Monday, May 8, 2017

Posture Tips For Cyclists

Not the best title, I admit.

Maybe one day I can be the Bike Fit writer for Buzzfeed.

Let's accept the bad title in the hope more folks that need this will find it.

I see lots of advice on how cyclists can correct their posture. Terrible posture. So bad. I tried to find a picture of myself fresh off the bike but came up short. Below is the closest I could find.

Image result for gollum

I apologize for those who don't appreciate my sarcasm. I thought it was pretty good.

I think the importance of posture is pretty overblown. Take a quick look around the internet and you can quickly find any number of articles on "text neck" and other maladies of modern chairs and cell phones.

Why do I think it is overblown? Give this video a quick watch.



Fine, I will admit cycling isn't really ideal to cultivate textbook "perfect posture"...of course, if that was the goal we would all quit our sport and be security guards or something like that.

I think a variety of postures during the day are good and losing the strength or mobility to have options there is probably not a good option. The items I'll go over below are actually applicable to everyone, not just cyclists, which maybe means I AM writing Buzzfeed clickbait now.

Here we go. Posture Tips. I don't think these are in really any order because importance will depend on what YOU are missing.

1. Go for a walk - I really think 10,000 steps a day is a great goal. Get a dog. That will help. Maybe walk 30 minutes during your lunch break.

2. Stand up straight - Just like Mom told you. All the strength and mobility in the world is useless if you are creeping around like our friend Gollum above. Good posture should feel relaxed and easy. If you can snag a standing desk or one of the variable ones, go for it.

3. Stretch breaks - Build some short stretches into your day. Which ones? Lots of options and consistency goes a long way. How long to do them? Just do them. You'll figure it out.











4. Prioritize - Get some mobility work in early.

That's it. Nobody needs perfect posture but if you want to improve yours this should be a good start.

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