More discussion on MYRP if you please...

[CRH]

I'd sure like to hear some more discussion about the Master Yoda Riding Posture. I have carpel tunnel syndrom and a bad lower back back. The pain in my wrists is so bad even after very short rides to work that I'm seriously considering selling my EX500 and getting a cruiser. Then I stumbled across this forum and the MYRP thread. Let me see if I understand the concepts... Sitting at your desk with you weight on your bum and feet out in front of you approximates the "cruiser" body position. Lean forward, pull your shoulders back somewhat, pull your feet back as if you are about to stand up, weight still on your bum approximates the MYRP. Lean forward, bring your feet even further back, place your hands on the desk, start to get up out of your seat placing your weight on your hands and feet taking most or all of the weight off your bum approximates the sport rider's position.

 

Have I got it correct? Also, do y'all have any recommendations on reducing the back and wrist pain?

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Not quite. Lean forward, making sure you bend at your hips, not your waist and let your arms fall naturally from the shoulders such that your forearms are resting on the desk. Now notice that your weight has shifted from the base of your spine to the underside of your thighs near the bottom of your butt. Note that by lightly tensioning the muscles you are now sitting on you can actually raise your torso up without putting any pressure on your feet or hands and arms. At the same time, you will notice your thorax push up and forward a bit and your head want to come to a more erect position as the rest of your body interacts. Take note of the muscles and how they feel.

 

Other muscles will come into play here as well, in particular one that is on the outer portion of your hip and runs from the top of your hip bone to the top of your thigh. It is a stablizing muscle that is used to keep your torso in line and lift the leg when you are lying on your side. It will be used to stabilize your torso side to side rather than using the muscles in your lower back.

 

Now slide your feet back, raising the heels as needed, until you approximate your seat to peg relationship for your bike. Adjust your seat higher if need be to avoid having to strain you Achilles tendon. Note that you can apply a bit of pressure to your feet at this point without materially changing your body position or muscle tension. I'm not talking about standing up here, that will put your quadraceps (the big muscles on the top of your thighs) into tension and that is neither needed or desired. Just enough pressure to raise your knees a bit. Notice that the muscles in your lower abdoment will relax in response to this.

 

Ok, your torso is now supported and stable and you are not using your lower back at all. Notice that you can easily raise your arms and move them fore and aft without changing any of the other muscles. That is how you get your arms to relax and remove all pressure from your wrists.and hands.

 

To the wrists, take particular note of how your hands naturally want to form an angle to your forearms and then go out to your bike and see if the bend in your bars allows you to maintain that angle when your hands are on the grips. If not, change your bars to ones that do. Make sure your brake and clutch levers are adjusted so that you don't have to flex your wrists upward to reach the levers, just extend your fingers. As to the throttle, learning to do most of your throttle operation by rolling the throttle between the pads on your palm at the base of the fingers and the big muscle on the outside of your palm that flexes the ring and pinky fingers will greatly ease the strain on your wrist from rotating your hand around to operate the throttle.

 

That last paragraph is not Master Yoda but extends the principles of using the strongest muscles and maintaining skeletal geometry.

 

You may need to do some training to bring yourself into condition for this revised use of your body. Half squats being among the better exercises for those leg muscles. Don't forget to stretch either.

 

Hopefully, Dick will chime in and correct any mistakes. I got off into an area in which I am by no means expert.

[Calvin (no socks)]

I have Carpal tunnel and c-6 degeneration and lower back strain. I was ready to chuck em' all and get a "Hoveround" old folks scooter...

Instead I ride differently now. I just rode a K1200s on a one week 5200 mile ride to The Un rally. Not once did I have to waggle my hands so that I could feel them again. I now put no pressure on the bars and came down Pikes Peak with my hands off the bars most of the way.(paved road). The method works, I sit way up on the tank and my hands fall to the bars natrually. I squeeze the tank with my thighs and go. With the cruise on on the K-GT I can really put on the miles.

[Peter W]

I am 51 years old and won't admit to age. But I have felt wrist pain and right arm elbow pain recently due to 1) age, 2) use a mouse, 3) riding a K100RS. I am not overly familiar with the MYRP, but I get the concepts. Just rode 900 miles this last weekend over the Sierras and back and while I employ most techniques, I find I lapse back to putting weight on my arms when I am not thinking or tired. It takes constand concentration, but the good thing is that when you are doing it right it feels good, and you are working, not just sitting. I like it. You just have to know that you must do something to make the balance right, unlike a cruiser. I am, though, more fatigued at the end of a 600 mile day than my RT friends, but that's the trade off between riding ultra-comfy and riding ready to corner all the time. My $0.02 (and it's worth it, dammit!).

 

Pete

[beemerfan]

I found Dick's "squatting" example to be very helpful in understanding this position. It created a simple, easy to remember mental image of the position I was trying to achieve.

 

I don't remember exactly how the explanation went. Maybe someone else that knows the whole story (like Dick) can fill in the gaps. MYRP made all the difference in the world on my GT.