V-CLUB TRAINING CORNER
We’ve teamed up with Marilyn Trout, certified USA Cycling Elite Coach to answer V-Club members’ training questions. You can view her coach profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mountainpedalscoaching80903
Send your cycling inquiries to Marilyn, and for a limited time, if yours is selected to be answered in our V-Club column, VeloWear will send you a $20 gift certificate that can be used towards any purchase on VeloWear.com. To submit your inquiry, e-mail her at trout_mic@msn.com, and type “V-Club Training Question” in the subject line of the e-mail.
V-Club member Peter Slonksy is our 48th winner of a $20 VeloWear gift certificate! His question follows ...
Cycling-Specific Stretching
Had a question about the basics on cycling specific stretching. What are they? I'm stretching but feel I may not be doing the right ones or not enough...
In the last couple of months I've had two injuries that I believe resulted because of "tight" muscles/ligaments/tendons. If you can specify some details on Calf-strain (my left calf) and Iliotibial Band Syndrome (my right thigh), that would be great!
Thank you!
Peter Slonsky
Dear Peter,
I recommend you get a book of stretches to give you a repertoire of moves to improve your flexibility. One I have in mind is Dr. Steven Stark’s Stark Reality of Stretching. You can order it from his website which also offers a video. Spend the most time stretching the leg muscles used in cycling: quads, hamstrings, hip flexor, gluts, and calves.
Dr. Stark is fanatical about holding a stretch long enough to allow the muscle to relax and return to an elongated resting length. I finally saw in a coaching course, a depiction of muscle fiber with little bumps or “barbs” along the edges. Now I had the visual to underline the understanding that muscles contract by sliding fibers in towards each other, overlapping like a layer cake (yum). As you use muscles those protective barbs prevent overextension but also shorten a muscle over time. To get them back to the original length is harder because of those barbs (like frosting sticking the layers together). However, if you hold a gentle stretch long enough, the muscle gets the signal that it’s safe to let go. Then the muscle releases and voila, the muscle relaxes into a longer resting length than before the stretch. I think you’ll learn the correct way to stretch from Stark and it helps if you understand what it is you are trying to accomplish by stretching.
Peter, your two injuries may also be related. The I.T. band injury showed up two weeks after the calf was deemed healed. If you aren’t healed completely from one injury you can overcompensate on the opposite side of the body until that gets too overused and injures as well. So, take a look at your training. You may not be resting enough to prevent injury (take complete rest breaks of 3-5 days every 3-5 weeks respectively).
You may not be coming back gradually enough from injury, either. Another thing to look at in your training routine is how you warm-up, since muscles sustain the most damage when they are cold. That goes for stretching too. The muscles need to be warm to get effective stretching. Usually, muscles stay warm for 8 minutes after exercise, so do your post ride stretches before you shower or eat. Make it a priority. When stretching cold, do warm-up exercises prior to each stretch. For example, do leg lifts before stretching that I.T. band. Not only will you benefit from doing the strengthening exercise, you’ll warm-up the muscles before stretching.
My suggestion for calf stretching is to make a slight incline board that you can stand on and wait for your calf muscles to release. It could be very simple – just a flat board with a piece to prop it up on one end. It doesn’t even have to be fixed; if the prop is moveable you can increase or decrease the incline according to how tight your calves are. Stand still until those muscles decide it’s safe to let go. My knees will actually buckle when my calves let go. Be patient. It can take minutes for that release.
For the I.T. band, this is something you might be prone to and should continuously do the following to manage it:
- Do leg lifts. There are many forms from “clams” to rotating the elevated leg in circles. Just keep doing them. You need to offset all the cycling fore-aft movements with lateral movement like leg lifts. Use leg lifts for warming up before stretching the I.T. band.
- Stretch glutes and I.T. band. A weight bench is an ideal aid for these stretches. You can sit on it and pull one ankle onto the opposite knee, sit and wait for that stretch to relax. There are other glute stretches but I think it’s important to make sure you hold the stretch gently and in a stable position – no wiggling around. For the I.T. band, you can lie on your side on that bench and hang the top leg just behind the bottom leg, letting it hang below the bench line. Again, it could take quite some time for some relaxation to set in. Alternatively, I use a fit ball to sit on for the glute stretch and then to drape over to get the side stretch. It requires a bit of balance and something to hang onto to keep from moving.
- Don’t sit with your legs crossed at the knee or ankle. That puts strain on the I.T. band without letting it stretch gently. Neither should you “post” when you stand, that is, weight on one leg, drop the other hip and bend the knee, taking the weight off that side. Stand up straight!
- If you sleep on your side, train yourself to keep a pillow between your knees and ankles. That prevents the same leg-crossing scenario as above.
- Run on level surfaces, not trails. Your I.T. band is a stabilizing muscle, so don’t overuse or aggravate it by making it work to stabilize your steps.
- Wear good street shoes and running shoes. As soon as your hips, knees, or back ache, check your shoes for wear. It’s very simple and easy to correct. Get new shoes. And flip flops are only for going short distances at the beach and are not supportive enough for more use. Wear real shoes.
- It wouldn’t hurt to get massage regularly or at least use a roller on the I.T. band – you know those insulated pipes they sell for that purpose? You can also sit on or against a tennis ball or golf ball to work on your glutes, lower back, and hamstrings. Follow with an Epsom salt bath and it’s not so bad.
- Check your bike and cleat position. Remember, if you pedal 90 rpm x 60 minutes x X hours, that’s 5400 pedal strokes per hour. So if your seat is just a little too high, that’s a lot of aggravation to your body and it’s preventable. Most knee pain is caused by incorrect seat fore-aft position, then height, then cleat position. Since the I.T. band inserts on the side of the knee and of course we use our quads primarily, don’t overlook position or you’ll keep re-injuring.
- Monitor your cadence and gear selection. Over-gearing can strain your muscles and set up injury. I.T. band injury is very painful. The first time I got it I thought for sure I was going to need knee surgery. It is worthwhile to commit to preventing a return of the tightness. I hope these outlined steps will keep you pain free.
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