Yoga has ruined my cycling legs

[ericspin]

Back around Christmas I stepped into a yoga studio for a try and my life changed. Man does it speak to me on many levels. I really focused....my friends would say obsessed......on it for several monthe and all but layed the bike down. Lately I really been jonesin' to get out for a good ride. Today my buddy Mike and I went for a (Florida) hill ride. Yes, there are really some decent hills if you know where to go. Short and punchy but they are hills. Anyway took the fixed gear and man was I surprised how much leg strength I have lost. The yoga has been amazing for other parts of my body but not so much for the legs. So, I get to start over and rebuild those quads and glutes. Guess I will just have to be patient. Anybody got any good ideas about how I might supplement at the gym?

[tmessenger]

I do both hatha yoga and biking best of both worlds IMO and the yoga fixed my low back problems that were aggravated on the bike .

Tim

[SEABREEZE]

What ever leg excersises you decide on for each leg part, each # once pyramid 10, 8, 6 , 4, 2 twice, and back up to the 10 number.You will have doubled your strenghth in the legs in a week. Suggestion, only need to do twice a week.



Opps, should of mentioned as pyramiding, you add a little more weight as you move from 10, 8, etc When you go back to the 10# remove the additional weight and use the poundage you first started with on 10#
At that point it will fill like a feather.

[Ray]

I do both hatha yoga and biking best of both worlds IMO and the yoga fixed my low back problems that were aggravated on the bike .

Tim
Yeah, I've had the same experience. Yoga and cycling are really complementary. OTOH, cyclists may need yoga more than hard-core (no pun intended) yoga practitioners need cycling. As someone who was into cycling first, I've found the two work really well together. But you can't stop doing one for the other and expect to just pick back up where you left off. I've sort of fallen off of doing yoga for a few months and now that I'm riding more and more in the spring, my body is really reminding me how important it is. Gotta get back on the mat...

-Ray

[djg]

Back around Christmas I stepped into a yoga studio for a try and my life changed. Man does it speak to me on many levels. I really focused....my friends would say obsessed......on it for several monthe and all but layed the bike down. Lately I really been jonesin' to get out for a good ride. Today my buddy Mike and I went for a (Florida) hill ride. Yes, there are really some decent hills if you know where to go. Short and punchy but they are hills. Anyway took the fixed gear and man was I surprised how much leg strength I have lost. The yoga has been amazing for other parts of my body but not so much for the legs. So, I get to start over and rebuild those quads and glutes. Guess I will just have to be patient. Anybody got any good ideas about how I might supplement at the gym?

Specialization.

You're in basically good shape but not cycling shape? Ride a bike.

I mean, we all know that there is lifting that you could do . . . but your story makes it sound as if you just haven't been on the bike. Hitting the weights is not going to change that. Get some base miles back in your legs and then think about power drills (on the bike).

[toaster]

You either are getting faster or you're getting slower, never stays the same.

Good work on the yoga, now ride your bike AND practice yoga!

[stone56n]

Back around Christmas I stepped into a yoga studio for a try and my life changed. Man does it speak to me on many levels. I really focused....my friends would say obsessed......on it for several monthe and all but layed the bike down. Lately I really been jonesin' to get out for a good ride. Today my buddy Mike and I went for a (Florida) hill ride. Yes, there are really some decent hills if you know where to go. Short and punchy but they are hills. Anyway took the fixed gear and man was I surprised how much leg strength I have lost. The yoga has been amazing for other parts of my body but not so much for the legs. So, I get to start over and rebuild those quads and glutes. Guess I will just have to be patient. Anybody got any good ideas about how I might supplement at the gym?
Maybe you should think about trying Tai Chi Chuan, I've been teaching for bout 20 years and I find it a really good cross train for cycling. It also helps with core strength, I've been riding for 30 years and I have also noticed a gain in coordination, and reaction time.

[rdparadise]

I have been practicing Bikram (hot) yoga for about 2 1/2 years. I typically go 1X per week and would go more often if the place wasn't 30 miles away after work. I can tell you the yoga tones the entire body and strengthens every part of your body.

Regarding riding and losing your riding legs, I concur with some of the other posters, you just need to get back on the bike and build up some base miles. The legs will return faster then you can imagine, seeing as you had them before and it's only been a few months.

Good luck. Tell us how you make out.

Bob

[stephenmarklay]

Ok this should finish it up. Go ride the bike.

