- Why should you bother with core stability training?
Well because it can help you
to avoid injury and ride faster,
especially when it comes to climbing.
I'm going to show you five very simple
core stability exercises that I did
and that really helped me to improve my climbing.
I'm training now for the Maratona dles Dolomites
and I would recommend these exercises to anybody
who's taking on a big mountain sportive.
These exercises only take about 15 minutes
and twice a week is enough to see real benefits.
So it's really worth doing.
You'll need some simple equipment
which you can find at your local gym
or maybe you've even got it at home.
What you'll need is a big bouncy ball,
otherwise knowing as a stability ball,
a bench or the edge of a sofa,
and a set of chin up bars.
(soothing music begins)
This is a variation on the plank,
which you've probably heard of,
but it's a bit harder than the plank
because you've got your elbows on a stability ball,
which, ironically, is not as stable as the ground.
Now, initially, you should just try to hold this
for a minute whilst really engaging your core
and keeping your back as flat as possible.
When you feel like you've got that mastered,
try bringing your knees up to your chest
while keeping your bum low.
Try to get up to 20 on each side.
When that gets easy,
start introducing a little forward and backwards
wobble of the stability ball,
then even a sideways wobble.
You can see how this is analogous
to stability on the handlebars.
(soothing music)
This is a variation on a bridge,
with the added difficulty that your feet are on the ball.
You ought to try to hold it for a minute.
Really engaging your core and lower back
and keeping your bum low.
When you've mastered that,
try rolling the ball forwards towards you,
keeping your bum low.
And when you can do 20 reps of that,
add the variation of rolling the ball side to side 20 times.
Now, when I first tried to do this,
I fell off the ball.
It took me weeks to master it,
so I think it's pretty tough.
For added realism and an extra challenge,
you can try putting your hands on dumbbells like this
because it's much more similar to the position
on a bike handlebar.
And, also, if the dumbbells are round,
they roll side to side, and that is
extra stability training.
(upbeat music)
For this variation on a back extension,
you want to jam your feet against the wall,
have your knees bent,
jammed against the stability ball,
and then you want to engage your core and lower back
and pivot from the hips downwards.
Nice and slowly, and repeat 10 times.
When you can do it 10 times, try again
with your arms above your head,
which is significantly harder.
When that gets easy, try it with a small weight,
for example 1.25 or 2.5 kilograms
in your hands, raised above your head.
(lively music)
This is a very simple exercises.
It's just dips but with your hands on the stability ball.
You might wonder why, as a cyclist,
you even need any arm or back strength.
I can tell you that when you ride out of the saddle,
for example, on long climbs, this will really help.
(soothing music)
This final exercise is, in my mind, the hardest.
You need to find a set of chin up bars
or monkey bars that are parallel,
raise yourself up to your elbows at right angles
and try and just hold that position for 30 seconds.
When you can do that,
try raising your legs and swing them side to side.
This is an incredibly good exercise
for making riding out of the saddle feel easy.
I can only manage about 10,
but I'm building up.
I know what you might be thinking.
You just don't have time to do extra exercises.
And I do understand,
because cycling is already a very time-consuming sport
and fitting your training around your job, family,
and social life is already a real challenge.
But honestly, switching a small amount of time
from your cycling to core exercises can lead to big gains.
The upper body, core, and lower back
are often areas of weakness in cyclists,
and weaknesses let you down.
I hope that if you tried out these exercises,
you found them tough because if it's difficult,
that means it's targeting your weakness,
which is a good thing.
Personally, I think I need to get back on the monkey bars
if I'm gonna do all right at the Maratona.
If you liked the video, give us a like.
And you might like to check this video,
which is a high-intensity interval training session
you can do on your commute.
Part of the same series of training videos for Alta Video.
Or this video which was done
at last year's Maratona dles Dolomites.