Exercises???

[Jenneration]

Just wondering if any of y'all do any particular stetches or exercises
before unicycling, or to enhance your abilities on a unicycle?


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[mark williamson]

I mostly just do lots of (different types of) riding. Whatever it is
I'm trying to do, as long as it's sufficiently interesting I eventually
find I've built up strength and endurance in doing it.

I've heard that running can be good cross training for uni (uses
slightly different leg muscle groups, so keeps things balanced)


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[skilewis74]

I've found doing a lot of exercises to increase the strength and
endurance of my core to be very benefitial. Legs help a bit too. I
can ride longer w/o UPD's, fewer and safer UPD's, and I can ride
challenging terrain more smoothly.

Some exercises I like to do:
single leg lifts
double leg lifts
side twists (lie on back w/ arms out to your sides and legs up, bent at
90 degrees and twist your hips so your knees are 4" above the ground.
Go side to side. DO NOT push down w/ your hands, could put stress on
your back)
supermans.

A lot of yoga and pilaties exersizes are good.


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[KlownLife]

Staying flexible is important, allows wider range of movement and
prevents injury.
I also do weight training to build up the muscular endurance of my
legs (quads and hamstrings) plus I skip to improve CV endurance and to
strength my calves.
As mentioned above core strength is very important and it helps
towards improving balance so exercises listed above and another
favourite known as "the plank" are very good.

Jason

P.S. Depending on the style of riding you are doing, I would recommend
increase strength in your back. It's good for stability but also very
important in trials as seat out hopping engages the muscles at the top
of the back.


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KlownLife

One hop is a gift, two hops...now you're just taking the ****!


unifreak7 wrote:
> To me believing in yourself not only helps if your going really big. If
> there's no fear, (tech stuff), it doesn't really matter, It's just what
> the body does.
>
> -Shaun Johanneson
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[Uniman_3]

what are some exercises to work out your back..
is that why my back is sore after some rides or is that bad form?


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Uniman_3

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[cafi]

Warming up before riding is extremely important. I don‘t like stretching
before riding, cause it relax the muscles instead of filling them with
blood, and that‘s necessary for the muscles to work well.

I start just riding forwards and backwards for a few minutes. Then I
begin trying some tricks, but not the heavy ones. Those are in the mid
part of the section. And that‘s important: our bodies usually loose the
capability to learn new things when we are tired, so it‘d be good to
try those hard tricks only while you‘re feeling good and ready, cause
by the end of the section it becomes dangerous.

And after practicing I like stretching, but for relaxation and not for
gaining amplitude. that should be done on a separate time, just for
that. And as said before, it‘s extremely important not just for
performance matters, but for preventing injuries.

Finally, for back issues muscles around the abdominal area are the most
important thing. There‘s a technic called pilates, and it gives amazing
resoults.


I hope that could help, but it‘s just what I do, so keep researching...


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[skilewis74]

Some good balance poses:
'one' (http://www.baulkhamhillsyoga.com.au/toe%20balance%204.jpg)
'two' (http://www.baulkhamhillsyoga.com.au/toe%20balance%204.jpg)
'three' (http://www.vedayoga.cc/images/yoga_nasser2.jpg)
'four' (http://tinyurl.com/2m3rdl)
'five' (http://tinyurl.com/27vwb5)
'six' (http://www.viayoga.com/images/yoga-page-square.jpg)
'seven' (http://tinyurl.com/338mg4)
'eight' (http://tinyurl.com/2fydcd)
'nine' (http://www.maui-yoga.com/images/nadia-lotus-arm-balance.jpg)
'ten' (http://tinyurl.com/3ab3hc)
'eleven' (http://tinyurl.com/yubrpq)
'twelve' (http://tinyurl.com/36qdx8)
'thirteen' (http://tinyurl.com/24e8ry)
'fourteen' (http://www.marylandyoga.com/Sharifbak.JPG)
This one w/ your girlfriend
'fifteen' (http://tinyurl.com/2wnvwx)

If you don't quite have the flexibility for these, most have easier,
less flexible variations.


Uniman_3 wrote:
> what are some exercises to work out your back..
> is that why my back is sore after some rides or is that bad form?


-Swimming. Lie on your back, extend your arms and legs and do a
flutter kick motion with your legs and arms, looks like swimming.
-Side twists. See above. Advanced variation: extend your legs
streight.

I noticed when I'm riding really challenging terrain I bend over
forward, it works my lower back and sometimes gets sore, esp. if I've
been slacking off on my core exercises. As I improve I ride the same
terrain more upright and don't get this issue.


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[skilewis74]

cafi wrote:
> ...our bodies usually loose the capability to learn new things when we
> are tired, so it‘d be good to try those hard tricks only while
> you‘re feeling good and ready, cause by the end of the section it
> becomes dangerous.
>
> Finally, for back issues muscles around the abdominal area are the most
> important thing. There‘s a technic called pilates, and it gives
> amazing resoults.


This is the bigest area where I noticed benefits: can ride longer at
the peak of my skill.

Yeah, Pilates is better for core strength (the best I've found) and
yoga is good for that but also balance and consentration.

Edit


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[Uniman_3]

so in simpler terms...
do yoga..pilates..all that great stuff..
do all sorts of swimming things....
try not to lean forward too much...
stretch and warm up...
watch my diet..i just got to eat less...i only weigh 120lbs and is
5'6"...
get back in good shape..work out core,legs,get more flexible again and
cross train quite possibly...dont forget cardiovascular too..
I think alot of people forget about stretching after a ride too..it
helps you not be so sore..


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[lukkyjay]

I just got over a case of whiplash from a UPD after a rolling hop up a
simple curb. So I'm going to try to strengthen my neck and upper back
muscles to keep that from happening again. I just recently started
going to a yoga class with my wife and that is really helping my
flexibility and balance.

I saw a video of Kris Holm talking about how he does slack line and
climbing. Those seem like really good complimentary exercises.


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[SNES350]

skilewis74 wrote:
> I noticed when I'm riding really challenging terrain I bend over
> forward, it works my lower back and sometimes gets sore, esp. if I've
> been slacking off on my core exercises. As I improve I ride the same
> terrain more upright and don't get this issue.


I've felt strain in my lower back, so that may be my problem too. I've
found that running doesn't help all that much, as I run cross country
and both track seasons at school and I'm not terribly fast or strong.
Sprinting up steep hills or running up really long, inclined hills
helps though. After I started (almost) sprinting up every short hill
in cross country, I found that I could do the equivalent with my
unicycle.


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