May 11, 2020
Monday Tip: National Bike Month
Happy Monday everyone! With more and more bike trails and lanes popping up in cities around the country, cycling has been regaining popularity as a healthy and environmentally-conscious activity that any skill level can partake in. May is “National Bike Month” and there are some great reasons to add this exercise to your repertoire.
Cycling is an easy sport to get back into. If you’ve learned to ride a bike, you’ll pick it back up quickly. It’s low impact and uses all of the major muscles groups to pedal, unless you’re looking to ramp it up. You can increase strength and stamina while building your intensity up as you continue to ride.
As more trails and pathways pop up, the amount of bike commuters has grown. Starting your day outdoors in the fresh air over sitting in traffic is a great endorphin boost. And riding around town on a bike puts gas money back in your pocket, not to mention the cost of downtown parking.
As an aerobic activity your heart, blood vessels and lungs are all working to improve the level of fitness. You’ll breathe deeper and sweat more as you raise your metabolic rate to build muscle and burn body fat. Studies have shown a daily, half-hour of cycling can burn more than 11 pounds of fat a year.
All the pedaling improves your heart, lungs and circulation reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease. Cycling actually strengthens your heart muscles and commuters have two to three time less exposure to pollution improving their lung function.
If you don’t live in a bike-friendly community, you can pick up a Spinning or Soul Cycle class. Spinning is based on outdoor cycling and replicates scenarios faced outside. It’s an intense workout that burns a lot of calories. Soul Cycle is an indoor cycling class, based more on the entertainment factor while still burning mega calories.
As you build your cycling skills, take your bike off-road and try mountain biking. Mountain biking has the same heart healthy and decreased disease benefits of regular cycling but taking your bike into the woods has some magical mental benefits too. Mastering techniques like going over your first log or taking on your first rock garden will boost your self-confidence, and the scenery is other worldly which decreases anxiety and stress.
Bicycling is a great exercise for the body and the brain. It’s easy to pick up and it’s great for all ages and levels. Celebrate national bike month and go for a ride!!
You might also like
Cat Came in with a big goal, she set her bar high and did not let anything stop her from making progress. Since the start what truly stood out about Cat is her consistency and honesty. She’s lost 18 lbs/8.4% of Body Fat mass in just 4 months while increasing muscle mass by 3lbs and is only 3lbs away from her long term goal! In the workouts she is always pushing herself and regardless of if it is a good or bad day, you will find her trying to go up in weight and going all out in the workout finishers.
Within 6 consistent months at IPT’s Semi Private Program, Diana is down 17.9 lbs and 8.8% body fat! The greatest thing about Diana is she always steps up to the challenge in front of her. From the beginning, she set a big goal and didn’t let anything hold her back from getting there. She quickly implements feedback to progress forward. Her consistency in and outside the gym has been incredible
Within 5 consecutive months in IPT’s 1:1 Program, Simon has lost 23.3 lbs of BFM, 29.9 lbs of total weight! Simon always comes in with high energy and a positive attitude. He made big progress in dropping body fat and getting stronger!