How to get fit for cycling

Confitex men's health and wellness ambassador Tony Marsh with bicycle

How to get fit for cycling

With Confitex Men's Health & Wellness Ambassador Tony Marsh 

Cycling is a fab way to stay fit and active as you get older. It’s a great cardio workout, yet it’s gentle on your knees, hips and back. And because it’s low-impact it’s a lot less likely to lead to little leaks than running and jumping.  

Athletic incontinence (also known as athletic leakage, athletic leaks or exercise-induced urinary incontinence) is a form of urinary incontinence caused by high-impact or strenuous activity. Athletes in high-impact sports, including gymnastics and basketball, are likely to suffer from incontinence, with more than 60 percent reporting leaks during these activities.*  

The Continence Foundation advises that there are many ways to become strong and aerobically fit without harming your pelvic floor. “Avoid high-impact exercises such as skipping, running and jumping, or sports where you change direction suddenly... Instead try swimming, cycling, walking, water aerobics or sign up for any of the many low-impact exercise classes now available.”

If you’re thinking about taking up cycling, or just want to up your game, Our Men’s Health and Wellness Ambassador Tony Marsh shares his top five essential exercises to strengthen the key muscle groups you’ll need for optimum pedal power and to help avoid injuries. For a solid all-over strengthening routine complete 10 reps of each exercise.

Confitex men's health and wellness ambassador Tony Marsh demonstrates squats

1. Squats work your quad and glute muscles, as well as your ankle, knee and hip joints. Stand with your feet slightly wider than your hips. Keeping your torso upright and your core muscles engaged, slowly bend the knees to a 90-degree angle, as though you were going to sit down on a bench or chair. Slowly straighten to stand up.

Confitex men's health and wellness ambassador Tony Marsh demonstrates lunges

2. Lunges help strengthen your quad and glute muscles, which are essential for riding. Stand with one foot in front of the other, keeping your back straight, your chest up and your core engaged. Step one leg back while bending the front knee to 90 degrees. Slowly straighten to the start position, focusing on working your quad (front thigh) and glute (butt) muscles. Repeat both sides.  

Confitex men's health and wellness ambassador Tony Marsh demonstrates the bridge

3. The glute bridge strengthens the muscles in your butt and legs and activates the core stabiliser muscles in your torso. Lie on your back with bent knees and feet flat on the ground. Lift your hips off the ground to form a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Hold for a few seconds then slowly lower your hips back down.

Confitex men's health and wellness ambassador Tony Marsh demonstrates a single-leg bridge

4. For additional glute work, follow instructions for the bridge. Once you are in the bridge position, draw one knee towards the torso, using the strength of the other leg to keep your hips raised. Hold for a few seconds then slowly lower the raised leg and then your hips. Repeat both sides.  

Confitex men's health and wellness ambassador Tony Marsh demonstrates the plank

5. This simple bodyweight exercise is great for strengthening your core muscles, shoulders, arms and glutes. Lie face down with your forearms on the ground. Keeping your core engaged and your body in a straight line, lift up onto your elbows and toes (or stay on your knees if you need to protect your pelvic floor). Hold for a few seconds (don’t forget to breathe!) before slowly lowering.


PRO TIP: Confitex’s absorbent underwear do double duty as extra padding for your bike shorts and a catch-all for little drips and dribbles. Independent lab-testing has shown that they won’t leak, even under bodyweight pressure – for example when you’re sitting on a bike seat!
 
* Source Wikipedia

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