FLCC> The SURUY challenge

[John Dennis]

If my pathetic, flea-bitten, sun-wrinkled body-carapace is any indicator—and
I realize it probably isn’t—roadies as a group are out there competing for
the “tightest hamstrings in the world” award.  How many of us can bend over
at the hips and touch our face to our shins, keeping legs and back straight?
I don’t come even close.  I’m about 90 degrees shy, but working on it, using
yoga to help loosen those harmful tightening effects of cycling.  Add to
that my wife’s complaint that I have neglected my upper body.  “It has no
muscle,” she says, “no definition.”  “You are so scrawny.”  Ouch!  And Ouch
again. 

 

So here is the SURUY challenge (pronounced Surrey or Sorry, depending on
your mood); it starts with a hot stretch in the sauna at the Y, throws in
some upper body sets in the weight room upstairs before and after the ride,
and there is a two-hour Salmon creek-ridge ride followed by one hour of
yoga.  

 

I know, Wayne is going to say this is custom-made for the Relaxed
Renaissance Yuppie-Roadie who is still searching for a real life and any
excuse to guzzle a cappachinio!    In any case, there are yoga sessions
offered at the YMCA on Triphammer at 4:30pm on Sundays and at 4:30pm and
5:30pm on Thursdays.  If you are not a Y member, you can (like me) buy a $7
day pass.

 

The assumptions here are: 

 

-Many cyclists do not stretch enough before and after rides and some neglect
to keep their upper bodies reasonably fit. 

 

-Without proper stretching, cycling leads to progressive tightening and
actual shortening  of key muscle groups such as the hamstrings. 

 

-The progressive tightening/shortening of key muscle groups leads to posture
problems, possible back pain or muscular discomfort, and reduced performance
on the bike itself. 

 

-Yoga, or yoga amplified by warm stretching before and after is a powerful
means to seek to reverse years of tightening and muscle shortening. 

 

 

 

Here, for your comments, is  a draft 4-hour version of the SURUY (that’s
short for sauna-upper body-ride-upper body-yoga) centered on the 2-4pm
Salmon creek-ridge ride on any Sunday that the roads are clear and there is
nothing better to do:   

 

1:30pm:  meet in the Sauna at the Y for 10-15 minutes of hot stretches
(avoiding the higher temps on the upper bench)

 

1:45pm: do one or two sets of 10 reps of Upper body workout on 2-4 machines
in the weight room  (I find weight settings of 4 to 7 work for me and I
adjust range of motion settings into the moderate range as needed.) 

 

1:45pm-2pm:  dress appropriately and prepare cycling gear 

 

2-4pm do the (28-mile?)  Salmon Creek-Ridge Ride returning to the Y parking
lot.

 

4pm-4:30pm: do one or two sets of 10 reps of Upper body workout on 2-5
machines in the weight room,  or take a hot shower, or nip into the sauna,
or just spend more time out on a longer cycling course or that stop at
Gimme!

 

4:30pm-5:30pm Yoga at Y taught by Mo

 

As a cyclist, one of the yoga stretches that works best for me is to lie on
your mat face down, draw a knee up under your chest and then try to position
your foot as close to the opposing arm pit as possible (not very close in my
case), and then just lie on that folded up leg. For me that’s one very
powerful stretch.  But, for me, even “child pose”—a yoga resting
position--is also a powerful stretch along my entire back. 

 

Any thoughts on how to better design this?   Why not give the SURUY a try?
Maybe that should be SURUYS? 

 

Ride safe,   John

 

 

 


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