Good Posture Is Paramount In Your Indoor Bicycle Class

Susan Ardizzoni
Jun 27, 2016
2 min read

One of my favorite exercises at the gym is bicycle class. I do yoga and resistance weights as well. If you don't already know, your posture while in yoga and bicycling is crucial to getting the most out of your routine. Sloppy posture will do you in every time. When bicycling, proper posture is not only important for safety reasons but also affords you to get the most out of your riding. When you bicycle or perhaps doing yoga, take a look around the room and check out everyone's posture. You might be surprised in what you find, that is to say “BAD” posture. I've made a list of what you need to do to get good posture. I hope you find this helpful.

Good Posture Rules:

Head and back – Make sure your head is properly aligned with your body, that is to say straight with your shoulders and looking ahead. Don't look upward or downward. Make sure you don't bend at the waist such that your bottom is tucked under you. Keep your back straight. This is important because this allows you to control your ride. That is to say this posture makes your pedaling more efficient and boosts your power. This will help to prevent fatigue, lower back and neck pain.
Shoulders – When riding fast or perhaps on a climb, you'll notice that your legs tire. Then, you begin to hold on to your handlebars more tightly and then it happens. Your shoulders end up around your ears. Now, you have neck cramp. Relax your shoulders by allowing them to drop while loosening the grip on your handlebars. In other words, get your shoulders away from your ears. Readjust your back posture into proper form. Now, you should have control again.
Knees – You want to avoid hyperextending your knees. That means bending your knees backwards. Sometimes this happens when you don't have enough tension on your gears. There is an adjustment on the right side of your class bike that you'll need to adjust. It has to be adjusted just right. Too much gear, you won't be able to go as fast as you need and not enough, your legs will end up getting ahead of you. You should never hyperextend but rather your knee should have a soft bend.
Elbows – Extend your elbows but do not overextend. Keep the elbows soft..
If you are already cycling, then you've probably heard your instructor say pull in your core. Well, think of this as wearing an invisible girdle. This helps you to activate the transverse stomach muscle. This muscle helps to stabilize your hips and spine. Very important because this helps to prevent lower back injury and pain. If you need to, put on a waist support for real.
Indoor bicycles have a number of adjustments that can be made on them. Go to class early and ask your instructor to help you adjust your bike. For safety sake, this is important.