The Fussy Mountain Biker
The more I learn, the more annoying I can become for friends, family…and absolute strangers. Take the example of what I’m learning from a continuing education course in body motion that I’m taking through the London College of Osteopathy and Health Sciences. While studying a fascinating section on the shoulder and elbow joints and looking at different body positions that can cause nerve impingement, I discovered that the way many of us position our hands, arms and elbows, especially repetitively, can cause restrictions, inflammation and even impingement (which causes numbness, stinging, burning and pain radiating all the way to our fingertips). While working with a patient who had slight impingement, I learned he was a mountain biker and I immediately asked his hand/elbow/shoulder position when he rides. The answer was: elbows out.
At some point, riders where cued “Elbows Out” and everyone assumed this aggressive, bronco-busting posture—until the injuries started adding up. Mountain bike coach, Lee McCormack said, “Starting with my 2005 book, I've been telling people to ride with their elbows way out. I thought it was more stable, and I thought it looked badass. But I was wrong! And I apologize.”
According to McCormack (linked below) as well as my Body Motions course, your elbows should drop from your shoulders, align with your wrists, but not be tucked into your rib cage. Your core should hold the weight, not your wrists on the handlebars. Elbows should be held wide (similar to a push-up position) rather than tucked in, allowing for better absorption of impacts and stronger control over the handlebars.
This is where I get annoying. When I am out mountain biking myself and I pass people or they pass me and I see those elbows flared out, I call out, “Elbows in!” and I hope they look into more later, or someone shares what I’ve just shared with you after they’ve just been complaining about this fussy mountain biker telling them what to do. So if you were one of those riders who received one of those unsolicited cues from me while tearing up or down the trail, this article from McCormack might convince you that I’m not really a trail ninny, that I’ve got your best interests at heart and to always remember: Neither a Tucker nor a Flarer Be.
And if you need more help, or course, you can reach out: https://www.durangoelementaltherapy.com/contact
Link to Lee McCormack’s article Proper Mountain Bike Posture: 7 Tips For A Better MTB Riding Position
In the end, your body is yours, every body is shaped differently and you may fall somewhere on the edges or in the middle. Feel it out. There’s also these two experts kind of dueling over position. Both of them are entertaining!
Mountain Bike Academy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_IO8YUFBFU
Vs.
The Shred Academy
