Aero position
I am new to triathlons and am curious about the benefit of me training in the aero position. I participated in IM louisville 2009 and did the entire ride in a sitting up position. Riding is my weakest event. I have had some low back issues in the the past ( primarily when I did things that required bending forward at the waist ). I am a little concerned about doing extensive training in the aero position for fear of having similiar problems. I feel great now and wanted to know how important it is to try and get to the point where I can ride in the aero position. I average about 15 miles per hour on a ride now and would like to greatly improve that. Would trying to force the issue about riding in the aero position speed my improvement as compared to continuing to ride in the upright position.
Comments
I will chime in quickly as I have to do my run before work here soon.
First: your back issues can be caused by many things. There are multiple ways to manage a back condition: Chiropractic, Physical therapy, etc. I suggest you find someone competent in managing issues for triathletes in your area as we do things very repetitively in the Tri world, which is different than the sedentary office worker.
Second: your bike position could very well be off and therefore contribute to the low back. For instance: I have a Cat 2 female that ascended the rankes from a novice Cat 5 to a 2 in a single year. She's a powerhouse but she cannot sit on her trainer with her bike for 1 hour without issues involving her neck. She was fit by a professional fitter but she moved her seat forward a smidge to get more power AFTER her pro-bike fit. We lengthened her stem and raised it 2 degrees and that is all it took for her neck to be comfortable.
Finally, if you want to be fast on the bike aero is very important. Depending on the source the resistance/drag on the bike is 70-85% the human issue and not the bike. In other words, the more aero you are, while being still comfortable, the faster you will be and able to maintain it with less effort.
I was a 40+ y/o newbie with no aero experience and slowly have gotten more comfortable all folded up but it took training in that position on a properlyl fitted bike and time.
Hope this helps.
Vince
Mike,
Take heart. I used to be a "bad back" guy too, unable to hold the aero position for even 30 minutes. I kept plugging away at figuring out my solution and now my back doesn't hurt at all; I just finished IM Florida and never even thought about my back.
My solution was yoga and Pilates, every day, for four years and counting. YMMV.
Good luck!
Not much to add just. If you don't do core work this should help. Watch the Yoga some advance positions could cause problems. Like everything work in to it.
If you get the fit right there is no reason that the aero position should be less comfortable than sitting up. Bottom line is that if you figure out the fit/comfort issues and can ride in the aero position you will be faster without doing any more work which is a wonderful thing.
Check out TTbikefit.com. Todd can answer all of your questions.
Mary,
I agree if you do not have the seat tube angle cranked up closer to 80 degrees to open the hips. I personally ride forward even on my roadbike...always have. When I scoot back my hammys bark like dogs.
V
What Chris G. said. aero = faster with no increase in work.
Only change would be to try and find a local person to help with your fit. TTBikeFit is great. But this way you can work with the local to tweak things daily/weekly before/after rides when (and if) you start having issues. Having someone in person makes a difference. At least to me.
It is the off/out season now. Best to test going aero now and work through any issues than waiting until you get closer to your A race when you have the added training stress.
Good luck
Bill thanks for the input
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