How Can Cyclists Build Up A Strong And Durable Core?

Some may think that cycling coaching is just about teaching you techniques in the saddle, but some aspects of your fitness will be achieved off the road and in the gym. Core muscle strength is a prime example.

Core muscles include those around the abdomen, pelvis and lower back and building these up is essential to build up durability for gruelling rides. This strength also reduces the likelihood of a muscle injury that could end your race early.

What Core Exercises Are Best For Cyclists?

There are several exercises you can undertake that will help you build up core strength in exactly the way that you need: 

·   Planks, which help strengthen the spine to keep your posture correct on longer rides

·   Dead bugs, which strengthen the pelvis

·   Russian Twists, which strengthen the oblique muscles to help with transfers of weight as you manoeuvre on the road. The Bird Dog move also does this.

·   Hip Bridges to strengthen the hips

·   Hanging knee raises for overall strength

These can be combined in a full core training session. However, it is important to make sure you build this into your overall training correctly. Core sessions will be tiring, which means they should be scheduled for days when you are not riding or have just had a light cycling session, not before a long ride.

Scheduling errors are not the only thing you should avoid. You should also make sure you have your body properly aligned in a straight form when doing plank exercises, to cut the risk of injury. You should also make sure not to neglect your breathing, but keep it controlled and steady during your exercises.

As with any new form of training, you should not aim to complete a big workout the first time. Start with simple exercises like planks or bridges for a few minutes and gradually build it up, steadily lengthening the sessions and adding more complex exercises.

It will take time for the effects to be fully felt, but as your core gets stronger, you will feel far better for it in the saddle, enjoying improved balance and endurance and finding injuries are far less frequent.