Love Cycling? How to Get the Most out of Your Training
Cycling is a low-impact aerobic activity that will improve your overall fitness level by targeting the lungs, blood vessels, and heart. Routine cycling is associated with increased cardiovascular fitness. Unlike other aerobic exercises, you can easily incorporate cycling in your life as a casual activity, competitive sport, and mode of transport. Research shows that 150 minutes of cycling every week improves heart health, prevents high blood pressure, improves balance and coordination, and promotes lung health. However, you should employ these practical ideas to get the most out of cycling.
Comprehensive Bike Fitting
Cycling improves cardiovascular fitness regardless of how you incorporate this particular aerobic activity in your daily life. Even though cycling guarantees immense health benefits, cycling injuries, such as knee, neck, and back pain, are common and can be avoided through bike fitting. Certain companies, such as Plan 7 Coaching, know that bike fitting will improve your posture and cycling experience by tweaking your bicycle to match your individual body geometry. However, for excellent results, bike fitting should be preceded by flexibility and leg tracking assessment.
Invest in the Right Cycling Gear
Workout cycling requires proper cycling clothing for safety and speed. Cycling clothing is more aerodynamic than regular cycling gear because it fits closely. Since you will go faster because of the comfort, you will spend less energy on your workout. Your cycling gear should include a well-ventilated bike helmet, seamless and chafe-free cycling shorts, and cycling sunglasses to keep dust, flies, dirt, and other debris out of your eyes. In addition, cycling shoes can help you get the most out of your workout since you will not waste energy flexing rubber over the pedals.
Use Clipless Pedals
Incorporating clipless pedals in your workout bicycle can advance your cycling experience. Clipless pedals are designed to improve cycling efficiency by allowing you to pedal more fluidly because your cranks and pedals will become an extension of your body. In addition, clipless pedals will improve your pedaling efficiency by enabling you to pull up and push down with less energy. Clipless pedals are also associated with increased control, comfort, confidence, and freedom.
Build Up Your Strength
Cycling will improve function in the lower body and strengthen your leg muscles as it targets calves, glutes, quads, and hamstrings. However, to reach the cycling duration that guarantees optimal cardiovascular fitness, you need to engage in specific strength training focusing on the legs, back, and arms. Leg exercises, such as leg presses and weighted squats, will help boost your leg strength. Bicep curls and tricep presses will improve your arm strength, whereas lat pull-downs and dumbbell rows will boost your back strength.
Cycling as an aerobic activity is associated with cardiovascular fitness because it targets the lungs. However, to get the most out of fitness, you need to be better prepared and fit by investing in correctly set up bike and cycling gear.
