The first in a series by Scot Willingham.

@##=#<2,R>@##=#“First master the fundamentals.” – Larry Bird

Before clipping into the pedals to start your winter training, pause to consider the machine that will be powering those gears to victory next racing season. Whether you prepare your body during the off-season by cross-training, gym workouts or cyclo-cross, you may still be asking yourself “how do I get an edge?” The answer could be as basic as ensuring that the body is fine-tuned, aligned and ready for all the stresses of the power and strength training to come.

If someone told you that a conditioning program could give you:
• better cycling-specific strength
• better coordination
• less fatigue
• fewer injuries
• better fit to your bike
• better proprioceptive skills (intuitive bike handling and balance skills)
• better joint integrity
Would you be interested in this?

A well designed and consistent resistance/flexibility program incorporated into your off-season cross training could do that for you. “Well designed” means a program that addresses the asymmetries we develop over the racing season. These can consist of muscle imbalances, chronic overuse injuries and mis-alignment of bones and joints. The result is a body that like a poorly maintained or overused engine is trying to reach 100 mph but is knocking and pinging.

Many cyclists are only using one half of their bodies to pedal because of muscular imbalances and mis-alignments. These habits will continue and worsen unless addressed by a well-designed and restorative resistance/flexibility program.

My solution to this problem is “The Cyclist’s Off-Season Workout”.

With the generous assistance of nyvelocity.com, each week this column will be present an exercise from “The Cyclist’s Off-Season Workout” by Scot Willingham, CPT, ACSM and USA Expert Cycling Coach. These exercises emphasize unilateral, proprioceptive and strengthening resistance exercises specifically designed for lower body sports, such as cycling.

As they say, “Train your weaknesses; race your strengths.”

Use this winter to fine tune your body and put it in the best condition to handle the stresses of training with power and racing.

Read this column weekly or get the entire program in book & DVD format online at www.shankpro.com by clicking on “Conditioning Book & Video”.
Attend a live demonstration of the entire workout at:

Movement’s Afoot
151 West 30th Street, 2nd floor (bet. 6th & 7th Avenues)
Thursday, Oct. 28, 2004
7:00 pm.
This is a free demonstration associated with CRCA.

If there is enough interest, a twice a week class will be held at the above location on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for the months of October and November, single class $15.00. The dates may change for December.