Bike Mobility and Strength
MOBILITY IS DEFINED AS THE ABILITY TO MOVE FREELY AND EASILY. THE ABILITY TO MOVE MUSCLES THROUGH THEIR IDEAL RANGE OF MOTION DECREASES WITH AGE. WITHOUT SPECIFIC WORK, OLDER ATHLETES FIND THEMSELVES STRUGGLING TO PERFORM MOVEMENTS CORRECTLY BECAUSE OF DECREASED MOBILITY. INCORPORATING SPECIFIC WORK TO FIGHT THIS CONSEQUENCE OF AGING IS KEY TO MAINTAINING PERFORMANCE IN OLDER ATHLETES. Mobility affects both strength and technique. The body creates inefficient muscle compensations when the prime movers are inhibited in their range of motion. This results in weakness in performance and technique. Improving both technique and strength starts with addressing any mobility restrictions.
Incorporating mobility work during your warmup is a timeefficient way to incorporate this training. The following is a list of specific mobility and strength exercises you can try in your next session.
Compromised mobility in the shoulders prevents effective swim technique and leads to injury. The key to consistent training and improvement is working on shoulder range of motion. The banded overhead stretch is a great dynamic stretch for the shoulders. The “push up-plus” creates movement and strength in the thoracic spine and muscles between the shoulder blades.
Banded Overhead Stretch
Hold a stretchy band or cord in both hands out in front of you. Reach the band up over your head and behind you, rotating your shoulders back until your hands are behind you. Take a breath and return to the start position. Start with sets of 10 repetitions. For triathletes, hamstring mobility is important for comfortably achieving an aerodynamic position. The dowel deadlift is a great exercise for stretching and strengthening the hamstrings. Three-way squats are great for muscle coordination, strength and balance.
Dowel Deadlift
Hold a dowel or a broomstick with your arms at shoulder height. Keeping your back and legs straight, with your knees just slightly bent, lean forward until you feel a pull at the top of your hamstrings. Keep your back straight without rounding the shoulders forward (if your hamstrings are very tight you won’t bend very far at all). Return to the start position and repeat 10 times.
Three-way Squat
One-leg squats challenge balance, proprioception, hip and glute strength. These exercises are a cornerstone for injury prevention in running athletes. Balancing on one leg with your arms at shoulder height pointed directly in front of you, hands together, bend your standing leg as far as you can while maintaining balance and your knee directly over mid foot (no dropping your knee inside) while stretching your other leg back behind you imagining you are rolling it on a tennis ball just three inches off the ground. Return to upright position as one repetition. Complete 10 on each side then stretch your leg out to the side, imagining the outstretched leg rolling on a tennis ball three inches from the ground and your bent leg maintaining knee position over your foot.