Small muscles, big results: psoas

Your smaller muscles hold the secret to your cycling success - without these smaller supporting muscles, the likes of your quads, glutes and core can't perform anywhere near their peak. Focus on these muscles for one month to rejuvenate your ride and ignite your growth.

Where it is

Connecting your hips, lower back and tops of thighs.

What it does

This undervalued component of your hip flexors tightens when you’re on the bike or in other bent-over positions.

“People in sedentary desk jobs often find this tightening tilts their pelvis, causing their back to arch so they can’t tense their glutes, the most important muscles in any cyclist’s armoury,” says Wadsworth. “Get your psoas strong and your cycling should reap almost immediate benefits.”

A weak, tight psoas can also lead to knee issues, as secondary hip flexors take over and cause pain. Test it out by lying on your back and pulling one knee to your chest. Keep your other leg straight.

If the psoas is a normal length, the straight leg will rest on the floor. If the straight leg sits above the floor, your psoas is either stiff or shortened.

How to work it

Stretch it! Kneeling on your right knee with your left leg in front of you, knee at 90 degrees and foot flat on the floor, tilt your pelvis forwards and upwards until you feel the stretch.

Hold this position for 5-10 seconds, rest and repeat 10 times on each side. If you’re at work, stand up and tuck one leg back on your chair so your back knee is at about 90 degrees and the other is below your hip. Now tilt your pelvis forwards and upwards.

“At least 90 per cent of cyclists don’t stretch their psoas, which means they’re relying too much on their hamstrings,” says Wadsworth, “so they fatigue quickly.”

This feature is brought to you by Get Into Cycling from Future Publishing, the publishers of www.bikeradar.com