Wow, thank you for the overwhelming amount of feedback! I think I know what I'm going to do next - stretch those hamstrings and keep minding my posture to flatten my back - I feel likewise that its about strengthening underused muscles.
Funny enough, I've been doing ashtanga yoga intensely for almost a year now. No problem reaching past my toes and standing on my hands, but still have this chronic lower back bend, no doubt from almost 2 decades of bad sitting posture. My posture and flexibility are a lot better than they used to be, but far from where I'd like to be still. Having the hooked back position on the drop bars is actually pretty comfortable - more of a visual displeasure, but it does feel different when I straighten my back and rotate my pelvis forwards more. Generally more power and postural integrity. It _does_ hurt to rock the pelvis forwards on the B17 - or on any of my other plastic saddles - on the perineum like you guys say - but the problem is more the muscle ache that arrives later, which I think will go away as I develop a stronger back. Yeah I should come and check out one of your classes Gernot! I've been doing the primary series quite exclusively on my own for >6 months now but I'm sure I'd get a lot out of a session in one of your classes. Paul On Dec 21, 1:35 pm, Earl Grey <earlg...@gmail.com> wrote: > I don't play a yoga teacher on TV, but I am one in real life. Come to > one of my classes, Paul, and I'll figure it out for you. :) > > That said, if it's not causing you pain or discomfort, don't worry > about it too much. It is my bike you are riding, and I have a long > torso (and use a longer stem than you), and like the nose of my saddle > tilted up quite a bit. Both of these aspects would exaggerate the > rounding in the lower back, but you wouldn't set up your own bike that > way. > > > What are the implications of this crooked posture? > > Can you touch your toes easily? I would guess not, which indicates > tight hamstrings (and/or long legs and short arms). Tight hamstrings > make it hard to fold at the hip creases, so in order to bend forward > (to reach the bars) the lower back needs to take up the slack and bend > forward strongly, causing the rounded back visible in the photo. > > Stretching your hamstrings is one of the best stretches to do for > cyclists, because cycling causes the hamstrings to shorten, and short > hamstrings cause overly rounded backs in forward bends (i.e. when > reaching for the handlebars). Try to remember to stretch your > hamstrings 3 times for 30 seconds or slightly longer after each bike > ride, even if it was only a ride to the grocery store. You will see an > improvement in just a few weeks. A simple standing forward fold will > do, finger tips on the ground, or hands holding the opposite elbow. > thinking about folding at the hip creases, not rounding your back to > fold forward. Keep your legs straight, and let gravity do the work. > > > How would one go about straightening the spine during cycling or anything > > else? > > Longer hamstrings will allow you to straighten your back quite > naturally without thinking about it. That said, biking and running > will always work to shorten your hamstrings, so stretching them is > something you'll have to keep doing for the rest of your life. To try > and minimize the rounding in the back while you ride (something I work > on from time to time as well), stick your butt out and lift your heart > forward (or bring your belly button closer to the top tube, as someone > else said). I would agree that a B-17 with the nose tilted up is not > the best saddle for sticking your butt out (because of the additional > pressure on the perineum), so an Imperial might be worth trying if you > find you can't rotate your hips forward (=stick butt out) without > perineal discomfort. > > > On today's ride on my bike (Sam w moustache bars set about level with > > saddle height) I made an effort to keep my back straight and tilt the > > pelvis more. Not easy, and I had a mild back ache 30 minutes into the > > ride. What does that mean? > > It might just mean that your back isn't used to be in that position, > and you are engaging muscles to hold it there that you aren't usually > using so much (probably the erector spinae muscles which run along the > back of the spine causing it to straighten when the muscles are > engaged). > > Cheers, > > Gernot > > On Dec 21, 11:55 am, rob markwardt <robmar...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > > > My advice would be to stop looking at pictures of yourself riding:) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
