Warm Up

It doesn’t matter how ready I think I am to ride, how limber I feel, when I get on the bike to ride, I feel kind of like I am peddling uphill for the first 30 minutes, even when riding on a completely flat surface. It’s aggravating because if I am riding a short ride before work by the time I am warmed up, the ride is nearly over. It’s those days that I usually hop right on my bike within minute of dragging myself out of bed. Like most people, I am ‘fitting in’ a ride here and there because my schedule is so tight with work and family commitments. I find myself envying the few people I ride with who are retired and leisurely enjoying a bagel and coffee after a weekday morning ride. Sigh.

ANYWAY, the best way to feel your very best and to prevent soreness later is to stretch and warm up a little before a ride. Everyone has their list of things that they KNOW are good for them, yet they avoid like the plaque: green beans; eight hours of sleep; teeth cleanings every six months; and good record-keeping for tax time. When it comes to riding a bike or any kind of exercise, a brief session of stretching can mean the difference between an enjoyable experience of riding and one that causes pain from injury.

When you spend a few minutes lengthening your muscles with a few good stretches, the elasticity of the tissue that your muscles are made of and the tissue that connects your muscles to your bones, improves. Stretching is so important that studies have revealed that young athletes, those in their pre-teens, who stretched before an activity experienced far fewer incidence of osteoarthritis or the arthritis caused by overuse when in their 20s. It’s that important.

One place to find great stretching examples is www.sparkpeople.com. It’s also a great site to commune with other folks who are learning to become active, learning about foods and nutrition and ultimately weight loss and also a place to find out about how to exercise safely.

Here’s a couple of stretching examples from Sparkpeople.com along with some articles further touting the benefits of stretching.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/stretching_quick.asp