You know you need a strong core to ride well, but no one wants to be inside when the weather is nice. So what happens to most people is that as their fitness increases, their core strength decreases due to neglect. This does not have to happen. Regardless of the type of driving you do, the following workout will help you improve all aspects of your driving fitness.
Some workouts are super scientific with specific intensities and interval durations. This is not so, but you will still get great results.
Are you ready to discover this secret?
Choose two trips per week on a rolling to hilly route and do the following:
Ride every climb out of the saddle from the bottom up
You don’t have to attack every climb, just do it from the saddle dancing on the pedals. On longer climbs, the dance can turn into a slow walk, but keep it up. Work to keep your hips on the bottom bracket and don’t over-rock the bike. Long climbs will build muscular endurance, while repetitive short climbs will build resilience. The hardest rides are the ones with long climbs and short rollers that have you getting out of your saddle every few minutes.
When you get to the point where you’re too tired to maintain good form out of the saddle, then cut down on your training shorts. You don’t need to stop riding your bike, just go back to a normal sitting position because you will no longer get any benefit from standing up. In addition, you will reduce the risk of injuries due to poor form.
I know this sounds too simple to work with but trust me. This comes from experience with single speed and fixed gear where you have no choice but to get out of the saddle. Initially, you’ll find your core and upper body limiting your performance, but after just a few weeks, muscular endurance will build, allowing you to hold the throttle throughout the climb. You will find that this physical state carries over when you are sitting. While you do see fat sliders sometimes, all the muscles underneath are strong.
One advantage of this type of training is that it is easier on the knees than hard walking while sitting down. A second advantage is that standing up that much is easy on your butt. Your butt doesn’t hurt or your crotch gets numb if you’re not sitting down.