If your goal is to burn calories, we encourage you to get on a bike: you will discover that not only is it easy and fast, it is also a lot of fun. Go ahead!
An apt slogan from an old stationary bicycle brand stated that “whoever moves his legs moves his heart.” Real as life itself, Riding a bike will not only make burning calories easy and fun, it will also make your entire cardiovascular system undergo important work, having to feed muscles eager for oxygen and nutrients.
This means that the cyclists' maximum VO2 levels are high, which implies a very good aerobic condition. Riding a bike gives us an aerobic base, making our muscles use the oxygen consumed more efficiently, achieving better vascularization.
If what we want is burn calories on a bike, we must do training with high muscular and cardiovascular involvement: first long distances in which you manage to maintain a pace that is not excessively calm. If you are already used to long distances, you can add greater demands by encouraging yourself to climb increasingly demanding passes and of course, once you have achieved a good muscular and cardiovascular base, it is a very good option to combine long distances with changes of pace.
As for the muscle level, there is greater involvement of the lower part of the body, the muscle with the greatest contribution is the quadriceps since the star movement is the downward extension of the leg to pedal. The posterior muscles such as the hamstrings and calves are also involved in each pedal stroke. Therefore, we must not forget that the best training to be in shape and perform on the bike is not only "riding a bike", but we will need a complementary strength training both lower and upper body and of course and very important, CORE work. This complete work will make our bike trips more effective.
As advice, be guided by sensations, don't get obsessed with a heart rate monitor. Your body is wise and you have to learn to listen to it, it better than anyone will tell you when to attack, when to slow down or simply when to rest. And whatever your goal is, burn calories, improve endurance, challenge yourself or simply enjoy your favorite sport, remember that rest is the best training. There will come a point where you will improve more without riding a bike than riding. Sometimes you don't achieve greater performance because, having strong legs and a heart, you need to tune up the rest of your body. is it your case? In the next post about nutrition and health we will teach you specific exercises to work on strength, raise your level, re-balance your core and gain health. In the meantime, we'd love to read your thoughts in the comments!Author: Men Sana Sports Medical Center http://men-sana.es/centromedico/
