Cycling is a complete sport, when you train with seriousness to improve your performance you can not ignore your arms.
This part of the body not only serves to hold the handlebar, it also contributes to the resistance to the fatigue and driving ability.
Being the hands one of the 3 points of contact between man and bike, strong and properly trained arms help keep the handlebar stable even at high speeds and in difficult roads. Also hands, wrists and forearms to be able to absorb continuous vibrations from the front wheel must be well developed and resistant. Otherwise, you may run into unpleasant technopathies.
In cycling, the arms are particularly stimulated when:
- You are pedaling outside the saddle – standing on the pedals, the center of gravity moves forward and your arms are called to hold the weight of the body.
- You are walking uphill – your hands are called to withstand the force of gravity that pushes your whole body down.
- During the final sprint – during the last few meters of a race, the energy normally released on the pedals ends up in the arms due to the twist applied to the bike and the powerful muscle action.
- On long descents – in an aerodynamic position with the elongated back and hands on the fold of the handlebar, are exclusively the arms to work to maintain stable steering wheel.
So, as you can see, your arms in cycling aren’t “useless” at all. You should take care, with muscular strengthening enhancement work and stretching exercises to increase their flexibility.
Training in the gym is important, especially as there are many exercises (weights and push-ups) specially for strengthening the muscles of the arms. Before a bike workout, stretching is also crucial and should never be skip.