Between riding our bikes outdoors, our Pelotons, or attending our beloved Spinning classes, cycling is a popular physical activity for many of us. But is cycling enough exercise to keep us healthy?
Let’s be honest, cycling gives you a terrific cardiovascular workout. Whether it’s pedaling up steep hills, or attending a fast-paced spinning class, you’re guaranteed to break a sweat.
In other words, cycling makes your heart and lungs work very hard, which helps reduce the risk of heart disease and improve heart function. It may also help to keep cholesterol and triglycerides at lower levels, improving your overall health.
But is it enough to keep us healthy?
Biking improves the muscle mass in your lower extremities, keeping your legs and hips strong. However, to attain complete fitness, we can’t neglect our upper body.
That’s why in addition to cycling, it is important to add a strength training component to your regimen. Strength training is not just bulking up your quads and biceps, but adding lean muscle mass. This is particularly important because our lean muscle mass decreases as we age.
Switching things up can also help prevent boredom! (For more information on cross-training, check out our recent Blog)
With strength training you will:
- strengthen your bones and muscles
- ward off osteoporosis (cardiovascular exercise does offer a bit of this benefit as well)
- enhance your balance
- increase your stamina
- boost your mind’s ability to focus
For maximum benefit, you should perform 20 to 60 minutes of uninterrupted cardiovascular exercise three to five days a week, while also including some strength training in your regimen. Your strength training doesn’t have to be extensive, and can be 30 minutes of resistance training with weights on the “off” days (2-3 times per week).
Your physical therapist at The Jackson Clinics will be happy to help you develop a plan you enjoy and can stick to, thereby attaining the ultimate workout.
The Jackson Clinics offer a professional Bike Fit Exam to maximize the function of a bike for each individual cyclist. Available in our Manassas location. LEARN MORE
