Cycle Trekkers

The back isn’t always something we consider when cycling, however particularly during cycle touring or any long distance cyclists, we spend an extended period of time in the saddle, bending forward towards the handle bars. This puts a lot of pressure on the spine and the discs within the spine.

Hence strengthening the back for cycle touring (or any type of cycling) is really important in ensuring we protect our spine and prevent lower back pain and hunching/ rounding forward. Next week I plan to write an article on lower pain pain, which will focus a bit more on this.

I’ve also previously written an article about how cycle touring can change your body, which touches on the impact on the spine and some of the other things you may experience when spending hours in the saddle. Today we’ll focus primarily on back strengthening – why and how.

Why strengthening the back for cycle touring is so important

To give you some idea of the amount of pressure on the spine when bending forward (ie. putting the back in flexion) I’ll compare the amount of pressure in different positions. Now this will vary depending on the person and is purely to give you a comparison or visual. For this comparison I’ll use Suzy as an example.

• When lying down on the floor Suzy has 70 pounds of pressure on the spine.
• While standing this increases to 100 pounds.
• When seated with a straight spine, so good posture and no rounding forward, this pressure increases to 150 pounds.
• On a bike, rounding forward, Suzy increases this pressure to 300-400 pounds (depending largely on how much flexion is from the hips compared to how much flexion is in the back/ spine).

So we can see from this example that there is far more pressure on the spine and discs when rounding forward, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The spine has 6 degrees of movement (side to side, back to front and twisting) and movement in all these directions helps to hydrate the spinal discs, which helps mobility and stiffness.

However, when we are staying in this flexed position for an extending period of time that is when the ligaments in the back of spine can start to weaken. The muscles that support the spine can also stretch. On the other hand, the front body can get tight and the muscles shorten. This can result in back pain, specifically lower back pain and the hunching forward position, meaning it can be difficult to hold good posture in other activities.

When the back is rounded we no longer have the natural curve (lumbar curve) present in the lower spine. This natural curve helps to respond to pressure and gravity. Hence why there is an increase in pressure on the spine when rounding forward when cycling. And also why good posture when standing, sitting, walking etc is so important.

Therefore especially when spending long period of time in the saddle, it’s important to strengthen the muscles that support the back and the spine and to also take counterposes/ stretches once you’ve finished a long cycle. Below we’ll take a look at a few ways we can do this.

Strengthening the back for cycle touring – how?

Back strengthening is really important in your cycling preparation. So if you are planning a long distance cycle trip, try and incorporate some back strengthening into your training plan.

Here are two back strengthening exercises you can use. I’ve also created a short Yoga for Back Strengthening class with a few more poses and exercises you can try.

Cobra Lifts

Cobra lifts are a great way to strengthen the muscles that run along the spine (multifidi and the erectors) and the lower back.

Lie on your belly. Bring your palms so the are next to your shoulders. Keep the elbows in. Gently push the pelvis into the floor. As you inhale, roll the chest up – being careful not to crunch the neck. Holding it there and seeing whether you can lift the hands of the floor. Pull the shoulder blades in towards each other, activating the muscles in the back. Exhale to roll back down. Repeat 4-6 times. Moving slowly. If you feel any pain then come out of pose.

For a counterpose you can make a pillow with the hands. Rest the forehead on the hands and breath into the belly or/ and rock the pelvis side to side.

Birdwinging

Birdwinging is a great way to strengthen the upper back and the muscles between the shoulder blades. It also activates these muscles, so is great to do either before or after a cycle.

Bring the arms out in front. Palms facing up. Elbows in towards the lower ribs. Keep the elbows in towards the ribs as you open the arms out to the side on the inhale, drawing the shoulder blades together. On the exhale release and let the arms move back in. As you do this notice if the shoulders draw up towards the ears and see if you can draw them down the back. Repeat 5 – 10 times.

Other Spinal Movements

After cycling we also want to gently stretch the front body. We can do this with some gentle back bends or chest openers. We don’t want to take anything too extreme after being in a flexed position for a long period of time. Just some gentle chest opening movements are great. Here is 10 minute chest opening sequence to give you an idea of some stretches you could take.

Moving the spine through the 6 degrees of movement (or in this case as we’ve been flexed for so long, it would the 5 degrees of movement) is also a great way to get any kinks out of the spine and rehydrate the discs in the spine. You can do this by taking some gentle twists and side bends. This is in addition to the gentle back bends (or chest openers).

