Pro Tip Of The Week- Why Taking Time Off The Bike Will Make You Stronger

We all know that racing and training make you stronger, fitter, faster, and enhance that precious form we are always striving to gain. But did you know that taking some time away from the bike or whatever your chosen sport will make you come back stronger than ever? In order to reach our highest peak we must first detrain the body and rest the mind. Starting your season with a clean slate is the best way to prepare the mind and body for the rigorous demands of training and racing. Now I don’t mean take a couple of extra days off after your last race. I’m talking about an entire month mostly off the bike- enough time to actually let your body and mind fully recharge and reset.

This can be a super fun time of year and a great opportunity to engage in some cross-training and non-bike activities. Things like trail running, skiing, rock climbing, strength training, yoga, pilates, or even try that tai-chi class you’ve been thinking about ;) Stepping away from the bike will give the major cycling muscles that are overused and tight an opportunity to fully bounce back. It’s a perfect time to stimulate the non-cycling muscles that have been getting neglected, weak, and dormant. The gym is a fantastic laboratory where we can discover how our bodies move, muscular imbalances, and become more aware of our strengths and weaknesses.

As cyclists, we inherently have tight hip flexors from the millions of tiny repetitive circles we spin, weak glutes from sitting all the time, an overly exaggerated posterior pelvic tilt from being hunched over which shuts off our core and causes our lower back muscles to work overtime. These things add up to form an inefficient pedal stroke and decreased power output. Hitting the gym a few days a week and incorporating some lateral movement (Ie: running, basketball, tennis, skiing, yoga, rock climbing, etc) is a great way to work on stretching what’s tight (hips, groin, lower back, chest) and strengthening what’s weak (deltoids, lats, upper back, glutes, and core). Single-leg exercises are awesome at exposing leg dominance issues and balance out specific areas of weakness. Yoga is one of the best ways to open up the hips, improve posture, balance, alignment, and strengthen your core.

So, instead of dreading the off-season, change your mindset to one that embraces it. It’s one of the most important components of training and sets you up to make bigger gains by coming back injury free, rested, stoked, and most importantly- healthier and happier.

Thanks for reading!