bike riding = sore shoulders ??

rayonrainbows
rayonrainbows Posts: 423 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
hey all.
i've noticed whenever i ride my bike for more than say half an hour, my shoulders get really sore.
it's mostly the upper part of my shoulders, near my neck.
i used to wear a backpack, but i made a water-bottle-holder-thing, so i just stopped wearing it a couple rides ago. hopefully that'll help..
just wondering if this is a common thing?
also i guess general shoulder strength-training would help?

if you guys know of any exercises in particular that would help, i would really appreciate it!! ..i love exploring on my bike, but this shoulder pain sucks~*

Replies

  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    Relax your arms and shoulders when you ride. Sit up straight in the saddle and try to enjoy the ride.
  • NextPage
    NextPage Posts: 609 Member
    I find that my shoulders only get sore if I forget to relax them ( a bad habit of mine is to push them up to my ears) or lean too heavy on my bike. I also think it helps to stretch out the muscles before and during the ride.
  • stevenlcopeland
    stevenlcopeland Posts: 57 Member
    I've been riding for years and never had that issue. I'm assuming your seat height is set right. Are your handlebars to low or seat to handlebar distance to great. Sounds like to much pressure on your arms/shoulders and not enough on your seat.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Relax your shoulders.

    If you're trying to muscle them around and holding them taught, you're wasting energy you could be investing in riding faster.

    waist up, abs engaged, everything else loose.
  • rayonrainbows
    rayonrainbows Posts: 423 Member
    Relax your arms and shoulders when you ride. Sit up straight in the saddle and try to enjoy the ride.


    do you think that's all it is? bad posture?

    i tend to grip the handlebars hard sometimes because i like to go at max intensity, especially up hills..

    i've got a piece of crap $40 used bike, and the roads i ride on are half dirt/sand, half weird cobblestone-type-thing (not totally smooth like concrete), so i guess i'm not generally relaxing, more treating it as a "conquer the beast" kinda ride.... the tension can't be totally avoided

    i'm sure some shoulder exercises would help though, just dont know what kinds
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    bad form. Work on it.

    Loose does not mean weak, just means loose.

    It also allows you to absorb a lot of the **** from bad roads.
  • rayonrainbows
    rayonrainbows Posts: 423 Member
    well darn. guess i need to pay more attention to my posture. i'll definitely work on being more relaxed. i hope that's all it is~*

    thanks for the responses guys :)
  • Peloton73
    Peloton73 Posts: 148 Member
    It's your position. I get a little sore in the shoulders towards the end of my 2 hour cycling club rides which is a reminder that my form is getting weak (and often my body's way of telling me I'm an a-hole for riding two hours :laugh: )
  • rayonrainbows
    rayonrainbows Posts: 423 Member
    it also could be that my handlebars are too far forward, but there's nothing i can really do about that
  • Peloton73
    Peloton73 Posts: 148 Member
    What style of handlebars do you have? Mountain bike or road bike? You can try to raise your handlebar stem up a little, like an inch. Keep your elbows bent and roll your shoulders forward just a bit. There's nothing wrong with having a good grip while climbing hills but continuously doing that will tighten everything up.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    It's your position. I get a little sore in the shoulders towards the end of my 2 hour cycling club rides which is a reminder that my form is getting weak (and often my body's way of telling me I'm an a-hole for riding two hours :laugh: )

    Lol, I know that one.
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
    Sounds like you need to get your bike fitted correctly. I used to get that on my old bike. My hands would fall asleep too. Last spring I got a new one and was properly fitted. Riding my bike is now so comfy!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    It sounds like the upper shoulder muscles you're describing are your trapezeus (sp?) muscles. Nothing can really target that directly. It really does sound that you just have bad posture. And if you're riding really hard and intense on a crappy bike, it's probably not going to get better.

    If you really like riding and can afford it, get a properly sized bike.
  • rayonrainbows
    rayonrainbows Posts: 423 Member
    What style of handlebars do you have? Mountain bike or road bike? You can try to raise your handlebar stem up a little, like an inch. Keep your elbows bent and roll your shoulders forward just a bit. There's nothing wrong with having a good grip while climbing hills but continuously doing that will tighten everything up.

    it's a mountain bike
    i'll try and raise the handlebars, do some seat-adjusting, etc... see if i can't make it fit better

    thanks!
  • ruffin04rhodes
    ruffin04rhodes Posts: 8 Member
    "Sounds like you need to get your bike fitted correctly. I used to get that on my old bike. My hands would fall asleep too. Last spring I got a new one and was properly fitted."

