nick779

Hello all,

From everything Ive read youre supposed to 'suspend' your body with your core muscles, and keep minimal pressure on your hands. No matter what I do, after maybe 25-35 minutes I put my full weight onto my hands and ride the rest of my ride like that.

Am I misinformed, or is there a better way of doing it?

obed7

you have it correct...and it will come with time, just keep riding...don't over think it...the more you ride, the more your core develops...

JonathanGennick 

My core muscles aren't in that great a shape, and I'm sure that's true of many riders. I also do not think the core muscles alone can do the job. It's more a combination of core muscles plus pedaling. The reaction from pushing with my legs to pedal at a good pace takes weight from my hands.

Position on the bike probably matters too. I agree with Obed7 about not worrying too much, so long as you are comfortable.

clarkbre

One way to either relieve or add stress to your upper body is changing the pitch of your saddle. If the nose of the saddle is too low you will feel like you're sliding off towards ths handlebars. Doing so forces your upper body to help hold you in position.

If your saddle pitch is adjusted correctly, you should be able to freely pedal with your hands off the bars sitting vertical on the bike. Then you should be able to comfortably bend over while pedaling and place your hands on the bars without relying on your arms to carry much if any weight.

68venable

I don't think I've ever paid attention to that. It might explain this beer belly. Don't blame beer.

rydabent

This is where bent riders have a great advantage. When you go for a ride, you have so much "on board" stored energy. If you use energy suspending or holding up the top part of your body, there is less energy available for the legs. Trike riders have it even better since they dont have to expend energy balancing their trikes.

I actually noticed this when I got my first bent. Riding my usual route that I rode on my DF bike, when I got home with the bent, I felt that I was not tired at all. My usual routes with the bent expanded by 50%.

puckalish

As folks have mentioned, posture and positioning will play a significant role in how your weight is distributed... That said, doing some crunches and other core strengthening stuff won't hurt... and it'll noticeably improve a bunch of aspects of your ride, both in terms of strength as well as awareness and control.

I would disagree about most riders not having strong cores, whether they know it or not... beer bellies can contain other types of six packs, even if you can't see 'em. And, while plenty of riders are just fine letting their bikes condition their abs alone, training off the bike can not only improve your performance, but the number of years you can stay in the saddle.

nick779

I have no problem doing crunches. Ive been doing a sit up regimen for around 4 months now. Wouldnt this be more so your back muscles?

puckalish

First off, that's excellent. And it takes time to get results, though I'm sure you're already noticing some. And ignore any of this that seems too 101... dunno where you're at.

As far as your back goes, well, your "core" kind of goes all the way around. A lot of folks just do crunches to the front, but you need to work your oblique (side) and transverse (inner, deeper) abs, too... Otherwise, yeah, you'll be carrying a lot of weight with your lower back or pushing it into your arms...

A few ways to do this are by holding a plank and doing extensions out with one arm and one leg (opposite so as not to fall over, lol), doing superman-style flies belly-down on the floor, and any kind of rotational exercise (like a russian twist)... there's plenty more abs exercises, though, too, that will work the sides and back of your... er... abdomen.

Also, even with your "regular" style crunches, making sure to keep your lower back in contact with the ground and keeping your belly button pulled in will help work your deeper abs and take pressure off your back (both while doing crunches and while riding). Sometimes, this means you won't be able to go as fast or as far up. That's fine, as long as you feel yourself working the whole time.

nick779

yeah I was just keeping it pretty basic with sit ups and 'cross' sit ups with the occasional crunch. Superman planks and those opposite planks might be just the trick.

ray.garza

I used to have the same issue as you described. Great when starting out but after a while I'll start to lean on my hands. My core just got tired and pooped out. Another indicator of weak core are sore triceps. Sit ups / crunches are not enough. What really helped me with core are Planks. They are easy to do but strengthen all of your muscles needed to keep you up. I no longer have severe issues with hand numbness. I still get numbness but I can shake it off and alter hand position and keep on going and never have an issue again while out on the ride.

Another thing to look at is the bike fit. A poorly fit bike can wreck havoc on your body (sore knees, back, neck and hand numbness). I would definitely start with the fit and get that out of the way as well as start doing planks.

spdracr39

Hill repeats where you make an effort not to pull on the bars will help your core also. I try to climb while leaning forward and basically hovering above the bars not grasping them. It was hard at first but it will come with time.

rbeasley0911

Im thinking now this is way my hands will numb up some after about 6-9 miles. to much pressure on them?

Oldguyonoldbike

Modern comfy ergonomic brifters tend to encourage one (or me at least) to lean on them. I find that I tend to do it a lot more on my newer bike. If I try it on my older bike with 1990's style brake levers my hands start to hurt almost immediately. I can't keep them there long enough for them to go numb. That's actually a good thing, because it encourages you to hold the handlebars/brifters from the outside, with your thumb hooked over the top, rather than putting all your weight on the hoods. Have a look at pictures of racers from the 80's and 90's. If their hands are on the hoods, it is holding them from the outside, therefore without all of the weight of the upper body on the hands. Trying to maintain this position while on the hoods will force you to use your core muscles more and as a result your hands and arms will not be as sore.