Work-out priorities

[bluebug32]

Bicycling Magazine had a huge article on core exercises. Here's a good place to start (and it should make you stronger on the bike, too. A Win-win for sure!):

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6...1052-1,00.html

[Kathi]

Bicycling magazine's Fit Chick's strength-building podcast

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6...6133-1,00.html

I know what you mean by trying to find the time for these things. I forego my knee exercises for chrondmalicia because my knee didn't hurt. Now my knee hurts on the bike and I'm forced to reduce my riding and work more on strengthening my leg muscles. However, if I focus on the PT the upper body gets ignored. Some of my PT works in the upper body buy not as much as I need.

[NoNo]

During the winter I was doing a lot of cross training, switching between riding on the trainer a few days and doing my Turbo Jam videos. My legs were toned, my rear lifted, and my ever-stubborn belly as close to flat as its ever been. Then the nicer weather came and I switched over strictly to riding. A few weeks ago I looked in the mirror and thought "What happened to my stomach?! Weren't these pants looser before??? What happened to the little muscle I had on my arm?" I'm never going to race, I ride for fun. My goal is to be as fit overall as possible, and so last week I decided to go back to cross training. Apparently cylcing isn't enough on its own. Oh, my abs are aching today and my shoulders are sore, but for me it's going to produce the results I want. Does it take away from my cycling time? Probably some, but I'll be happier with my appearance.

Now if I could just do something about these chocolates that appeared on my desk....

[WindingRoad]

OK. This is what I do to help with integrating my pilates/yoga into my cycling. It's a little unorthodox but it works. I will ride intervals around my park, basically a big loop (about 4.5 miles) and stop and do pilates for about 3 - 4 minutes. Always get a good hamstring stretch in and quad stretch after you stop and get ready to start again. I do planks, roll ups, side planks, criss-cross crunches, swimming poses and whatever else hits me at the time. This way I feel like I get a complete workout in. I have some sometimes excruciating back pain resulting from my back muscles becoming weak so my approach is to keep my back strong and the abdominals strong and stretched after each ride. And I get all those things you mentioned when I don't do yoga or pilates. All to familiar with 'the pouch', grrrrrrr. Hope this helps.