Tap backs are one of GritCycle’s most common and asked-about drills. Although the movement may look simple, it requires a great amount of body control and awareness. The first step before starting the choreographed tap backs is to find control of the beat with your legs. Being on beat is the catalyst of your riding success and one of the most important steps to choreographed riding. Once you’ve built your endurance to hold the beat, it’s time to tap back!
To perform this drill, the hips will tap back towards the saddle in a straight, controlled movement with your chest elevated and focus forward. A common mistake is when the chest collapses down towards the bars when the hips travel back into the tap – mimicking a “crunch.” This is a compensating movement the body makes in an attempt to increase the range of motion in the hips. However, the goal of a tap back is to challenge the endurance and flexibility of the lower body. With that, refrain from dropping your chest while driving your hips back, and focus on keeping your chest elevated.
It’s common in a GritCycle class for an instructor to add additional movements to a tap back. For example, a push-up into a tap back, or an oblique tap. Regardless of the additional movement, the elements of the tap back itself should remain the same.
