For cyclists who spend plenty of time in a fixed position (riding a bike, driving, or sitting in a chair), practicing a few morning stretches can start the day on the right foot. A little mobility movement in the a.m. can serve as both recovery from the previous day and as a warmup for your upcoming miles.
“Stretching increases flexibility and range of motion in the key muscles and joints cyclists need to increase endurance, improve power output, and reduce the risk of injury,” Christina Dorrer, a USA Cycling coach and certified personal trainer, in Annapolis, Maryland, and owner of Endurance 2 Perform, a multisport training company tells Bicycling. “A regular stretching routine simply helps make you a better cyclist.”
Because your glutes, hamstrings, and quads are always at work when you pedal, you need to make sure they stay mobile, Dorrer adds. Time on the saddle, like sitting for hours at a desk, can shorten and tighten hip flexors, making the powerful glute muscles less effective and a cyclist more prone to hip and low back pain.
Meanwhile, “your chest and neck can tighten from holding up your upper body for long periods,” she continues. Performing morning stretches can help you sidestep these issues.
Why Morning Stretches Should Be Dynamic
Most people think of stretching as reaching and holding still for several seconds and then releasing that posture, which is known as a static stretch. “Those are ideal after a ride when your muscles already are warm and loose,” says Dorrer. “But in the morning before riding, you need dynamic stretches that gradually warm up the muscles and joints to bring them into a full range of motion.”
Dynamic stretches include holding postures for only a short period of time, and moving more than you would with static stretching, which helps bring blood to your limbs and gets your heart rate up a little, too–a great way to wake up.
3 Easy Morning Stretches to Wake Up
You don’t need much time to stretch properly. Here is a simple three-move dynamic stretching routine that Dorrer offers her clients and that she uses herself. “Do them before each morning ride, or better yet, make them part of a regular morning stretching routine,” says Dorrer.
How to use this list: Do each stretch below for the designated number of reps listed. Perform just one round. Dorrer demonstrates each stretch so you can learn proper form. You don’t need any equipment but an exercise mat is optional.
1. Walkout to Runner’s Lunge
Why it works: This active stretch releases the hips, hamstrings, quads, and lower back. It also fires up the core.
How to do it:
- Stand tall and reach both arms overhead, reaching up into a slight back bend.
- Then fold forward and reach toward toes.
- Bend knees slightly and walk hands out into a straight arm plank.
- Next, place the right foot outside the right hand into a runner’s lunge. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Return to plank position and repeat runner’s lunge on left side.
- Walk hands back to feet and into standing forward fold.
- Then slowly roll up to standing. That’s 1 rep.
- Do 5 reps.
2. Glute Bridge to Figure 4
Why it works: You might think of the glute bridge as a strength move—and it does work the glutes, as well as a deep muscle behind the glutes, known as the piriformis—but it also stretches the hip flexors and quads. The figure 4 position also stretches the glutes and piriformis.
How to do it:
- Lie faceup with arms at sides, feet flat on the floor, knees bent. Place right ankle on left thigh.
- Lift hips into a bridge pose, as high as comfortable without arching back, pushing through the left foot to open the left hip and activate the glutes. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Then lower hips back down.
- Next, interlock hands around left thigh and hug the left leg in toward the chest. At the same time, gently press the right elbow against right knee. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Then release.
- Repeat on opposite side.
- Do 5 reps per side, alternating.
3. Leg Swing
Why it works: This highly dynamic stretch loosens up the hips, hamstrings, and both the inner and outer thighs.
How to do it:
- Stand tall, holding onto something stable.
- Swing right leg forward and backward for 10 reps in a steady, continuous motion. Start with small swings and progress to larger ones as comfortable.
- Switch legs and repeat.
- Next, perform side leg swings. Face the support and swing the right leg up and out to the right, then back down and across the front of the body to the left.
- Swing side to side in a steady motion for 10 reps. Again, begin with small swings and progress to larger ones.
- Switch legs and repeat.
