Want Awesome Posture on Your Bike? Strengthen Your Core!

Katharine Ford from the Fitness Table Vancouver has been kind enough to share her advice on developing great posture on the bike. Read on so you can learn how to become faster…

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We at the Fitness Table Vancouver Inc. know that riding with awesome posture is no easy task, but if you can sustain it on your bike the benefits are tenfold. Awesome posture on your bike will aid in reducing back pain, increase your breath capacity, and will allow you to ride longer, train harder, and improve your performance. Who doesn’t want that?? 

So, how do you achieve and sustain awesome posture? At the Fitness Table the first part of the postural training process is about learning how to breathe diaphragmatically. For more information on breathing using your diaphragm check out the article the we wrote for velofix in the December newsletter here.

Got the breathing? What’s next?

It’s time to start strengthening your core!

When we are training athletes we often remind them that every breath is an opportunity. What we mean is, if done correctly, every time you exhale you have the opportunity to activate and contract your deep core musculature. This contraction aids not only in lengthening and strengthening your core, but it also supports your spine and improves your posture.

Deep CORE musculature… Huh??

The deepest layer of core musculature that we have is called the Transverse Abdominis, or T.A., or, what we affectionally refer to as your corset.

 As the below image depicts, this corset attaches onto your lumbar spine via lumbar fascia, the top of your pelvis, and the base of your rib cage. It wraps around the full circumference of your waist, inserting in the front onto the pubic bone and at the base of the sternum. It literally connects your upper and lower body while supporting your lower back.

When the T.A. is strong your body is stable, connected, and anchored. Over compensations causing tight hip flexors or sore lower and upper backs dissolve… improved posture emerges!
 

How does breathing lead to awesome posture?

At the Fitness Table one of the biggest directives given to our athletes is to inhale and exhale. Why? Well, because the tissues of the T.A. and the diaphragm are interwoven. As you inhale the diaphragm contracts and to varying degrees, the T.A. releases. Then with every exhalation the diaphragm releases, and upon active exhalation the T.A. contracts. They play tag with one another! 

In other words, if you have trained correctly, with every exhalation, your T.A. contracts to its full length. Suddenly core stability is achieved, and core muscle strength is just around the corner. Remember, a strong T.A. leads to improved posture and fewer over compensations!

 What’s next? Try it out!

Hop on your bike! See if throughout a ride you can inhale diaphragmatically and then exhale using your Transverse Abdominis. Remember that the corset that is your T.A. lengthens your trunk and narrows your waist, so you should encourage those directions in your body as you exhale on your ride.

Want to learn more? Have questions? Feel free to contact us at the Fitness Table Vancouver Inc. or like us on Facebook!

Have a great ride! See you out there!

 Katharine Ford