A proper bike fit is important for riding comfortably without pain, but it doesn't mean you won't get injured while cycling. How well you fit on your bike is just one part of the picture. The other important part is the condition of your body—how strong, flexible, and balanced you are as you ride.

Bike fit is the first thing we check when someone gets hurt. However, it’s not a complete solution for injuries. It’s just one part of the whole picture.

The rest of that picture involves practicing prevention methods like strength training, stretching, foam rolling, and using massage guns, along with smart training and riding habits.

Strategies for preventing a cycling injury

1. Check your riding schedule

Cycling is non-impact, so it’s easy for most people to do—and overdo.

Gradual Progression: Increase your weekly mileage by no more than 10% to prevent overuse injuries.

Rest Days: Incorporate rest or active recovery days to allow muscles to repair and strengthen.

Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to signs of fatigue or discomfort, and adjust your schedule accordingly.

2. Strength train

A strong body supports a strong ride. Incorporate strength training exercises to enhance muscle endurance and joint stability.

Core Workouts: Exercises like planks and bridges strengthen the core, improving posture and reducing back pain.

Leg Strength: Squats, lunges, and leg presses build the quadriceps and hamstrings, supporting knee health.

Upper Body: Strengthening the upper body can improve bike handling and reduce neck strain.

3. Warm up

Most of us just hop on our bikes and start riding. But, to prime your muscles and connective tissues to pedal, you should move them first.

Dynamic Stretching: Engage in leg swings, arm circles, and hip rotations to increase blood flow to muscles.

Gradual Start: Begin your ride at a comfortable pace, progressively increasing intensity.

Joint Mobilization: Focus on areas prone to strain, such as the knees and hips.

How to avoid the most common cycling injuries

1. Knee pain

How it shows up: Knee pain around or under the kneecap during activity or at rest.

How to prevent it: To reduce knee pressure, maintain the suppleness of your quads, which connect to the shin bone via the knee cap. When pedaling, this area experiences significant load in a limited range of motion. To keep your quads mobile, try:

››A quad stretch: After riding your bike, stretch your legs with an easy standing quad stretch.

››Roll or massage your legs: In the evening, use a massage gun, foam roller, or another tool to massage your leg muscles, especially your quads. This helps reduce tension, improve blood flow, and aids in recovery.

››Stretch the supporting cast: Your quads don’t work in isolation. Stretch out your hips and glutes with a reclining pigeon pose.

2. Low back pain

How it shows up: Aching, burning, stabbing pain, and stiffness are common signs of low back pain. This pain can happen on one side of your back or both sides.

How to prevent it: Improve your spine's flexibility, stability, and strength to prevent back pain from the bent position while riding. Strengthen your back muscles—glutes, erector spinae, and hamstrings—by doing specific exercises two to three times a week:

›› Move your spine. Stretch your spine fully to relieve tension using the cat/cow pose, which helps your back by bending both forward and backward.

›› Strengthen your glutes. Strong glutes help keep your hips steady while you ride so your back muscles don’t have to work too hard to keep you balanced.

›› Build endurance. Many people say they feel good until mile 60, when their back starts to hurt. This happens because their supporting muscles get tired. To avoid back pain during long rides, it's important to improve your muscle endurance. Side plank exercises are great for strengthening the muscles around your spine and glutes, which helps you stay stable while riding.

3. Neck pain

How it shows up:

Stiffness or pain in the neck, especially after long rides or when riding with a low handlebar position.

How to prevent it:

Good bike posture is very important. Keep your neck in a neutral position and look ahead with your eyes, not by lifting your head. It's also important to strengthen your shoulders and upper back. If these muscles get tired, your neck has to do more work than it should.

››Reverse fly: Sit on the edge of a chair with feet together, dumbbell in each hand. Hinge forward with a flat back, arms hanging and elbows slightly bent. Lift arms out to shoulder height, squeezing shoulder blades, then slowly return. Start with 5-lb dumbbells, 3–4 sets of 10 reps.

››Row: With one knee and hand on a bench, back flat, hold a dumbbell in the opposite hand. Pull weight to rib cage, elbow up, then lower. Repeat on both sides. Start with 15-lb dumbbells, 3–4 sets of 10 reps.

4. Lateral hip pain

How it shows up:

Pain on the outer side of the hip, often due to repetitive motion.

How to prevent it:

Keep your hip flexors, rotators, and stabilizers flexible, especially the piriformis, to prevent tightness and pain in the glutes and hips. Stretching and using a lacrosse ball for trigger point release can help. You can use low back pain exercises to relieve hip pain, along with these exercises:

››Figure-4 trigger point: Sit on the floor. Cross one ankle over the opposite bent knee. Put a firm ball under the side of your lifted leg. Press into the ball and roll it in a circle for about 30 seconds. Then do the same on the other side.

››Kneeling lunge: Kneel on the ground with your right foot in front and your left knee on the floor. Bend both knees at a 90-degree angle. Push your hips forward while keeping the front knee bent. You should feel a stretch in your left hip. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then switch to the other side.

5. Achilles tendonitis

How it shows up:

Pain or swelling in the Achilles tendon, typically at the back of the ankle.

How to prevent it:

Keep your calves and Achilles tendon strong so they can handle the strain of sprinting and climbing steep hills. Also, focus on how you pedal. Moving your ankle too much—instead of keeping it steady as a support—can cause pain, Foster says. Here are some tips to prevent Achilles pain:

››Pedal naturally: Avoid dropping your heel on the downstroke, which strains the calf and Achilles. Instead, use a smooth, natural pedal stroke to reduce injury risk.

››Eccentric calf raises: Stand on a step, rise onto both tiptoes, then lower slowly on one foot until the heel drops below the step. Repeat 15 reps per leg, 2–3 times per week.