Cycling

Bicycling is an excellent way to exercise 20 to 60 minutes a day, three to five days a week for achieving good health and fitness. Cycling is as effective as walking and running for toning large muscles of the lower body. It provides the needed aerobic activity to stimulate the cardiovascular system but with less stress on your joints. Indeed, cycling is one of the best activities for improving cardiovascular fitness.

Aerobic exercise researchers say that cycling is as good as running and swimming for attaining fitness. Sports medicine specialist prescribes cycling because it causes less wear and tear on the joints and muscles than jogging. Older adults in people with joint problems are often advised to two cycling as their primary exercise for all of the above reasons.

Cycling is also an excellent way to burn fat and increase lean weight. Cycling, when combined with a healthy diet can be both enjoyable and effective as a weight reduction strategy. Cycling has the added benefit of enhancing endurance and strength of the lower body.

In order to benefit from the many advantage the cycling, is not necessary to be a professional road biker. A regular routine which includes biking can be very effective in your efforts to improve your physical fitness.

One of the strengths of a cycling regimen is that it can be done alone, with a companion, or with a group, for any length of time, at almost any time, and by any reasonably fit person-regardless of age. You can also take your bicycle out on the road, or into the mountains, use one of the many stationary cycle found in health clubs gyms participating in indoor cycling or Spinning™ classes using your own stationary cycle at home.

Cycling is also attractive because it provides a mode of transportation that can help to justify the time spent engaging in the activity. Instead of driving to the local store you can ride your bike, and save gas, wherein tear in your car, and get your work out in all in the same process. You can also get out and enjoy the scenery as you derive the benefits of engaging in physical activity.

Cycling is often combined with other fitness activities like swimming, strength training, running, and other similar activities. Cycling can also be a great way to meet people who have similar interests to you.

To get the most out of your cycling workouts, try the following training tips:

Warm-up. Your cycling sessions should always start with a proper warm-up. A warm-up not only prepares your body for exercise, but also improves performance and reduces the risk of injury. Start your warm-up with rhythmic movements that are a slower or lower intensity version of the activity to come.

The aim is to raise your heart rate and the core temperature of your muscles. Climbing a few flights of stairs at a slow pace, walking or jogging on the spot or starting out with some easy cycling are good ways of warming up for this activity. Your warm-up should end with some stretch exercises for all the major muscle groups, but especially the legs and lower back.

Seat Height. Adjust the seat height so that your knee has only a slight bend, approximately 10 to 20 degrees, when your foot is at the bottom of a pedal swing.

Shoes. Stiff-soled shoes are the best for cycling. A soft-soled shoe, such as the ones often used for aerobics or running, absorbs too much of the pedal force and makes your pedalling inefficient.A soft-soled shoe will also bend over the pedal when you cycle uphill and may make your feet feel uncomfortable or numb.

Your shoelaces should also be tucked in to prevent them from tangling with the pedals.

Cleats. If you are using clip pedals always check the cleat tension on the pedals and make sure that their cleats are aligned properly on your shoes. Improper cleat alignment may cause muscle and tendon strain and lead to injury over time.

Water Bottle. Proper hydration is essential for a pleasant and safe ride. Replenish your fluids often by drinking water before, during and after your ride. It is important to drink enough water to prevent heat exhaustion and dehydration and to recover more quickly.

Cool-down. Heart attacks and other cardiac problems most often occur at the end or after an intense exercise session. To reduce the risk of this ever happening to you, you must always warm-down at the end of your ride.

The warm-down is basically a reversed version of the warm-up in which your movements should become slower and the range of motion smaller.

After cardiorespiratory activity your blood is pooled in the arms and legs and your heart rate is very high. The purpose of the warm-down is to bring the heart rate down to almost normal and to get the blood circulating freely back to the heart and the other vital organs.

If you stop cycling suddenly you may faint, become dizzy or place undue stress on your heart.

For more information on cycling, please consult the following references: