Among off-road amateur riders, shoulder pain on the bike is one of the most common complaints. Because, on the bike, you are all the time trying to brake aggressively in a way you are able to make tighter turns and be faster.
The bad thing about this is that the inertia makes your body come forward all of a sudden and you are forced to push not to end up with your chest stuck on the handlebar. This move creates a lot of tension on your arms but, mostly, it crushes your shoulders.
Having strong shoulders will drastically improve your riding because you will feel more comfortable when performing aggressive moves, therefore, you’ll become faster.
So in this video below we teach you what is failing in your shoulders and why can’t they stand the tension of the brakes. And we’ll give you two tips to put an end to it and feel much more safe on the bike (turn subtitles on, we’ve translated it for you).
How to tell if you have healthy shoulders? This may be the cause of your shoulder pain on the bike
We know you probably don’t have healthy shoulders because most of the riders that we train, come to us for the first time with a poor shoulder alignment resulting from a bad posture on the motorbike. Thus they are unable to apply a continuous strength on the handlebar and, when trying, they get that annoying shoulder pain on the bike.
How can you tell if you have healthy shoulders? Simply stand in front of a mirror and watch yourself: Are your shoulders rotated forwards? Can you make a wide move backward and join your scapulas together?
If your shoulders are rotated forwards, it means they are misplaced and aren’t a reliable base for riding. That explains the shoulder pain you feel on the bike when riding or racing, and how it affects other areas of your body like your neck o your trapezius.
You are even at risk of an injury.
5 exercises for healthy shoulders
So this is where shoulders should be: away from your ears and aligned with the rest of your body and core.
You should take the reference of the scapulas, which must be able to move properly and be kept together when you use your shoulders in strength-related moves.
As a first measure we recommend you 4 exercises to realign your shoulders and be able to better hold onto those hard brakings:
3 exercises for strong shoulder on the dirt bike
Now, with your shoulders properly realigned, the next thing you need to do in order to solve your shoulder pain on the bike is to strengthen the moves demanded by braking. We recommend you add these four exercises to your workout routine:
Rider, if shoulders are your weak point, these are the same suggestions we make to the Trial, Enduro and Motocross amateur and pro riders that condition their physiques specifically for the dirty bike with us.
We guarantee you that if you are consistent with your training, these will also work for you, and you will finally be able to take tighter turns and be a faster rider.
Do you have any friend rider that always complains about shoulder pain on the bike? Do him a favor and send him this post. This video may change his live as a dirty bike amateur rider!
