I’ve been doing all of my training indoors (surprise surprise). I’ve noticed that outside with my aero helmet on (LG Rocket Air) my head starts to feel a bit heavy and my neck hurts. I’ve always had this problem even when I did 100% of my training outside.
To fix this problem, my plan is to wear my road helmet indoors and attach small weights to it. I’d wear this as I do intervals on my TT bike.
I’m thinking about starting at 1lbs and moving up to as much as I can. The idea being that when I go outside with my aero helmet it feels light as a feather and I’ve built up my neck muscles.
Has anyone tried this or heard of it before? I’ll report back if anyone has an interest in the results.
I’ve been doing all of my training indoors (surprise surprise). I’ve noticed that outside with my aero helmet on (LG Rocket Air) my head starts to feel a bit heavy and my neck hurts. I’ve always had this problem even when I did 100% of my training outside.
To fix this problem, my plan is to wear my road helmet indoors and attach small weights to it. I’d wear this as I do intervals on my TT bike.
I’m thinking about starting at 1lbs and moving up to as much as I can. The idea being that when I go outside with my aero helmet it feels light as a feather and I’ve built up my neck muscles.
Has anyone tried this or heard of it before? I’ll report back if anyone has an interest in the results.
I have heard of it, but not yet tried it.
I have been really trying to work on getting my upper back stronger for both swimming and the neck issue (Helps take some of that stress off the neck). I had been having a lot of issues with neck discomfort and by changing my pillow, going to a massage therapist for about 4 sessions and then doing door stretches to open up my pectorals and shoulder blade squeezes to help with the rhomboids. That has made a huge difference.
I suspect that everyone is different. So FWIW here’s my experience.
Assuming a properly fitted bike, I get neck pain if I’m looking around or up at the road too far or too much, and especially if I’m switching a lot between the bullhorns and the aerobars. (A lot of climbing or cornering or dealing with traffic.)
Give me a properly fitted bike and a loooong uniterrupted bike ride in the aerobars and my neck will be fine.
Have me riding through town and stopping at every light and looking for cars etc and I’ll get neck pain after about 90 minutes or so.
You could probably get similar results doing (a) the plank and (b) rows, and (c) a series of exercises with a swiss ball. (For example, stomach on the swiss ball, each arm perpendicular to torso. Grab a light free weight (5 lb or less) and then squeeze the muscles in the middle of your back to lift it. Similarly, with your hands off the front and arms extended with thumbs up, lift them as high as you can (slowly)). Rows at the gym are also good, squeezing the muscles in the scapula to pull.
I had desk-jockey syndrome in my neck, and these exercises really helped. They are the same ones recommended on various websites for improvement in the aero position. The point is that the weakness may not be in the muscles in your neck, but in the musculature -supporting- the neck. I would try that first before stressing the neck directly. Ride with your helmet on, sure, but I’d try the other stuff before stressing the neck that way.
Well the weights will certainly strengthen things but I don’t know that they will alleviate your symptoms - not all of these problems are caused exclusively by muscle weaknesses. I think the spinal erectors can be neglected by many of us. Sometimes they aren’t even included in a proper back massage. And when we stretch these we tend to focus on the forward stretch and don’t include a rearward one. There was a good one using a foam roller the Lovatos demonstrated a while back in Triathlete. It involved lying on your back with the roller at the top of the back and allowing the head to stretch down to the floor. I now include this one in my stretching regimen. Great for some of us that spend many hours of the day curled forward in front of a desk.
I defiantly have desk jocky syndrome. I’m tall too and I have an “S” curve in my back.
Another one that an old coach told me to do for swiming that I haven’t been doing is called “Stick em ups”. That’s where you get every point on your back, neck, shoulders, and feet touching a wall. You then put your arms in a “Stick em up” position with your wrists and elbows against the wall. You then try to raise your arms over your head, then bring them back down. That seemed to help now that I think about it. I haven’t been doing them but these last two posts jogged my memory.
There’s no way I could wear a helmet indoors without overheating.
I’m still confused about why you are fine indoors and have neck pain outside. I have a feeling you’re holding a different position somehow. The weight of a helmet doesn’t seem significant enough to make a difference between being comfortable in one and in pain in the other.
