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Why should cyclists do yoga?

For a long time there was a misconception that practitioners of any sport should dedicate as much time as possible to it, in order to excel.

Whilst practice makes perfect has some merit; devoting time for stretching, warming-up, cooling down and doing isolation exercises can aid your quest for greater efficiency in any sport, including cycling. Yoga can help you here!

Yoga is an ancient practice thought to originate from Southeast Asia which pairs deep breathing with various poses, or ‘ansans’. This pairing aims to cultivate a space for mindfulness as you move. Not only do you stretch and activate different parts of your body, but you also create time for your mind to rest while you simply focus on the movement.

And why is yoga good for cyclists? Well, besides the benefit of allowing the mind to relax, yoga can improve your performance.

Constant cycling means training the same muscle groups repetitively. Over time, this can result in these muscles losing their elasticity and in-turn, power. This creates an imbalance of very strong and very weak muscles that are working together during your bike ride; resulting in injuries, strain and pain.

This imbalance can be restored through yoga where continuous practice will increase flexibility in cycle specific muscle groups, whilst building cyclist-specific strength and stability. The combination of flexibility and strength, referred to as mobility, will not only enhance your cycling performance, but will also help to prevent injury.

Yoga can help with niggles which stem from your riding position, including tight hamstrings, back pain and neck and shoulder strains, and many poses target these specific areas.

The deep breath-work during your yoga practice will enhance the efficiency of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Deep breathing through your nose allows the oxygen uptake ability of your lungs to increase, as well as the ability of your heart to pump oxygenated blood to the relevant muscles, organs and muscles.

This will result in less breathlessness, higher endurance and a lower risk of injury. These are just a few examples of the benefits of incorporating yoga into your cycling training routine. It will help you on and off the bike!

There is plenty of material on YouTube and Instagram to get you started on your cycling-yoga journey. These are usually generic, rather than responding to the impact of cycling on a rider, so attending classes specifically for cyclists is preferable.

I run Trek-funded sessions through Trek Women’s Facebook groups every Wednesday. Have a look online for the groups. I also run non cycling specific mixed classes. You can connect with me on Instagram for these or if you have any questions.

Yogi Yasmine Osmani can be contacted via Instagram @yogawithyo, via the Trek Women Manchester Piccadilly Facebook Group or via the Tour de Manc organising team.


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