Tom Danielson's Core Advantage: Core Strength for Cycling's Winning Edge

Tom Danielson's Core Advantage offers a simple, highly effective core strength program for cyclists. This comprehensive approach shows the 50 essential core workout exercises that will build strength and endurance in the key core muscles for cycling--no gym membership required.

Professional cyclist Tom Danielson used to have a bad back. He shifted in the saddle, never comfortable, often riding in pain. Hearing that core strength could help his back, he started doing crunches, which made matters worse. He turned to personal trainer Allison Westfahl for a new approach. Danielson and Westfahl developed all-new core exercises to build core strength specifically for cycling, curing Danielson's back problems. Better yet, Danielson found that stronger core muscles boosted his pedaling efficiency and climbing power.

Using Danielson's core exercises, cyclists of all abilities will enjoy faster, pain-free riding. Cyclists will perform simple exercises using their own body weight to build strength in the low back, hips, abs, chest, and shoulders without adding unwanted bulk and without weights, machines, or a gym membership. Each Core Advantage exercise complements the motions of riding a bike so cyclists strengthen the right muscles that stabilize and support the body, improving efficiency and reducing the fatigue that can lead to overuse injuries and pain in the back, neck, and shoulders.

Beginner, intermediate, and advanced training plans will help bike racers, century riders, and weekend warriors to build core strength throughout the season. Each plan features warm-up stretches and 15 core exercises grouped into workouts for injury resistance, better posture, improved stability and bike handling, endurance, and power. Westfahl explains the goal for each exercise, which Danielson models in clear photographs.

Riding a bike takes more than leg strength. Now Tom Danielson's Core Advantage lays out the core strengthening routines that enable longer, faster rides.

Tom Danielson is a former professional cyclist with consistent top 10 race results in elite stage races. Danielson kicked off his racing career winning the national collegiate mountain biking championship riding for Fort Lewis College. He began his pro road cycling career riding for Team Mercury and then Team Saturn. Danielson won the Tour de Langkawi, Nature Valley Grand Prix, the Cascade Cycling Classic, Tour de Toona, and the Mt. Washington Hill Climb. In 2004, Danielson signed on with the Italian squad Fassa Bortolo and then Discovery in 2005 when he won the Tour de Georgia. While riding for Discovery, Danielson won a stage of the Vuelta a España. Since 2007, Danielson has consistently placed in the top 10 in elite international and U.S. domestic stage races and Grand Tours, including stage wins in the 2011 Tour de France and USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
Allison Westfahl is a certified coach, personal trainer, and fitness nutrition specialist. After earning an undergraduate degree from Yale, Westfahl decided to move to the Rocky Mountains to pursue a career in helping people live a healthy, active lifestyle. She quickly made her mark on the industry, and has been managing and directing personal training teams at high-end health clubs in Boulder and Denver since 2003.

Westfahl's talent for creating innovative, effective core routines is widely recognized. She has helped choreograph workout videos for Gaiam, trained professional athletes needing help with core strength, and has been featured in publications ranging from Shape to Bicycling to the Denver Post.

She holds an MS in Exercise Science, a coaching certification from USA Triathlon, and has earned a CPT, PES, and FNS from the National Academy of Sports Medicine.