Originally Posted by
Campag4life
Some good comments thanks. I will say that is just makes plain sense that an overall strong body is a good thing for cycling. I would like to see the data confirming that Sherman's neck can be alleviated by neck exercises in the gym...perhaps to a degree. I am simply unconvinced that focus on core training has anything to do with being a better cyclist or riding a long distance without pain...the premise of the OP. I am more inclined to believe that more cycling is the receipe toward riding a bicycle long distance without pain. I will say that fit on the bike, and weight of the rider are key. One poster said yoga. Yes. If there is a single ingredient to riding without pain I would say aside from Kg/w or weight and transcendent fit on the bicycle, it is range of motion increase promoted by yoga.
Below is a pic of a guy you may recognize. I have written this before. When I look at the great cannibal he looks quite unremarkable to me. Not unlike other some other world class athletes. No doubt he has a strong core. I believe he has a strong everything. But I am sure there are guys on the 41 that could put Eddie to shame in the gym. I wonder how much time Eddie spent in the gym? If somebody knows, I would like to know. My guess, isn't a lot. He spent hours and hours on the bike however perfecting his position and pedal stroke. He also had the unfathomable ability to hold just over 30 miles/hr for 1 hour. In my riding experience, it is rare to find a cyclist on the road that can hold 25mph for 5 minutes. I wonder if I could if my life depended on it. My point is...of course being in overall good physical condition is important to good position on the bike...weight is very important...and flexibility. But ability to ride a bicycle fast for long distance is comprised of probably 50 elements and why it is hard to define....just like Eddie's speed defies understanding. Core in my experience is incidental.
On our tandem, my wife can't stay out of the saddle long enough to suit me, though she's gotten much better. I've never been able to figure out why. After reading that excerpt from TD's book, maybe it's core. We'll pay special attention to our cores during this winter's weight program and see if that helps. I'm a believer in experimenting. Experimenting on your wife can be fun.
BTW, my usual weight workout is about 22 minutes twice a week. The core work will make it quite a bit longer, too bad. There is absolutely no evidence that conventional weight training makes any difference for an endurance athlete. High rep explosive work has been shown to be effective however. Whether it's more effective than the equivalent time on the bike has not been shown. However, it's hard to see how another 22 minutes on the bike twice a week will do much.
Another BTW, passing another rider doesn't mean anything. We will go out for a 4 hour ride and have an average 108 HR. Or a 120 HR. Or a 135 HR and we will chase you down, arrgghh. Depends on what that training ride is supposed to do for us. Tri geeks are pretty good about following a training schedule. They have to be.