The Core

Along with the muscles in the spine (the multifidi and the erectors) the core plays an important part in spinal and back support. The core is made up of different groups of muscles. On Monday 20th July 2020 I’m running a free 7 day core challenge where each day we will look at a different muscle that makes up the core and how we can strengthen it. You’ll then be given a couple of exercises that focuses on that specific core muscle. Strengthening the core is another great way to train for your long distance cycle trip.

The challenge will take 5-10 minutes a day for 7 days, so you’ll easily be able to fit it into your day. You can either sign up to the challenge here and you’ll receive a daily email each morning for 7 days. Or you can subscribe to my YouTube to receive the notifications.

I’ve also created a short Yoga for Lower Back Pain course. This gives you bonus free access to the 7 day core challenge now.

I only launched this course today and if you sign up before 12th August with the code LOVEYOURBACK you’ll get 50% off the course price.

Obviously everyone is different, so how cycle touring can change your body will vary from person to person. Last week I wrote about the experience Michael and I had with our bodies while cycle touring. This week I thought I’d write a little more about some of the changes you may experience, and a few ways you can prevent or manage them.

I appreciate this is quite text heavy – there is quite a lot of info there and I hope to eventually put together a suggested training plan that will help address these points a bit more. Sign up to the email list if you want to be updated when this is available (no set date yet).

Rounding of the Upper Back/ Shoulders

The typical cyclist position where we lean forward towards the handle bars creates a rounding in the spine and often means our shoulders hunch forward or up (or both). This stretches (lengthens) the muscles between the shoulder blades and shortens the muscles in the pecs. If we don’t do anything to counteract this movement, then the muscles in these areas don’t get the opportunity to readjust or (let’s call it) neutralise.

This can lead to weak muscles in between the shoulder blades and tight chest muscles – meaning we start to develop a gradual rounding or hunching of the upper back. This can then lead to lots of other issues, such as neck and shoulder pain, bad posture and lower back pain.

When next riding, notice whether you tend to draw your shoulders up towards your ears when you ride – this can result from weak rhomboids (as well as other muscles that are in between the shoulder blades). Drawing your shoulders towards your ears for a prolonged time can also create neck and shoulder pain and add to the rounding or hunching forward. You can try and manage this by strengthening the upper back, and actively drawing the shoulder blades down the back.

What can you do to prevent this rounding/ hunching?

1. Make sure you stretch with counterposes after your ride.

This means doing stretches that open across the chest and pulls the shoulder blades together. Gentle backbends can also help, however be careful not to take anything too extreme straight after cycling (such as a yoga pose known as wheel), as spending a long time rounding forward, to suddenly bend in the opposite direction can upset the spine.

When stretching the chest muscles, try and contracting the muscles between the shoulder blades. By doing this you’ll also benefit from a concept known as, reciprocal inhibition. This is where engaging the opposite muscles to those you want to stretch, will help you deepen into the stretch of the target muscles. This means you will engage and strengthen the back muscles, as well as getting a good stretch in the the pecs and front body.

I’ve created a short chest opening sequence here. This wasn’t created specifically for cyclists and I don’t cover much on reciprocal inhibition (though I do plan to create one in future), however it will give you an idea of the kinds of exercises that stretches across the chest. If you are experiencing a lot of neck pain, you may also like this short sequence.

2. Exercises to strengthen the upper back are also great.

These can be done at any point, but are particularly great to incorporate into your pre-cycle tour training plan. The stronger the back muscles are when you start your tour, the less likely you’ll experience the rounding, as well as neck and shoulder pain. When doing these exercises make sure you draw the shoulder blades down the back. I’ve written a new article, which includes a sequence to help you strengthen your back and prepare you for your next/ first cycle tour.

3. You can also try engaging the upper back muscles while cycling.

You don’t have to do this constantly, but just enough that you’re engaging these muscles. This just helps to keep the muscles active.

Inactive Glutes

I wrote a little about my experience with this last week. In brief, your leg muscles can become so strong from overuse that it can lead to your glute muscles becoming a bit less active. This leads to weak glute muscles as well as a bit of a disconnect with the sensory and motor neurons that connect your brain with the glute muscles. This means when you start to try and activate them, it can take a while before you can actively engage them (ie. your brain can’t easily tense the muscles in your bum, when you try to tense them). This actually happened to me, so I can vouch for the science behind this.

