Core Training for Cyclists

I can't over-stress the importance of core strength in cycling. Your arms are for balance and steering, not for holding you up on the bike. In an ideal world, that's your core's work - keeping your trunk stable and strong on the bike so that your neck and shoulders don't get sore. For many of us, our core gets neglected. We think about lifting weights to train our arms and legs, but often we forget the vital linkages in between.

You can significantly strengthen your core over several weeks. Here's a link to a recent article in Bicycling magazine that describes a very effective abdominal workout. I've been doing it more or less faithfully for a month or so and I can vouch for it! It doesn't take much by way of equipment, other than a stability ball (if you don't have one, the two exercises that call for it can be easily modified), and it only takes about 10 minutes a day - a small investment of time for a nice payoff later.