    This
  • rayonrainbows
    rayonrainbows Posts: 423 Member
    It sounds like the upper shoulder muscles you're describing are your trapezeus (sp?) muscles. Nothing can really target that directly. It really does sound that you just have bad posture. And if you're riding really hard and intense on a crappy bike, it's probably not going to get better.

    If you really like riding and can afford it, get a properly sized bike.


    good to know what muscles it is, thanks!
    even if no exercises target that directly, i'm going to look into some generalized shoulder strength-training.... it can't hurt!~*

    as far as getting a new, good bike, i wish. i'm definitely not in a financial position to do that right now.... it's in my dreams for the future though (too bad santa claus no longer delivers to my house lmao) :)

    anyway thanks for the responses, guys!! it's good to know it's something i can improve with some adjustments to my bike & improving my posture/tension...
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    "Sounds like you need to get your bike fitted correctly. I used to get that on my old bike. My hands would fall asleep too. Last spring I got a new one and was properly fitted."

    This

    It's a $40 craigslist special. I don't think a $200 bike fitting is worth it.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Relax your arms and shoulders when you ride. Sit up straight in the saddle and try to enjoy the ride.


    do you think that's all it is? bad posture?

    i tend to grip the handlebars hard sometimes because i like to go at max intensity, especially up hills..

    i've got a piece of crap $40 used bike, and the roads i ride on are half dirt/sand, half weird cobblestone-type-thing (not totally smooth like concrete), so i guess i'm not generally relaxing, more treating it as a "conquer the beast" kinda ride.... the tension can't be totally avoided

    i'm sure some shoulder exercises would help though, just dont know what kinds

    Every time I have to white knuckle through a snow storm while driving, I get pain exactly where you are talking about. Too much tension in the upper back/shoulder muscles.
  • Peloton73
    Peloton73 Posts: 148 Member


    it's a mountain bike
    i'll try and raise the handlebars, do some seat-adjusting, etc... see if i can't make it fit better

    thanks!

    You can buy a nifty attachment called "bar ends" for mountain bike handlebars. They used to be standard on all the bikes a few years ago. Cost: $25. Basically they are extensions that attach onto the ends of your bars. The advantage to these is you can grip these when you climb, allowing you to get out of the saddle and not have to grip as hard.

    I pulled this image off google which leads to an article so you can see what I'm referring to:

    http://www.examiner.com/article/how-to-affix-bar-ends-to-your-mountain-bike
  • rayonrainbows
    rayonrainbows Posts: 423 Member

    You can buy a nifty attachment called "bar ends" for mountain bike handlebars. They used to be standard on all the bikes a few years ago. Cost: $25. Basically they are extensions that attach onto the ends of your bars. The advantage to these is you can grip these when you climb, allowing you to get out of the saddle and not have to grip as hard.

    I pulled this image off google which leads to an article so you can see what I'm referring to:

    http://www.examiner.com/article/how-to-affix-bar-ends-to-your-mountain-bike



    those look so awesome and useful!

    i used to ride banana bikes (when i was just riding to commute to the store etc), and i liked the handlebars much better.

    unfortunately, i live in nicaragua where there's no amazon shipping and not a lot of availability to find nifty gadgets like that... but i'm going to the market town next week and i'm going to try and find the elusive bike shop there... i'll keep my eye out, thanks!
  • gobonas99
    gobonas99 Posts: 1,049 Member
    I agree - poor posture on the bike, most likely combined with a bad fit.

    Also, you don't need to strengthen your shoulders, you need to strengthen your core.

    You should "float" on the handlebars - your abs should be engaged and fully supporting your upper body with your core, so you have minimal weight/pressure on your hands. You should be able to take one hand off the handlebars and still be able to ride in a straight line, because you only have minimal input from the other hand.

    Hope that helps :flowerforyou:

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