Modern Cyclist Magazine Issue 3, November 2014 | Page 40

MC training Tailoring your CORE. Written by: Dr Donielle Dampier CHIROPRACTOR [email protected] ou are into your third freestyle stroke, thinking about that last breath before the tumble and that vital push off the wall. Timing is key, the push off needs to be strong and the flexed knees at the perfect angle to line you up for that extra bit of speed. But you are not a swimmer and the wall isn’t there. You are pushing off from a deeper wall. It’s not a ‘push off once every 50 strokes’ but rather a push off with every pedal stroke. This wall is your core. A stronger core achieves more than simply preventing back pain when cycling. The ease of pain is the added bonus. Just like all muscle groups, if weak they hurt and become stiff the day after use, hence the pain you feel. Pilates is the coined term for exercise of this “core” that so many athletes/people have regarded as a “must do” to be a pain free, strong cyclist. I find that majority of the cyclists I see in practice are either doing Pilates or on their way to book that first ‘life changing classes’. The truth though, is far from ‘life changing’ and has a lot more to do with efficiency then with preventing pain. Yes, Pilates is well known to strengthen the core muscle. What is Pilates? Defined by Marguerite Ogle, in an article explaining Pilates in an online medical journal: “Pilates is a form of exercise which emphasizes the balanced development of the body 40 through core strength, flexibility and awareness in order to support efficient, graceful movement” Furthermore Marguerite Ogle explains, core strength: the balanced development of the deep and superficial muscles that stabilize, align and move the trunk of the body, especially the pelvic floor, abdominals and back muscles.” Why does this help back pain? Another definition: Pilates helps a muscle group called the “stabilizers”. These muscles ensure that while we move in our daily activities our backs and hips remain stable and strong enough to hold us in all our varied positions. This muscle group also returns us to our neutral upright positions after movement. Furthermore it holds us upright. So these “stabilizes” are constantly working. And like all muscles, the more we use them the more they fatigue. The more we train them the stronger they will be to hold us in our posture for longer periods of time withstanding fatigue and stiffness for longer. I could rewrite Google or the five hundred articles about Pilates and its exercises. But let’s call a spade a spade. Pilates is ingenious and works. If we get cracking on the real gold. We live in a world filled with “ways to prevent my pain”. Change this thought pattern! Cycling is already painful at times and we often find ourselves in the ‘hurt locker’. We dig deep which can leave us feeling like a seven year old boy who just got his wind knocked out of him. However, in all those ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 2014 / www.moderncyclist.co.za hard pedal strokes, I have never once thought “aah my back is sore”. I only felt this back pain post cycling. Strengthening your core is more than a pain-preventative exercise. This strength is engaged each time that you push off that pool wall. Imagine a swimmer pushing off a wall that sinks in behind him, all the power would dissipate. When you cycle, your legs and more specifically, your hips push off from the pelvic wall. The stronger the wall the more solid the push off from the legs and the less movement and swaying at the sacroiliac joint and hips, resulting in less energy wasting. Stiff core? Yes, this is the relief of pain. As we cycle and push off on our sinking walls The Pilates has a twofold: it not only strengthens but stretches those deep layered muscles and therefore eases the pain and allows you to tie your shoe laces like the 35 year old you are and not the 86 year old who whipped you at tying his shoe laces. that remain ever loyal and continues to bounce back for the next push off, fatigue sets in and with it lactic acid. Just because you didn’t feel the “BURN” doesn’t mean they were not working. The Pilates has a twofold: it not only strengthens but stretches those deep layered muscles and therefore eases the pain and allows you to tie your shoe laces like the 35-year-old you are and