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Helping Your Bike Fit Your Body

 

As the weather gets warmer, the snow on the mountains begins to melt and days get longer, it’s time to get the bike out of the garage. Whether you’re dipping your toes into the world of cycling, or you’re already an experienced rider, a professional bike fit may be the key to a more comfortable and efficient ride.

What’s a Bike Fit?
A bike fit is a series of measurements and adjustments used to fine-tune a bike to its rider. A bike fit can help a cyclist become more efficient, allowing them to ride faster and longer, with more comfort and power. Many bike shops offer fits with the purchase of a bicycle, and certain fitness centers also offer bike fits. But a professional bike fit, conducted by someone trained in biomechanics, can offer more than simply manipulating parts on the bike. Professional bike fitters invest time and skills to evaluate an individual’s unique biomechanics, as well as riding and injury history. This knowledge allows them to fine-tune the bike to the body, which provides optimum power output while reducing over-use injury potential.

Not all bike fits are created equal

While many bike fits are focused on the bike, a professional bike fit is focused on the individual and his or her relationship with the bike.

“We perform a 20-point assessment of the body before beginning the on-bike fit,” explains Julie Young, head coach and director of Silver Sage Sports & Fitness Lab. “We assess muscle length, joint range of motion, and the individual’s functional movement patterns. An initial fit takes about two hours.”

Lucie Oren at her latest bike fit, conducted by Julie Young.

Lucie Oren at her latest bike fit, conducted by Julie Young.

Assessments during the two-hour bike fit include a process where Young works through each isolated area of a person’s body that relates to the bike and checks for issues. Young’s goal in a bike fit is to achieve an optimal positon to avoid joint strain and overuse injuries, as well as deliver more power in to their pedal stroke. “The bike fit also allows me to educate the athlete on the importance of pelvic and spinal posture to create a stable platform for the hips to drive power in to the pedals,” she says. “The fit will continue to improve when off-bike mobility and stability work is consistently incorporated in to training, so we provide our clients with a repertoire of these exercises. The fit also provides an ideal venue to help educate and enlighten the cyclist on the elements of an efficient pedal stroke.”

Lucie Oren is a competitive cyclist who has had all of her bikes fitted by Young. “There are a lot of reasons that I get a bike fit,” said Oren. “Because I race, I need to get as much power transfer and efficiency as I can. A bike fit makes it more comfortable to ride, as well. Before I had my bike fit, I had back pain, knee pain and hamstring pain after a long day of riding. All of that disappeared after my bike was properly fitted.”

I Love the Fall

Blog contribution by Silver Sage sponsored, Reno WheelWoman athlete, Lucie Oren…

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I love the fall.  It’s my favorite season.  The colors are glorious and the temps are perfect for getting out on your bike or strapping on your running/hiking shoes.  Fall is also one of my most challenging periods of the year to stay disciplined.  Is it yours, too?  For myself, it brings with it an intense inner urge to eat loads of comfort food and to nest!  I find myself wanting to spend more time perusing the Internet for new recipes than getting out for a ride or run.  It also comes at a time of year when all I want to do is ride for fun and not “have to” workout.  We have all experienced that at one time or another, right?

This is where Julie Young from Silver Sage Sports and Fitness Lab comes in to play a very important role in my life.   Julie keeps me on track and in check.  Whether it’s via email, texts, or phone calls Julie is right here with me with tons of support, advice, and guidance.  And when she personally takes us out on a training ride or holds sessions at the gym I gain so much!

A few weeks ago Julie held one of our hands-on sessions that offered first-time instruction for some and review for others.  There were a variety of her athletes present.  Julie covered the nuts and bolts of cross training for hip, core, glute strength and flexibility.  The review, for me, was invaluable.  I felt soreness in places I had not felt before and am confident I’m back on track.

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Julie brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the mat that is science-based.  Regardless of your sport(s), not only will you reap the benefits of Julie, you get to work with one of the nicest persons out there!  Thanks Julie!

Hip and Trunk Stability, Glute Activation, and Trunk/Core workouts are not just for cyclists!

WP_20130203_028By Lucie Oren, Team Roseville Cyclery rider

When I began working with Julie as she coached our team with pre-season plans I thought, “Ok Lucie, you have to face the dreaded core work!”

What I have found are a few pleasant surprises.  The workouts are fun.  They are easy with the help of very informative and detailed videos.    And, I feel great afterwards-more limber, more flexible, and my body just feels good.

The biggest surprise though was when I went skiing!  I could literally feel the difference in my trunk and hips-increased flexibility, increased leg and hip stability, and more control while ripping down the hill at 40+ mph!  Talk about an increase of confidence at speed!

We often work on core for many different sports.  Thanks to Julie I have learned the importance of also working on hip activation, stability, mobility, and strength.  And let us not forget the glutes!  That’s a good chunk of muscle to pull strength from and we should use it!

Julie has a wealth of fitness knowledge and applies it along with sports biomechanics to help our bodies work like a well-oiled machine.  She stresses quality vs quantity, which has really helped me to slow down and connect to every single rep.  This way of thinking forces one to get “in tune” with what the exercise is designed to do while at the same time it teaches you to connect your mind to the intention.  This reaps huge rewards!

Thank you, Julie!