You may be a professional cyclist or a casual weekend rider, but whatever the case, you want to stay in a good condition before and after riding your bike. It is possible to get cycling injuries especially if you fail to pay attention to certain things. There are a number of things that physical therapists recommend for cyclists, whether professional or casual. This has a lot to do with bike fit. In fact, survey indicates that the risk of cycling injuries increase when you use an ill-fitting bicycle. Here are tips that will help you enjoy a safe ride and stay in the perfect shape.
Handlebar tips
It matters a lot where your handlebars are placed. Essentially, it depends on your physical attributes such as height, coordination and strength. High handlebars make you put too much weight on the saddle. That is why taller riders have lower handlebars that help reduce the amount of pressure exerted on the saddle. If you are not tall but have lower handlebars, you will end up getting back pains because of reaching far too forward while cycling.
Cycling posture tips
Before working on cycling posture, you need to get your bike fit and perfectly positioned for your body. With everything in place, you need to position your body perfectly on the bicycle. Your knees ought to bend slightly at the bottom of every pedal stroke. While you are pedaling, your hips should not be rocking at all. You can change your hand positions as frequently as you want to keep your upper body comfortable. High speed and easy gears usually help you improve your pedaling skills. Set an objective of hitting around 90 revolutions within a minute.
Saddle tips
It is important to ensure that the saddle is well leveled. This is particularly ideal for both endurance and recreational riding. Forward-sliding on the seat will cause the saddle to tilt forward. As such, you will end up putting too much weight on your arms. On the flipside, if the saddle tilts backward, you are not going to have a strong posture and you will get low back pains after cycling. Therefore, ensure the saddle is well positioned. It should neither tilt forward nor backward. You can also consider getting the best saddle pad so you can enjoy a comfortable ride. This will go a long way to help you avoid cycling pains such as lower back pain, neck pain, anterior knee pain and the like.
It important to ensure you stay safe when cycling. Cycling is really fun. However, you do not want to get hurt or injured in the process. As such, you need to take precautions. There are a number of recommended tips from physical therapists that you can follow to avoid getting cycling injuries. All you have to do is focus on the areas that may require adjustment in your bicycle and work on your posture when cycling to ensure you ride safely. These include handlebars, saddle, pedals and the like. With these tips in mind, you can ride your bicycle without worrying about injuries.
