Hi,

i never warm up before a ride because i dont really know how to..

are there any simple stretches or warming up excersises that i can do before i leave the house or just when i hop onto my bike before a 3-4 hour ride?

point me to a website is you cant be arsed writing :D

cheers
MTPro.

Hi,

i never warm up before a ride because i dont really know how to..

are there any simple stretches or warming up excersises that i can do before i leave the house or just when i hop onto my bike before a 3-4 hour ride?

point me to a website is you cant be arsed writing :D

cheers
MTPro.

For a warm up you should ride easily. I believe that most people use a 10mile easy ride, I'm impatient and use a 5 miler. As for stretching, don't do static stretching (holding a stretch for a few secs) before riding. Instead you should do short impact stretches (with a little bounce). Impact stretching will improve your circulation, whereas stactic stretching will be a bit too close to a work out and cause your muscles to contract a bit when you relax the stretch, exactly what you don't want to happen.

As for what stretches to do, that's up to you. I do a few hamstring, quad, calf, back and shoulder stretches before a race or training ride.

I don't do any warm-ups or stretches before a ride. I just don't hammer before 10 minutes of riding. Time trialists and criterium racers do a warm-up because they start at full speed. Normal recreational riding has no special requirements.

fanx guys..

i have never warmed up before...except for the gentle first 10 mins...

I'm with everybody on the "no warm-up needed" tip, and I never stretch before a ride, but I have to chime in that you really should be stretching pretty thoroughly AFTER your ride. It helps clear lactic acid and prevent cramping, and all sorts of other good stuff.

If you don't know how or what to stretch, get a book--there are tons out there, and many of them will give you a list of stretches that are good for a given sport.

But DO stretch after.