Yoga did not ruin your fitness. Not riding did.

I get in as much yoga as I can. Sometimes it is 5 times a week and sometimes it is a lot less. Always great though.

I do more with videos since the local gym classes can be more leg intensive than I want for in season cycling. I love *Rodney Yee and have half a dozen of his DVD's.

* His yoga instruction :p

[ericspin]

Go ride the bike.

Yoga did not ruin your fitness. Not riding did.

:p


Yeah I know this. I think I just wanted to vent my frustration. I am the one that made the decision to focus on yoga. The loss of leg strength was worth the other awakenings I have experienced as a result of yoga. Yoga is not just some form of exercise for me it truly has become a moving meditation. And getting on that mat has become a trigger for me to breathe different and focus on some intention for my practice that day. It is a real gift.

Now to find balance between the bike and the yoga. I will see today as the beginning of my base miles _practice_. Hopefully in short order the quads and glutes will return.

Thanks for all the genuine responses to my topic.

[victoryfactory]

You can't just ride only forever, the specialized muscles for riding over develop
and the other muscles don't putting the body out of balance. IMO
Yoga, jogging, hiking or swimming, etc is essential to keep the cyclist's body in
balance, especially the older cyclist.

VF

[toaster]

Yeah I know this. I think I just wanted to vent my frustration. I am the one that made the decision to focus on yoga. The loss of leg strength was worth the other awakenings I have experienced as a result of yoga. Yoga is not just some form of exercise for me it truly has become a moving meditation. And getting on that mat has become a trigger for me to breathe different and focus on some intention for my practice that day. It is a real gift.

Now to find balance between the bike and the yoga. I will see today as the beginning of my base miles _practice_. Hopefully in short order the quads and glutes will return.

Thanks for all the genuine responses to my topic.

Ahh...yoga...the union of mind and body!

[cnighbor1]

If just a bit of non-cycling exercise meant the lost of your climbing ability than I would say you were not in great shape for climbing in the first place. You should be able to do what you did before but not has long or quite has hard but you should be able to repeat past climbing skills if only say 3 to 4 months were spent not riding. Your muscles don't just disappear. Go to bicycling.com and look up bicycling related exercises. and intervals a great way to get back in shape. Hot room yoga classes could also work.
Charles

[ericspin]

If just a bit of non-cycling exercise meant the lost of your climbing ability than I would say you were not in great shape for climbing in the first place.

Really?!

[stephenmarklay]

Ericspin,

I am with you about yoga. It just feels like a gift. Having said that, if you want to ride hard /race bikes I would choose what yoga I do wisely.

In the winter months, longer more intense yoga is great. In season I find that some classes are just to intense on my legs (a lot of warrior posses, chair etc) that don't help with recovery.

I love my total body by Rodney Yee on rest days however. Very balanced routing with no undue emphasis on my legs.

Training days are limited to shorter routines such as 20 minute wake up calls or aimed just at stretches (hip openers for instance).

I do think that yoga can help reduce the number of cycling related injuries and help the ones you get heel faster.

[William]

Maybe you should think about trying Tai Chi Chuan, I've been teaching for bout 20 years and I find it a really good cross train for cycling. It also helps with core strength, I've been riding for 30 years and I have also noticed a gain in coordination, and reaction time.


I think martial arts are great for cross-training with cycling. I’ve been training and teaching since 1983 and find that as a base it keeps me in great shape in conjunction with other sports/activities that I’m involved with. Core strength, balance, focus, endurance, and strategy all help improve my cycling. And my cycling helped improve my combative arts with a strong base and enhanced cardio. I scaled it back during my cycling/rowing racing years but never fully stopped and was right back in when I stopped racing.

Can’t go wrong by doing both.


William

[fiamme red]

I really focused....my friends would say obsessed......on it for several monthe and all but layed the bike down.It's not the yoga that ruined your cycling legs, it's the not riding. :rolleyes:

[TTBS]

One 30-45 km TT on the trainer, plus a session of 8 by 30s sprints with 4 min active recovery, and 6 by 10s sprints during a ride, each week for five weeks.

And/or race every weekend for five weeks, stay at the front and cover the attacks.

Come July you will be flying.

[bigreen505]

Ok this should finish it up. Go ride the bike.

Yoga did not ruin your fitness. Not riding did.

+1

Yoga has had a profound effect on my cycling, but you still need time on the bike.