What sort of core training should I do?
Forget standard sit-ups – for peak cycling performance, it’s all about asymmetrical exercises
Whether you love core workouts or loathe them, strong abdominal and lower back muscles are essential if you want to maintain a comfortable position on your bike and maximise the power output of your pedal stroke. But many standard core exercises suggested by personal trainers, such as sit-ups, aren’t the best choice for road cyclists. That’s because riding a bike involves some major body imbalances (each pedal stroke sees one leg extended downwards while the other is bent and raised upwards) and some unique challenges (such as maintaining a still upper body on climbs while your legs are pedalling frantically), so you need much more functional core exercises.
“It is much better to focus on asymmetrical exercises, which mirror the challenges of riding a bike,” insists Robby Ketchell, a former sports scientist for Team Sky (now Team Ineos). Sample exercises include towel crunches (place a towel under each foot, adopt a plank position, then slide your right knee towards the left side of your chest and repeat with the opposite leg); swimmer sets (lie on your front, then raise your right arm and left leg for 10 seconds, and repeat with the opposite limbs); and twist crunches (lie on your back in a crunch position, then raise your left knee and right elbow to meet together and repeat with the opposite limbs).
Elinor Barker, team pursuit gold medal winner at the 2016 Rio Olympics, agrees that core exercises should always relate back to cycling. “I don’t do a lot of twisting exercises because I have back problems, but I do focus on very specific core exercises that help me maintain an aerodynamic position on the bike,” she explains. “The plank is very good for cyclists because, again, it is so specific to holding your position on the bike.
“I do body saws, too – it’s a variation of the plank but you put your feet on little mats or towels and extend the plank stretch by gliding both your legs backwards and forwards. Really, it’s just like when you’re riding a bike, but extra- challenging.”
SPECIFIC CORE EXERCISES HELP TO MAINTAIN AN AERO DYNAMIC POSITION ON THE BIKE