{"id":2860,"date":"2021-05-21T11:09:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T15:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/?p=2860"},"modified":"2021-05-21T12:18:06","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T16:18:06","slug":"3-ways-yoga-benefits-cyclists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/3-ways-yoga-benefits-cyclists\/","title":{"rendered":"3 ways yoga benefits cyclists"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Whether you prefer city cycling, mountain biking or road biking, yoga offers many benefits for cyclists at all levels.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Want to optimize your pedal stroke? Try yoga for endless benefits\u2014it&#8217;s the perfect complement to your cycling practice. Here are 3 reasons to roll out your mat and start practicing yoga.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<h2>Gain flexibility<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you are a beginner, intermediate or experienced cyclist, riding a bike puts your body in a relatively abnormal position. <\/span><b>You need to lean your body forward as you pedal and grip the handlebars with your hands<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Over time, your muscles and joints need a bit of love. <\/span><b>Yoga is a great way to stretch and soothe your joints while also gaining flexibility. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regardless of the type of cycling you practice (road, mountain or city), yoga can help you to<\/span><b> reduce your risk of injuries and muscle pain<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; it will also <\/span><b>improve your overall range of motion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Once you&#8217;ve stretched your muscles and improved your flexibility, you\u2019ll be ready to get back in the saddle and pedal better than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>\n<h2>Develop muscular strength<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For cyclists, it is particularly important to work on strengthening the <\/span><b>trunk muscles<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A key area that is the starting point for many movements, a strong trunk allows for <\/span><b>better alignment of the spinal column, which leads to better posture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on your bike, even when fatigue sets in. Have you ever noticed that some cyclists lean to one side of their bike frame when going up an ascent? This is most likely because their trunk is not strong enough to achieve stability in the saddle. <\/span><b>Yoga is an excellent way to improve your postural alignment and strengthen the trunk muscles<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which allows you to adopt an aerodynamic position on your bike. Yoga also<\/span><b> improves your balance by working your stabilizing muscles<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; which is helpful when you are on sections of the course that are narrow and fast.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>\n<h2>Improve breath control<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Competitive cyclists pay close attention to their <\/span><b>V02 max <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">level, which is the <\/span><b>maximum flow of oxygen inhaled by the lungs and used by the muscles in a unit of time<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Whether you are trying to beat your best time, explore different neighborhoods in your city or take on steep hills, having<\/span><b> the capacity to breathe better will optimize your performance and allow for a faster and more controlled recuperation after effort.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In addition, having a regular and fluid breathing pattern allows you to stay calm and have better control of your bike. <\/span><b>By practicing yoga, you will develop good breathing techniques<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that will become automatic when you\u2019re pedalling on your bike.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>And more!<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>breathing techniques learned through yoga<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can also help to <\/span><b>improve your concentration skills<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The more consistent your breathing pattern, the <\/span><b>more alert you&#8217;ll be when riding your bike<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This way, you can <\/span><b>keep yourself and others safe<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also, when you&#8217;re <\/span><b>pushing yourself to maximum effort<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on your bike, you can relieve some of <\/span><b>the burning sensations in your muscles<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> simply by <\/span><b>shifting your focus to your breath.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This will <\/span><b>take your cycling performance to the next level! <\/b><\/p>\n<h2>Doing yoga on your rest days<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ideally, you should use your rest days to do a routine that includes static stretches or a series of floor poses. You will feel the benefits in your whole body.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Try <\/span><b>hatha yoga<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This type of gentle yoga allows for deep stretching as you hold poses for multiple minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may also want to try <\/span><b>hot yoga<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as it is <\/span><b>easier to go deeper into your stretches<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when you are in a room that is heated between 38 and 40 \u02daC. <\/span><b>Drink lots of water before, during and after the class. Hydration is essential.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Feel free to move at a slower pace, or to go into child\u2019s pose for a while if you start feeling dizzy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those who would like to move at a faster pace may want to try <\/span><b>ashtanga yoga, power yoga<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><b>kundalini<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Again, it&#8217;s important to respect both your physical and mental limits during any type of yoga practice. Remember, the <\/span><b>goal is to relax both your body and your mind.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>*In keeping with our mission to make sport more accessible to all, this article was written by the Decathlon team in collaboration with YogaTribes as part of our unpaid partnership. To book yoga classes, please make sure to visit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/community.decathlon.com\/en-CA\">Decathlon Community<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yogatribes.com\/\">YogaTribes<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/unnamed-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2742 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/unnamed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"172\" height=\"172\" srcset=\"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/unnamed-1.jpg 900w, https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/unnamed-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/unnamed-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/unnamed-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/unnamed-1-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/unnamed-1-50x50.jpg 50w, https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/unnamed-1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 172px) 100vw, 172px\" \/><\/a>D\u00e9cathlon Canada<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether you prefer city cycling, mountain biking or road biking, yoga offers many benefits for cyclists at all levels. Want to optimize your pedal stroke? Try yoga for endless benefits\u2014it&#8217;s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2860"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2860"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2864,"href":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2860\/revisions\/2864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogatribes.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}