Before taking a Ride class, it’s key to take a few minutes ahead of the session to ensure your bike is set up correctly. The perfect positioning and pedal stroke will evenly work your quads, hamstrings, glutes and core. But to achieve this, it’s vital to get everything from the height of your saddle to the position of your handlebars just right. Here’s some top tips to think about before your next Ride class:
- Adjust the saddle to be parallel with your hips. You want to ensure that when you’re sat on the saddle, your knee is 90% extended at the bottom of the stroke, and your opposite knee is at a 90 degree angle at the top. When your saddle is too low, you’ll become quad dominant and easily tire throughout your workout. With the saddle in the correct height, you’ll find you have more power through your lower body (glutes, hamstrings, core).
- Bring the handle bars a couple of inches above where your saddle is. If you’re recovering from an upper body injury, we recommend raising the handlebars even further to avoid any neck or lower back pain. Ultimately you should feel comfortable in and out the saddle in this position.
- Adjust the distance between the saddle and handlebars by bringing your elbow to the nose of the saddle, resting your fingers tips in the centre of the handlebars. You want to make sure you’re not overreaching in this position. Think about finding as much length from the base of your spine, through to the top of your head. You want to avoid being hunched, slouched, or rounding your shoulders.
- Once you’ve completed the set up, take it for a test ride. If something doesn’t feel right, tweak the above steps until it does. Ultimately you want to make sure you’re not relying on the handlebars, keeping 90% of your body weight through the centre/back of the bike. By rocking your weight backwards towards the centre/saddle, your grip will become looser and free up your upper body for any choreography your instructor throws at you. Plus, you’ll be able to hit higher resistances by simply using more body weight from side to side.
If you’re ever unsure about your bike set up, raise your hand before the class starts and ask your trainer to give you any pointers.
Ellie
