November is almost here, Phase 1 of the 2021 cycling season has begun!

If you are putting in km now or plan to in the future, a return to your basic technique is mandatory to make sure that each pedal stroke is a stroke that leads you to fitness and not towards injury.

Have you paid attention lately to your body’s alignment; take a look at your saddle wear, your pedal wear, your shoulders and hips. The biomechanics of your pedal stroke, your hand positions, your knees and ankles. Are you performing daily flexibility positions to open up hips, lengthen hamstrings and quads, your spine; range of movement around all joints. And have you started on or are continuing strength exercises, not just for the bike, but for body balance after too much sitting, after doing physical labour or following an accident, and to prepare you for other winter sports.

If any of the 4 above components are lacking or over developed, your risk of INJURY is high. Injuries don’t just happen, they are the result of many poor biomechanical habits over time and although you may think it was one thing that created the injury and that fixing that area will prevent it happening again in the future, that isn’t the case.

Look at all 4 components and create a program to include them all – or get a coach to do it for you! Your cycling coach and/or a strength and conditioning coach.

We are planning to develop good cycling technique right now; suppleness as well as muscle tension to develop strength. Without the above 4 important factors, doing either leg speed or low cadence with load will add to the risk of injury.

Form, flexibility and stability while building up muscle strength will give you a body fit for cycling in the long term.

Contact Coach Barb to begin your Year of Fitness performance coached program.