Summer Cyclists to Winter Warriors: Part 3

Part III - Core

The spine is a stack of bones–24 to be exact–with a head on one end and a pelvis on the other. Sticking out from the spine are a pair of arms (by way of the ribcage and shoulder blades) and a pair of legs attached to the pelvis. These appendages are capable of generating a substantial amount of force, which means that they ideally have a stable foundation to work off of. When we hop on the ski track, we put those arms and legs to work with both classic and skating. Newton's 3rd Law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Or, as Jon Goodwin, strength and conditioning guru, likes to say," If we push on something, it will push back even if it doesn't have muscles." My reason for inducing this high school physics PTSD is to point out that the harder we push on our poles and skis, the harder the snow will push back at us. Remember that stack of 24 bones? Yes, they are held very securely by a robust system of ligaments, but they are not held so tightly that the spine is a steel rod that could support an elephant. The spine requires a considerable amount of coordinated, dynamic muscle activation to keep it stable. The more stability and control we have at the spine, the less the spine yields under load, and the more efficiently we can direct power into the poles and skis. Increased efficiency equals faster. And faster is fun. (Increased efficiency also equals decreased tissue loading, which decreases the chances of injury. What's not to like about that?)

Now that you drank the Kool-Aid and are fully on board with the rationale for a strong and coordinated core, let's get to work. It's worth pointing out that I just said strong and coordinated, which I want to emphasize because not all of these exercises need to be crushingly hard to be effective. I also want to emphasize that each exercise uses some form or resistance to challenge your ability to maintain a neutral spine posture–the natural curvature of your spine. If your spine is changing shape/curve as you go through the exercise's motion, you are not controlling your spine appropriately, which negates the exercise's purpose. I've tried to provide progressions and regressions for each example. Be honest with your form. If any of the exercises cause back pain (or any other pain), stop and visit your friendly neighborhood physical therapist, who can give you a more tailored program and ensure your form is appropriate.

Exercises

Lunge + Paloff Press

This is another anti-rotation exercise. It will require a fairly heavy resistance band or a cable machine in the gym.

• Stand in a lunge with the band or cable coming from the opposite side of the front leg.
• Hold the band/cable with both hands and move them straight out in front.
• The goal is to send the hands straight out and back. Don't let it twist you.
• Two to three sets of ten on each side.

Femur Arcs

(aka Dead Bug, though I've never understood how a dead bug is moving its legs)

This is a classic exercise for spine control and lower abdominal strengthening; however, in my opinion, it is frequently performed incorrectly suboptimally. Often, the cue is to "mash your back into the floor." This does accomplish the task of engaging the abdominal muscles, but it trains the body to be strong in a flexed posture, which is antithetical to efficient ski technique, and it gives you a solid object (the floor) to brace against. I don't know anyone who skis (or runs, bikes, etc) with a solid object they can push their back against. So, the cue for us will be to maintain a neutral spine position throughout the movement of the legs. This means some wiggle room will be between your lower back and the floor. We want to maintain this space–no more, no less.

• Lie on your back with hips and knees bent at 90° (your shins will be parallel to the ground). Again, there should be some space under your lower back.
• Keeping your knee bent, slowly lower one leg, tap your foot to the floor and return your leg to the starting position. Repeat on the other side.
• Again, the emphasis here is on maintaining a neutral spine position. As the leg drops, physics will try to make your back arch. The benefit of the exercise comes from training the body to stabilize the spine against this load.
• If you're having a tough time maintaining the neutral spine position (be honest with yourself), you can regress the exercise by starting with your feet on the floor and lifting one foot at a time–instead of starting with the legs up, lowering, and returning you'll be starting with the legs down, lifting, and returning.
• If you find the exercise easy, you can make it more challenging by straightening the knee as you lower the leg.
• Two to three sets of ten.

Bridge + Knee Extension

This is a good twofer: it works the abs on the top and the glutes on the bottom.

• Lie on your back with feet on the floor, and both knees bent to 90°
• Maintaining a neutral spine, lift your butt off the floor such that your shoulders, hips, and knees are in a straight line. There is a tendency to overachieve, lifting the butt too high and making the back arch. Please don't overachieve.
• Straighten one knee by kicking your leg out. Thighs should stay even. The pelvis should definitely remain level–this is the challenge of the exercise. As the leg goes out, the pelvis will want to drop to that side. The goal is to control that.
• Alternate legs and look to do three sets of five. Bridge up, alternate right-left five times, lower down equals one set.

Side Plank

These are another twofer: lots of core work with the bonus of lateral hip stability, which is instrumental in skiing but not trained very well with cycling.

• Lie on your side, propped on your elbow, with legs and feet stacked on top of each other.
• Lift the bottom hip off the floor so that the shoulders, hips, and feet are in a straight line.
• Hold this position. Keep holding. Nope, not done yet. Keep holding.
• Target 30-60 second holds, two times on each side. If you can't get to 30 seconds, try the regression. If you get to a minute with gas left in the tank, move on to the progression.
• Regression: When you get into position on your side, bend both knees to 90°. When you lift your hips, you'll be going from your knees vs from your feet.
• Progression: Set up is the same as the standard side plank, but after raising the hips, you'll lift the top leg up in the air. You can either hold the top leg up or do reps of moving it up and down.



Mountain Climbers

Not your aggro PE class or CrossFit mountain climbers. We're looking for stability like you could balance a cup of water on your back and not spill.

• Start in a straight-arm plank or like the top of a push-up.
• Move one leg forward underneath you—alternate right-left.
• There is a tendency to flex through the spine. Don't. The goal is to isolate motion at the hip while the spine stays in a neutral position.
• These can also be performed with feet on sliders/socks on a hardwood floor or made harder with feet in TRX straps.
• Shoot for two to three sets of ten on each side.