weak hamstrings?



Aussie Steve

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Nov 8, 2005
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I was reading in a bike magazine, an article from one of the Carmichael Training Systems people. She says "cyclists have weak hamstrings and hip flexors" but doesn't say why this is so.
Riding this morning into my nemesis, the perpetual ubiquitous headwind, I thought, why don't I pull up on the pedals more? Our pedals are designed for this, so why don't I do it?
I know that when I do 2 magtrainer sessions in a week,
on the weekend I notice the difference,
as I am compelled to pull up on the pedals,
moreso than on the road, due to the inability to freewheel...
and on the trainer I sweat a lot more, work a lot harder...
Is there a way to force yourself to pull up or is it just discipline and gritting your teeth?
 
Aussie Steve said:
I was reading in a bike magazine, an article from one of the Carmichael Training Systems people. She says "cyclists have weak hamstrings and hip flexors" but doesn't say why this is so.
Riding this morning into my nemesis, the perpetual ubiquitous headwind, I thought, why don't I pull up on the pedals more? Our pedals are designed for this, so why don't I do it?
I know that when I do 2 magtrainer sessions in a week,
on the weekend I notice the difference,
as I am compelled to pull up on the pedals,
moreso than on the road, due to the inability to freewheel...
and on the trainer I sweat a lot more, work a lot harder...
Is there a way to force yourself to pull up or is it just discipline and gritting your teeth?
One way to train better in your pedalling stroke is to do some one legged pedalling on your wind trainer, you will find that you have to pedal in circles and it feels really unco and hard at first, but after a while it becomes more natural and when you clip you other leg back in feel the difference. Alternate a couple of minutes for each leg, and soon you will be pedaling in circles with both legs naturally.
 
The Double Zero said:
One way to train better in your pedalling stroke is to do some one legged pedalling on your wind trainer, you will find that you have to pedal in circles and it feels really unco and hard at first, but after a while it becomes more natural and when you clip you other leg back in feel the difference. Alternate a couple of minutes for each leg, and soon you will be pedaling in circles with both legs naturally.


http://www.cyclingforums.com/t233514.html
 
I don't know about pedalling one leg at a time...I have read in magazines that it is a great way to train your muscles, and it would be great for me as my left leg is the lazy one (I am right-handed and know my left leg is only doing about 80% of what it should be doing) but I tend to suffer back pain
and am a bit concerned about any imbalance..i.e. pedalling with one leg may put strain on the opposite side of my lower back.
But as I reported in my post, magtrainer has always helped immensely in the past, so I figure I just have to grit my teeth & use it in front of the TV to avoid boredom...

Thanks for the tip everyone
 
Aussie Steve said:
I was reading in a bike magazine, an article from one of the Carmichael Training Systems people. She says "cyclists have weak hamstrings and hip flexors" but doesn't say why this is so.
Riding this morning into my nemesis, the perpetual ubiquitous headwind, I thought, why don't I pull up on the pedals more? Our pedals are designed for this, so why don't I do it?
I know that when I do 2 magtrainer sessions in a week,
on the weekend I notice the difference,
as I am compelled to pull up on the pedals,
moreso than on the road, due to the inability to freewheel...
and on the trainer I sweat a lot more, work a lot harder...
Is there a way to force yourself to pull up or is it just discipline and gritting your teeth?

I believe that you should unweight the pedals on the upstroke , beyond that are you really going to contribute to the power generation or just fatigue more and risk cramps. I will say that when I think "pull up" my cadence goes up, stroke improves, and speed increases.
 
I was thinking that maybe my bike geometry isn't suited to me, maybe the seat tube needs to be more vertical so the cranks are further back? having never been a big fan of proper bike fitting, I never gave that much thought. All I do is ensure that my saddle is high enough so my knee is locked at bottom stroke, with my heel on the pedal. Rule of thumb which always worked when hiring a track bike.
I may have to win the lottery and get a custom made frame...
 
The Double Zero said:
One way to train better in your pedalling stroke is to do some one legged pedalling on your wind trainer, you will find that you have to pedal in circles and it feels really unco and hard at first, but after a while it becomes more natural and when you clip you other leg back in feel the difference. Alternate a couple of minutes for each leg, and soon you will be pedaling in circles with both legs naturally.
I tried this on a trainer last night and it did feel that it was working the hamstrings quite well. Not sure if I will go any faster but it is worthwhile working the hamstrings as they have caused problems off the bike in the past. Helped a little to alleviate boredom on the trainer too. Thanks for the tip
 
Bargearse said:
I tried this on a trainer last night and it did feel that it was working the hamstrings quite well. Not sure if I will go any faster but it is worthwhile working the hamstrings as they have caused problems off the bike in the past. Helped a little to alleviate boredom on the trainer too. Thanks for the tip
how long did you do each leg?
 
Aussie Steve said:
how long did you do each leg?
Song per leg and kept swapping - say about 3 minutes each for half an hour or so. Then I was stuffed so just cycled normally to finish off. Arctic Monkeys and Butterfingers make the trainer almost tolerable.
 
I reckon I could do it to Powderfinger- but as they only have 5 songs that I like, it wouldn't last long....
 
Aussie Steve said:
I reckon I could do it to Powderfinger- but as they only have 5 songs that I like, it wouldn't last long....
The average Powderfinger song is way too slow and long. Your 5 songs would take half an hour - if boredom on the trainer hadn't killed you, Powderfinger would finish you off. A short thrash on each leg then swap. Now if I can just keep the sweat out of the MP3 player
 
I've never done one legged pedaling, but you can improve strength in those areas on the bike.

For hamstrings: pull your feet straight back. This is a good way to maintain speed up short and shallow hills if your quads are screaming. But realize that you will fatigue fast.

For hip flexers: pull straight up with your knees. Good for flat courses.

Frankly, I usualy just stomp and un-weight, but these other muscles come in handy when my quads are near the limit and I need to give them a rest.