is, that things will be better for you the next morning if you do a proper warm-up and cool down after the intense cycling session. It’s beneficial for all of your major muscles and can help you get them working at their optimum during the session. The cooldown will help it relax and recover it for the upcoming session.
Some warm-up routines:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0mMyV5OtcM
Cool-down Routines:
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