HEALTH Breathe right when cycling

Breathe for better cycling


Yoga
Lee Kennedy

Whether your on a leisurely cycle on one of the county’s beautiful new cycle tracks or taking part in a race, breathing steadily is paramount. It will help your performance and help you to  focus on the muscles being used, the balance required and the mental calmness needed to chase away the rest of the world, which can greatly enhance any cycling experience.
Yoga helps you learn to breath slowly, predictably and purposefully. You learn how to ‘breathe into’ the muscles being worked, relaxing and energizing them at the same time.
Next time you get on the saddle, try breathing deeply and slowly, and mentally direct the oxygen and energy down through your lower back and your legs, or around your neck and triceps. This can reduce the pain and stiffness and increase the effectiveness of some racing techniques. For serious cyclists, the increased concentration levels that yoga brings enable you to push through pain and long hours on a skinny hard seat, and to keep breathing sufficiently while focusing on narrow twisty roads or long steep inclines.
Yoga can also be a great way to cross train. Cross training is necessary for athletes who do the same sport or exercise routine year-round. Adding new stretches and techniques help reduce injury, relieve training boredom, and reduce lower back pain. There are hundreds of yoga postures that can provide a workout for any athlete in training.

Vrksasana
Tree pose is a balancing pose. This pose can help you have a real sense of your body while gaining stability. It also strengthens thighs, calves, ankles, spine and stretches the groins and inner thighs, chest and shoulder, all of which will help. All this translates extremely well to cycling at any level or fitness.

• From standing shift your weight slightly onto the left foot, keeping the inner foot firm to the floor, and bend your right knee.
• Reach down with your right hand and clasp your right ankle. Draw your right foot up and place the sole against the inner left thigh, or ‘knobble’ of the knee.
• The centre of your pelvis should be directly over the left foot.
• Focus on keeping the left leg strong, straight and steady.
• To start, rest your hands on the top rim of your pelvis.
• Lengthen your tailbone toward the floor.
• Exhale, extend the arms up over head.
• For balance it helps to gaze softly at a fixed point on the ground below, or stand near a support.
• Stay for up to one min, and then try the other side.

Next Time Releasing upper-body tension and stiffness caused by cycling