August 7, 2010
YOGA EXERCISE FOR CYCLING AND INDOOR STATIONARY CYCLING
While riding your bike and indoor stationary cycling are among the best forms of aerobic conditioning, they often times leave the participant with tightness, cramps or even soreness. A constant sport associated yoga plan could relieve a lot of of these symptoms; including lower back discomfort, trapezious tension and tight hamstrings and quadriceps.
Repetitive biking pushes your body in long stretches of forward flexion, similar to sitting down at a table for long hours or driving a car. However due to the work involved there gets the extra problem of a tightening up within the muscles of the lower body, quads, hamstrings and gluteus. More of this at yoga teacher training.
Yoga Poses offer us with an opening in these areas. The following are a listing of poses which will stabilize the body and reduce the chance of injury.
Upper Body Openers:
1. CHEST EXPANSION: During your bike take time to regularly open up the upper body and pull your shoulders back and straight down, squeezing the particular shoulder blades together and tensing the rear muscle groups. Take ten deep breaths into opening in the chest and shoulder, which remain contracted during the bike. While riding try to keep your shoulders relaxed and wide open.
Once the ride is finished go off the bicycle, interlace fingers together behind the back and open the chest forward by pulling the arms as far away from your body as possible. If you are at normal resting pulse rate you could forward fold into a full chest expansion simply by hinging at the hips and folding the upper body over the lower body. Keep hands interlaced for ten deep breaths. Check this out at yoga conference.
2. COBRA POSE: A chest and shoulder opener - lying your body face-down on the ground, put hands beneath shoulder blades and lightly push to arms to straight but not all the way, keeping a small flex in the elbows. Protect the lower back by keeping the hips on the ground and squeezing the gluteus (those muscles you’re sitting upon) tight.
Quadriceps Openers:
1.QUAD STRETCH: Laying facedown on the floor – flex one leg and seize onto the actual ankle - gently pulling the lower limb back and up – try out touching your own foot to your gluts. Change sides. This can also be carried out standing. Be mindful if you’ve got knee troubles.
Hip openers:
UPSIDE DOWN PIDGEON POSES: Lying face-up on the ground, lifting the legs to knee height from the ground, take the right ankle towards the left quadriceps – aiming for a place upon the leg midway between knee and crotch. Draw left knee in towards the body, push right knee out gently until you experience a deep stretch within the hip and glute region. Hold for 10 heavy breaths and switch sides.
Hamstring Openers:
FORWARD FOLD: While at resting heart rate, standing, bend in the hips folding forward - hold onto elbows, or even more strenuous- hold ankles - along with smooth breathing sink a little further for each exhale, allowing the crown move to the flooring and relaxing the neck and head as much as possible. Take ten deep breaths. These postures aren’t suitable for anyone having a heart problem or if heart rate is higher than resting.
Side Openers:
LATERAL FLEXION: Because of the position with the cycle it’s quite common to have tight latisimus dorsi ( Lats ) because they are contracted for the majority of the ride. With this stretch we can open the sides of our bodies. Standing brings both arms overhead; bring the right arm down relaxing the hand on the hip. Breathe in, lifting from the small of the back. Breathe out lower the particular left arm overhead right up until you feel a heavy stretch in the left side of the body. Keep your glutes tight and the lower body going forward as the upper body proceeds to lift and sink. Take five heavy breaths after which change sides.
Practice these postures at the end of your ride and you will feel charged, relaxed and renewed. You will notice instant differences in your versatility. These types of postures can also be used for business employees, long distance motorists and mothers that are devoting lots of time along with small children. For more information on Yoga and Sports Conditioning take a look at Beth Shaw’s YOGAFIT released by Human Kinetics publishing available in book shops right now.
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