Muscles

[colinr]

After going out last night against strong winds, including doing some hills, I woke up this morning and my abs felt like I'd been doing crunches in my sleep. I thought cycling only worked legs!

Is there any plain English guide to what muscle groups get used? I'm curious. If it makes a difference, I'm riding fixed.

 

[asterix]

Ear muscles. I'm pretty sure mine are totally unaffected.

I do a lot of heavy work off the bike and this uses muscles in a slow intensive way which I believe is not particularly beneficial. Going on a bike ride is an excellent way of counteracting it and relieving muscle stress.

Hill climbing the way I do it uses upper body muscles a lot but some people say you should remain in the saddle and only use your leg muscles.

Admittedly I don't have a very scientific approach to cycling though, my cycle computer gets left at home on most rides.

 

[Black Sheep]

with biking you use your head, your legs, your arms, your chest and your arse.

 

[Dayvo]

This is quite informative:


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SyLSEnYPv8

 

[colinr]

Thanks, one of the comments on that video is:

The abs support the muscles of the lower back to hold the core steady, working against the force of the legs which would twist the lower spine if they did not.

I'm pretty sure that's what I'm doing.