Beginner’s Guide to Biking
We’d like to argue that cycling is one of the best cardio workouts out there. Why is that? Read on and find out!
Biking strengthens the lower body and helps you in shaping your lower body with high intensity that includes legs and hips. So it is an excellent choice to bike on the roads, biking tracks or mountain trails.
If you’re a beginner and want to bike, you have to choose the ideal bike model and a flat bike path. You should not forget the proper safety equipment.
When you’re ready for a tougher workout, you can try mountain biking as well. The on-road and off-road biking includes the proper use of equipment that includes appropriate biking suits, helmets, drinking bottles, and biking knee pads.
How is cycling different from other cardio workouts?
Cycling helps in pumping the heart rate at a high rate and helps in burning the calories. But it is the gentle care of your body. Much like swimming, cycling doesn’t stress your body joints.
Which body parts does biking target?
Your core parts will get stronger from practicing biking regularly. But the different body parts will experience different effects from it.
- Arms: biking activities don’t have any effect on your arms.
- Legs: biking is the best cardio workout for your lower body, including legs, quads, and hamstrings.
- Gluts and hips: these are the best-toned body parts with the biking practices.
- Upper and lower back: your back is not particularly affected with the cardio aspect of biking. If you want to engage your muscles and ride across hills and mountains, then you should try mountain biking.
How can cycling activities benefit you?
The biking activities serve various purposes for the bikers. These include the following benefits:
- It’s (almost) free: if you don’t have a bike, you’ll have to purchase one, but once you get a bike and all the equipment, you won’t have to invest a lot of money in this activity
- Favorite sport: Biking is a beloved competitive sport if you’re racing with your competitors, whether it’s on-road or off-road biking races.
- Aerobic: as we already mentioned, this is a perfect cardio activity
- Less impact on lower body: Biking is a good workout activity that has a low impact on the joints of your body.
- Nature and fresh air: this makes biking superior to any cardio you can do at the gym – you actually get to be outside and enjoy nature and fresh air.
- Power and strength: Biking strengthens the muscles and boosts the power in your body.
- Short-distance travel: while it’s fairly uncommon (though some have pulled it off!) to travel the world on a bike, biking gives you an option to visit any interesting place near your town free of charge, and combine all the above mentioned benefits with a bit of tourism.
How difficult is it for beginners?
The activity of biking is a perfect outdoor practice that can help you work out and enjoy nature with on-road or off-road biking. But the fun of outdoors biking also has its risks. Because there’s a danger of getting in an accident or falling off your bike, you’ll have to get the proper safety equipment in order to truly enjoy biking.
Which safety measures should you use while biking?
To avoid the risks of cycling, you should judge how dangerous are the activities in your biking habits. There is protective gear for various body parts that are at high risk. Most notably, that would be a biking helmet to protect your head in case fall. However, don’t forget to protect your legs as well! These safety measures also include the mountain biking knee pads, mountain bike shin socks, and shin pads.
We hope you found this guide useful. If you love outdoors activities and you’re looking for a way to add more cardio into your fitness routine, biking may be just the thing you need!