Overactive leg muscles can have lots of knock on effects – for me I had less support when running downhill, which meant instead of the impact being absorbed by my glutes, my knees were taking the impact. Obviously, my knees weren’t too happy about this.

Overactive or tight leg muscles (ie. when the muscles shorten) can also create lower back pain and pelvis tilts. This occurs as the shortened muscles pull down on the muscles in the lower back and pelvis, bring them out of alignment.

What can you do to prevent inactive glutes?

1. Exercises to strengthen the glutes – bridge dips and squats are great.

Different Bridge exercises was actually what my physio prescribed to me to help me restrengthen my glutes.

2. Also try actively engaging the glutes

Yes, I mean squeeze your butt once in a while – this helps to keep the neuron pathways active.

3. Try a body scans

If you’re into meditations or fancied giving them ago – body scans are also great for keeping the neuron pathways in the body active, as they bring awareness to the different body parts. I recently completed a meditation course and recorded a couple of guided meditations that include body scans – you can sign up to receive them for free, here.

Lower Back Pain

Linked to the above issue and briefly touched on – tight (short) leg muscles can pull on the lower back and pelvis, causing lower back pain and influence the position of the pelvis, bringing it out of alignment.

As well as causing lots of discomfort, these tight muscles can influence the way you walk and the amount of impact or force placed on the different body parts and joints.

What can you do to prevent this from occurring?

1. Gentle twists and side bend stretches can help relieve lower back pain in the short term.

When twisting, make sure you’re twisting from the belly and not the shoulders – it’s just a bit kinder on the spine.

2. For more long term solutions, make sure you stretch your legs after a cycle.

I do cover this a little bit in the Yoga for Cyclists course.

I’ve also created a new short Yoga for Lower Back Pain course, which covers the common causes of lower back pain and will equip you with some exercises you can incorporate into your training plan or to use while on tour. It also includes a bonus 7 day core challenge (because the back is part of the core – and hey, why not challenge yourself?).

This course is designed to give you some exercises to help prevent lower back pain in the long term. It doesn’t however replace medical guidance.

Weakened Spine

Rounding forward can weaken the muscles that support the spine. This works in the exact same way as how the upper back muscles weaken – the constant rounding forward is a constant stretch on the back of spine. This can lengthen the ligaments, connective tissue and muscles that support the spine (muscles such erector spinae). Over a prolonged period of time this can weaken the muscles, as we’re not regularly contracting these muscles (or counteracting this stretching action), which helps to strengthen these muscles.

What can you do to prevent this?

1. Strengthen the core can really help protect the spine and strengthen the muscles that support the spine.

This is something that I definitely suggest incorporating into any pre-cycle tour training plan. To get you started you can sign up to the 7 day core challenge!

2. Twists, side bends and gentle back bends can counteract the bending forward motion.

Side bends and gentle twists are great for getting any kinks out of the spine. After a ride it’s a good idea to incorporate a few of these stretches into your post ride cool down. By stretching in the opposite direction to when we ride, we bring the previously stretched muscles (in this case the back muscles) into contraction – which strengthens them.

Numbness in the hands/ wrists

A friend I met while cycle touring in Canada got numbness in the hands really bad – to the point she couldn’t move or feel or pinky fingers. Though I’ve never experienced anything quite that bad, I have experienced hand and wrist aches and pains.

Carpel Tunnel Syndrome is also something that can develop from constant and too much pressure on the heel of the wrists.

What can you do to prevent this?

1. This is one that might be better managed by changing handle bar grips and gloves.

I also found it helped to not do up my cycle gloves – I guess this helped with circulation and mobility of the wrists.

2. You could also look at your posture on the bike.

Notice whether you are dumping too much weight into the heel of the hands – maybe play around with the height of the handle bars, grips and seat.

3. To relieve wrist and hand pain there are some exercises you could do.

I created a short video on hand and feet stretches, as part of a 30 day yoga challenge – feel free to check it out if you are experiencing any discomfort or tightness in the hands.

I’ve also created a short sequence to increase fluid to the wrists which can help with mobility and reduce tension in the wrists.

4. Massaging the hands is also a great way to increase blood flow to the area and relieve any pain.

This article covered a lot of the common changes you might experience – however if there was anything else that you’ve experienced I would love to hear about it.

