Well The Nine Pound Hammer Is a Little Too Heavy...

But a seven pound one might be just right. Here is a tip that I picked up from Men's Health magazine.

Of course, the best exercise to strengthen riding muscles is riding. However, there are other things that can be done to strengthen the core muscles that can mean the difference between staying in the saddle and laying in the hospital.

Strong, balanced oblique muscles are a must for really hard riding. One exercise that works the core and really hits the obliques is to simply take as heavy of a long handled sledge hammer as one can safely handle and swing it very hard, using both a right hand and left hand grip. To prevent the jarring caused by having the hammer hit a hard surface one can place a worn car tire on its side and strike it during each repetition.

This works good for me provided that I warm up with a ride of about an hour before picking up the hammer.

Here is why it matters--that is a picture of Bill on Manteo at the Duck Parade. Bill is older than I am and rides hard. There is no way that one can enjoy hard riding with out being in condition. Bill is in condition. For years he has been a serious biker and that conditioning makes it possible to stay in the saddle for years to come.

There are only two ways to be a lifelong rider--to die very young, or to stay in riding condition for decades to come.