As a cyclist, you need a balance of strength, speed, and stamina at all times. Many athletes include different cardio and muscle workouts in their daily routines. But there are much yoga for cyclists exercises which you can give a try.

Yoga poses are not just to keep you physically fit. These also keep you mentally and emotionally strong.

Let us now check out how yoga improves your performance on the cycling track.

How Yoga Improves Cycling Performance?

Yoga improves your body awareness. This helps you remain alert on the track and remain calm during the competition. Yoga has the powerful breathing technique of Pranayama. Daily practice of this deep breathing exercise manages your body’s need for energy.

That said, there are a few major benefits to practicing yoga as a cyclist.

Benefits of Yoga for Cyclists

Daily practice of yoga helps decrease muscular imbalance. This improves your riding ability and minimizes the chance of injury.

That is not all! Given below are 3 major benefits of doing yoga for cyclists.

1. Improved Neutral Spine for Riding

Remaining in a flexed position for longer periods is not something your back is good at. But, that is exactly what cycling requires from it. Too much flexion causes the supporting ligaments to overstretch and become weak. In the long run, this can lead to pain in upper and lower back, shoulders and neck.

There are yoga poses like Mountain pose that help realign the neutral spine position. These provide your body spinal alignment both on and off the track. Many yoga poses make your spine more supple and improve the pelvic tilt position. It helps engage your core during cycling. This improves your riding posture.

2. Increases Focus and Reduces Level of Tension

The physical, emotional, and mental tension drains you of all energy. As a cyclist this impacts your pedal efficiency and form. Lack of mental focus or too much stress decrease your ability to perform on the cycling track.

The yoga for cyclists does wonders to increase mental acuity. This decreases stress and minimizes the impact of muscular tension in your body. Combining it with deep breathing or mantras improves your performance as a cyclist.

3. Reduces Risk of Injury

The yoga poses you practice as a cyclist help keep common back and leg injuries away. Yoga approaches body movement from a place of balance. This helps decrease the imbalance that can occur during cycling.

During cycling your leg never reaches its full extension. This gives the hamstrings little chance to lengthen and expand. But, it reduces their elasticity and increases the risk of injury.

To reap these benefits, you have to practice the right yoga asanas.

Best Yoga for Cyclists Asanas

Yoga poses and exercises help your bones and joints adapt to different body movements. These help your muscles and bones release explosive power during cycling competitions.

That said, given below are 4 yoga for cyclists asanas you should practice.

1. Side Plank Pose

A strong core is vital for cyclists. It helps you avoid pain in the lower back after a round of cycling. The side plank pose helps develop your back muscles, shoulders, glute muscles, and abs.

2. Reverse Plank Pose

Reverse Plank pose, also known as upward plank pose gives power to your front abs, upper back, and spine. As a cyclist you need to have a strong and flexible spine and upper back. This yoga for cyclists exercise helps you do that. It is a great yoga asana to build stamina when cycling for longer durations.

3. Crow Pose

The Crow pose is a bit hard to practice. But, it provides your upper body with explosive power to hold cycling position for longer duration. Yoga experts recommend that you lift one leg at a time when doing this asana to build strength.

4. Pigeon Pose

Your legs have to be the main focus as a cyclist. This yoga for cyclists asana improves the flexibility of your legs. Pigeon pose includes stretching, twisting, and bending of your leg muscles. It makes them versatile during a cycling event. This also improves your circulation which helps improve stamina.

Conclusion

Being a professional cyclist is no cakewalk. You have to take utmost care of your mental and physical health. The yoga for cyclists exercises mentioned above will definitely improve your performance on the track.