Also in this article about how cycle touring can change your body, I’ve highlighted a lot of the issues you may develop when cycle touring – however it’s important to recognise it’s not all bad. There are also loads of benefits of cycling too. We just don’t usually have to manage these benefits as much, so I’ve not covered them here 🙂

When we headed off on our first cycle tour, we didn’t give much thought to how cycling changes your body. Actually, I’m not sure we gave it any thought at all. Which in hindsight was a bit of a mistake, and perhaps if we had considered these possible changes before we set off, we could have prevented a few injuries and quite a few scary discoveries.

Obviously, how cycling changes your body, will depend on a number of factors and will vary from person to person. Just the differences Michael and I experienced proves how these differences can vary so much.

There’s quite a lot to cover, so I thought I’d first share with you, what changes Michael and I experienced during our cycle tours. Then next week, I’ll share with you some of the common changes you may experience and provide some resources to help you manage these changes and prevent injuries, pain and soreness.

How Cycling Changed Our Bodies

Michael: Weight Loss

When we left the ski resort in Sty Foy and started our first cycle trip, Michael weighed around 83kg. Just 6 weeks into the trip he weighed only 66kg.

Michael had started to burn muscle and couldn’t seem to consume enough calories to keep the weight on. He managed to gain a bit more weight once we discovered how much he had lost, but during this trip his weight loss was a constant issue and worry. At one point in Michael’s life he weighed over a 100kg, so extreme weight loss was not an issue he previously had.

Kelly: Pains… Lots of them.

Weight

Completely the opposite to Michael, I actually gained weight. I started the trip around 50kg and by the end of the trip was closer to 60kg. Why? I suspect from muscle growth. Unlike Michael I wasn’t burning muscle, I was growing muscle. Mostly in my legs. Strange considering we rode the same distance and ate a very similar diet. The only real difference was that Michael had a bit more weight on the bike than I did and I’m about a foot shorter than Michael. And obviously, I’m a female.

Before the cycle trip I was in a ski accident, so I had spent the previous few months not doing a whole lot of exercise. I went from next to no exercise to cycling up hills with weight on the bike. I likely started the trip with a lot less muscle than Michael. There are a number of other possible reasons why we had completely different experiences with our body weight – metabolism, muscle size, limb size, pannier weight. I guess we can never be 100% sure, but it is something we learnt for future planning, and during our cross Canada trip, we both managed to maintain our weight in a healthy range.

Saddle Sore

Weight gain and muscle growth wasn’t the only thing I experienced in that first trip.

A couple of days into our France to China trip I started to experience extremely bad saddle sore. Specifically my tail bone. I couldn’t sit down for 6 weeks. Padded shorts didn’t help and eventually the pain did go away. I never really worked out why I experienced so much pain and I’ve never experienced it since. Maybe it was literally my body adjusting to so much time spent in the saddle.

Sore Wrists (and lots of blisters on the hands)

My wrists also we’re extremely painful, and throughout the entire 8 month period I was constantly adjusting the handle bar, changing gloves, and trying different grips.

It was also something I experienced at the start of the cross Canada trip, however a couple of weeks into this trip, the pain went away this time and I suspect that was due to a combination of wrist stretches and new fancy handlebar grips.

You’ll also notice (whether you wear gloves or not) your hands will develop a lot of hard skin. This didn’t really bother me or Michael, however it’s definitely a change that we both noticed.

If you do experience any wrist pain, you might like to try this short sequence to loosen the wrists.

Upper Back, Shoulder & Neck Pain

At the time I couldn’t figure out why I was experiencing so much pain in my upper back, shoulders and neck. I tried different grips, different handle bars, different saddle positions. I also tried a mix of stretches, which to some extent did relief some of the pain temporarily. However, whatever I did the pain seemed to return. I struggled with this for a long time before I discovered the cause.

I’ve now learnt that all this pain and discomfort was to do with my posture on the bike. I carry a lot of tension in my shoulders, and while on the bike had a tendency to pull my shoulders towards my ears. Instead I should have been engaging the muscles in between the shoulder blades (the rhomboids) to help pull my shoulders down the back. Creating space between the shoulders and the ears.

These upper back muscles tend to get quite weak during cycling. Actually, the whole back body can become quite weak due to the constant rounding/ leaning forward position. If I considered this at the time, I should really have been starting my day with a few exercises to help engage the upper back muscles, and bring some awareness to drawing the shoulder blades down the back. This would also help prevent any rounding of the shoulders (not something we personalised experienced or had issues with, but I’ll cover this a bit more in next week’s article).

I’ve also covered back strengthening a bit more in a completely separate article – this article also include a back strengthening yoga class.

