Cycling Cleats?

Your physio should be giving you the exercises !

Hamstring stretches, it band are the basic ones.

I currently have 5 stretching and strengthening ones to do but the exact ones depends on your issue.

He did, I was just hoping for a bit more detailed information than the badly photocopied A4 sheet I was given (flashbacks to school in the eighties)

If it has the name of the exercise then YouTube will have a good version.
I have moved to level 2 and was given a resistance band !

brooksby wrote:

Its a bit OT but can anyone recommend stretching exercises for cyclists?

(I went to the physio the other day, and he poked a muscle in my leg and when I yelped he said that wasn't supposed to hurt and that my legs were too tense...).

I keep meaning to do some regular stretching/Yoga exercises, but never seem to get round to it.

Here's the Road.cc series: https://road.cc/show/tags/yoga-cyclists/106814

Thanks for that link, peter (not for the photo, which is unfortunately burned into my eyes...).

My general post ride warm down ones are (google these names)

Wall Calf Stretch

Heel to butt stretch

Seated or lying Piriformis Stretch (I find this actually helps IT band though its not usually mentioned for that - but Im probably doing it wrong!)

Knee and Twist stretch.

I'm not convinced by stretching as a thing, more into flexibility. Bike riding does tend to work you in more or less one position, so having yoga-like exercises to improve mobility makes more sense to me and tackles the whole body.

As an aside, I took up ballroom dancing and,as with skiing, the leg strength you get from cycling is useful, but cycling is rubbish for posture. Dancing forces me to think about posture when cycling, avoiding the humpy back in the main, trying to keep tone.

IanMSpencer wrote:

I'm not convinced by stretching as a thing, more into flexibility. Bike riding does tend to work you in more or less one position, so having yoga-like exercises to improve mobility makes more sense to me and tackles the whole body. As an aside, I took up ballroom dancing and,as with skiing, the leg strength you get from cycling is useful, but cycling is rubbish for posture. Dancing forces me to think about posture when cycling, avoiding the humpy back in the main, trying to keep tone.

(Static) stretching is one of the most effective exercises the human body can do, it massively improves flexibility and strength.

Yoga is basically stretching.

Straying into pedantic definitions, but I'd say to most people, stretching is a narrow set of exercises means a sequence of stances, usually some calf stretches and pulling arms etc. specifically only thinking about stretching muscles. Yoga and similar exercises have stretches as an element, but includes other things like balance and breathing, and mental health through relaxation. It makes it more interesting for a start, and you get a nap thrown in.

IanMSpencer wrote:

I'm not convinced by stretching as a thing, more into flexibility. Bike riding does tend to work you in more or less one position, so having yoga-like exercises to improve mobility makes more sense to me and tackles the whole body.

I'd been referred to the physio because it turns out I have (yay!) moderate osteoarthritis in the joint from my big toe onto the rest of my foot, and he reckoned that my lack of flexibility across the muscles in my lower body was aggravating it when I was walking (because the muscles weren't gently moving, but kind of 'giving way').

OnYerBike wrote:

Beyond that, I would say the solution is to keep training and working on your fitness, rather than to look for miracles from minor component changes. 

This - but also work on your intensity.  Sounds like you are pushing a bit too hard.  Pain is not necessarily gain.

You might be better off spending that money on a training peaks subscription - get some tructured training plans in.   If you already have a garmin or similar have an explore on what they can do for you....