Exercise+Muscle+Lessons

__Research exercise__

__Immediate rewards of exercise__ Promote exercise with immediate rewards that enhance daily life — more energy, a better mood, less stress and more opportunity to connect with friends and family — offer far more motivation, Dr. Segar and others have found.

http://www.bicycling.com/training/strength-training/how-to-train-the-most-important-core-muscles-for-cycling

__Core Muscles__ Boat Pose:
 * What it does: ** Targets your ab muscles, building deep core strength and stability along your spine.
 * How to do it: ** Sit on your chair and cross one ankle over the other; hold onto the armrests or sides of the seat. Lift your knees up toward your chest (as shown) as you draw your belly and low back in and up. Hold for 5 breaths, then slowly lower your feet to the floor, keeping your spine and abs engaged. Repeat the pose 5-10 times.

__Build Power Fast for Bicycling__ By Chris Carmichael

There's a way cyclists can –effectively build on-bike power without really cutting into riding time by lifting: plyometrics.

Plyometrics are mostly jumping exercises targeted at making your muscles exert maximum force faster. This is more important for cyclists than pure strength, because with strength you can push a big gear, but with power you can push the same gear faster, which means you go faster. Plyometrics also help large muscle groups work with greater synchronicity, and enhance balance and coordination--important benefits you don't get from traditional, muscle-isolating weight-lifting.

THE DOUBLE-HEADER WORKOUT: The most effective way I've found to boost power fast is a combination of plyometrics and high-intensity, on-bike intervals. The jumps take only about five minutes, and recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers in your legs, hips and buttocks, so they're primed for action when you get on your bike. Try this workout twice a week through the end of March. Do the plyos right before your ride, or within a few hours before. Warm up 10 minutes before you start.

SQUAT AND JUMP: Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width (in sneakers or bare feet, not cycling shoes). With arms at your sides, squat until your hips reach knee level, keeping your weight back and your knees even with or behind your toes. Then explode straight up, jumping as high as you can and swinging your arms upward to generate momentum. As you land, bend your knees to absorb impact. Immediately return to standing and repeat. Beginners should do two sets of 10 jumps, intermediates three sets of 10, and advanced riders two sets of 15 to 20 jumps. Rest one minute between sets.

ONE-HOUR RIDE WITH POWER INTERVALS: Power intervals boost your top-end power but also improve performance at any speed, so they're worth doing even if you don't intend to sprint for a single finish line this year. Spin to warm up for 15 minutes, then do 4x1 minute at max effort (as fast as you can sustain), with one minute easy recovery between each. The time between intervals is purposely too short to allow full recovery. Beginners should do one set, intermediates two sets, and advanced riders three sets. Take eight minutes of easy spinning between sets. After your last set, enjoy the rest of your ride.

More Power Moves TO SAVE YOUR KNEES: Though it sounds counterintuitive, jumping can help prevent knee soreness. Cycling strengthens some of the knee's stabilizing muscles and connective tissues, but not all of them, which can lead to misalignment and knee pain. To eliminate imbalances, try double-legged cone hops: Place a cone, soda can, or anything that's about 6 inches high on the ground. Stand next to it, bend at the knees and jump up and sideways over it. As you land, bend at the knees again and immediately jump back to the starting position. Continue for 20 seconds. Rest for 45 seconds, and repeat for a total of three sets. Once you're comfortable with the motion, progress to one-legged hops.

TO WORK YOUR CORE: A strong midsection stabilizes your hips and provides the foundation you need to muscle over a tricky piece of singletrack or start your attack on a killer climb. One-legged box hop: Stand with one foot on the top of a knee- or thigh-high box (if you don't have a box, use two or three steps of a staircase), the other on the floor. Drive your body upward by pushing down with your box-top foot, ideally springing up off the box a few inches. Land with your feet in the same configuration. Do 10 jumps, then switch legs. If your core is weak, you'll struggle to jump straight up--you'll more likely veer out to the side. Work to keep your torso and head as upright and straight as possible to develop a powerful platform from which to drive each leg.

TO DO IT ALL: For box jumps, follow the same motion described in squat and jumps (above), but pull up your feet to land on top of the box. This provides the added twist of working your hip flexors and abs. Then, jump (don't just step) forward off the other side of the box. Turn around and repeat. Start with 10 jumps and work your way up to 20, jumping up and down as quickly as you can. As your muscles absorb the shock of landing, they become trained to react to sudden stress, which can help reduce the chance of injury.

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