I wish I knew about the upper back muscles years ago – it would have saved me from a lot of discomfort and headaches.

Overactive Quads & Inactive Glutes

Something I didn’t discover until many months after the cross Canada cycle trip, when I took up running again. My quad muscles had started to overcompensate for my glutes. I had gotten so used to using my quads, and didn’t do any exercises to maintain my glute muscles, that those muscles literally stopped working. I only discovered this when running down hill and experiencing knee pain. My physio put it down to all the cycling. Though I love cycling, this really woke me up to the need of cross training, stretching and working muscles that are inactive for prolonged periods of time.

What we both experienced

Exhaustion! I don’t think I’ve ever napped so much in my life. I’m not sure this every really changed, no matter the time we spent on the road. I’m sure it was a mixture of physically being tired and just enjoying a good nap on a sunny day, in the shade of a tree.

We were both also in a constant state of hunger. Our stomachs were literally bottomless pits. During the cross Canada trip we did a much better job of eating the right foods, which sustained us a lot longer. That said, we could still eat a lot. I plan to write a whole separate article about diet – particularly for vegetarians – as both Michael and I are vegetarian cyclists. So keep an eye out for this.

Something else to also keep in mind is when you finish the trip – it takes a bit of time to readjust to a more sensible amount of food. So you may experience a sudden weight gain.

To help prevent common aches and pains on tour, I’ve created a specific Yoga for Cycle Tourist class. This class is based on a few of the common issues I experienced, and a few stretches you can do to help ease them. I’ve also created a FREE Yoga for Cyclist course, which explains a bit more about the benefits of yoga for cyclists and includes a few free yoga classes/ sequences/ stretches you can incorporate into your training plan.

Monthly Cycle Touring Tip

We’ve received a lot of emails and messages over the past couple of years from people wanting to embark on their first cycle tour, but not really sure where to start or what to consider. To help you out, we’ve decided that each month we’ll post a cycle touring tip to help you prepare for your cycle tour.

These tips will be a collection of things we wish we knew before we started, or have just found really useful. They will all be completely from our experience while on the road. However, remember there is no wrong or right way to cycle tour – so if these tips don’t work for you, no worries!

Tip #1: Don’t Listen to the Negativity of Others

If Michael & I listened to all the people that told us we couldn’t cycle from France to China, we never would have left France. Sure the odds may have been against us – we both weren’t cyclists and we both had never done anything like this before. However, we didn’t let this stop us.

It’s easy to start doubting yourself and your ability when others start telling you you’re crazy or you can’t do something.

You could always respond with, “Maybe you’re right, I won’t be able to do it, however I’ll never know if I don’t try.” Which is 100% true. Your trip likely won’t pan out the exact way you had planned. But, that’s ok. Plans can change. This shouldn’t prevent you from going. And if it doesn’t work out – at least you tried. There is no shame in that.

Negativities during our France to China Trip

I certainly started to doubt myself before and during our France to China trip – and maybe it was just me being stubborn that lead to us continuing with the trip. Loads of people told us we couldn’t do it. Actually, I’m not sure anyone told us we could do it. And when we started the trip, more than once, I stopped on the side of the road and asked, “What am I doing? I’m not really a cyclist – I can’t do this.“

Just try and remind yourself that you’ve got nothing to lose. This is something you wanted to do. And if it doesn’t work out – it’s fine. You can only do your best. And, if it does work out – you’ve ticked something off the bucket list. Win, win.

Other negativities I came across before or during the trip – you can’t cycle through Iran as a woman. You can’t cycle tour as a woman. You can’t wild camp. Aren’t you afraid you’ll get attacked/ mugged/ killed?

There will always be an element of risk – but there is with most things in life. As long as you use some common sense and take the right precautions you’ll likely be fine. As I tell most people – I’ve had more bad things happen to me in my home town than anywhere else in the world (and I’ve not spent much of my life in my hometown).

You can listen to and consider what people are saying – however don’t let those comments put you off. You’ve done the preparation. You’ve done the research. You likely know more about your trip than an outsider that has just found out about it. Obviously, if your research suggests that person might be right, then maybe take it into consideration. However in most cases, this won’t be the case and if i is, then there are likely other options. Maybe taking a slightly different route for example.

This is the first of our monthly cycle touring tips – check back next month for our next time.

In the meantime, if you’re after more we’ve previous posted about picking travel insurance and sleeping options for cycle tourists.