Benefits of cycling

Brenireland

Morning everyone!

I've got a question,I've a nice little racing bike not exactly fast or anything,but I'm starting up cycling for health reasons & I'm wondering is cycling beneficial as a workout for weight loss or muscle toning etc...

Sorry if I'm asking in the wrong thread,but I would love to know in what ways cycling will be good for me.

Cheers.

Lemag

Brenireland wrote: »

Morning everyone!

I've got a question,I've a nice little racing bike not exactly fast or anything,but I'm starting up cycling for health reasons & I'm wondering is cycling beneficial as a workout for weight loss or muscle toning etc...

Sorry if I'm asking in the wrong thread,but I would love to know in what ways cycling will be good for me.

Cheers.

It's a cardio workout. Good for weight (fat) loss and heart conditioning. Not good for muscle gain but will help with toning the muscles used.

Beasty

Make you fitter, and generally healthier. Gets you out in the fresh air. Can head out into the countryside with your new like-minded friends. Then there's the practical things - cheap, more flexible than public transport, minimal carbon footprint etc.

Brenireland

Thanks very much,Really appreciate that I live on the Longford-Cavan Border so plenty of winding country roads to put to use!

Good to see it good for the heart & also muscle toning,I would like my ass to be well toned as its just fat & flat now,so I may get out their

Cookie_Monster

Also it's much lower impact them many forms of exercise so you put less stress on your joints, particularly your knees.

There are other benefits which are less important which stem from the cardio, lower resting heart rate and higher peak heart rate potential, and all the more wishy washy happyness benefits from being more healthy, active and thinner

And of course all that extra vit D and sun tan from being outside lots

Brenireland

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Also it's much lower impact them many forms of exercise so you put less stress on your joints, particularly your knees.

There are other benefits which are less important which stem from the cardio, lower resting heart rate and higher peak heart rate potential, and all the more wishy washy happyness benefits from being more healthy, active and thinner

And of course all that extra vit D and sun tan from being outside lots

cool,I feel better already an I haven't even brought the bike out yet!

Although I am curious to where I should cycle in order to get this Vit D & Sun tan,Will I have to emigrate to achieve this goal?

07Lapierre

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Also it's much lower impact them many forms of exercise so you put less stress on your joints, particularly your knees.

There are other benefits which are less important which stem from the cardio, lower resting heart rate and higher peak heart rate potential, and all the more wishy washy happyness benefits from being more healthy, active and thinner

And of course all that extra vit D and sun tan from being outside lots

What country are you in?

Jawgap

Don't forget to spin - don't grind. Many people make the mistake of crunching a high gear - spinning a low gear is better for the joints and fitness wise.

You should have plenty of drumlins around you there to practice on!!

Good luck

Brenireland

Jawgap wrote: »

Don't forget to spin - don't grind. Many people make the mistake of crunching a high gear - spinning a low gear is better for the joints and fitness wise.

You should have plenty of drumlins around you there to practice on!!

Good luck

that's something I used to do,Like going up big hills/volcanoes in top gear it was killer painful but I taught it would give me nice big leg muscles...

Caroline_ie

Cookie_Monster

Brenireland wrote: »

Although I am curious to where I should cycle in order to get this Vit D & Sun tan,Will I have to emigrate to achieve this goal?

07Lapierre wrote: »

What country are you in?

oh ye of little faith. I already have tan lines on my arms from 5 hours in Wicklow last Sunday week. Glorious day it was, apart from the cold and wind and rain.

(and no, it's not dirt, I have washed since then)

Lumen

Cycling makes you sexy.

Paul Kiernan

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

oh ye of little faith. I already have tan lines on my arms from 5 hours in Wicklow last Sunday week. Glorious day it was, apart from the cold and wind and rain.

(and no, it's not dirt, I have washed since then)

You were in shorts and short sleeved jersey:eek:?

I was out that day as well and I had leg-warmers under tights, long sleeved base layer under long sleeved jersey and still needed gilet for descents.

The only tan line I got was on the tip of my nose:o.

Cookie_Monster

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

You were in shorts and short sleeved jersey:eek:?

yep

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=70901863&postcount=7

There's a photo too in the "Pics from Sallygap thread", was only cold coming down off the Sally Gap due to the very strong winds and right at the end when it rained. Other than that perfectly comfortable or hot. (Must be all that natural insulation I can't get rid of )

Will be out in shorts and SS again today too.
Hardcore

Brenireland

Lumen wrote: »

Cycling makes you sexy.

*Puts Bike on Done Deal*

goldencleric

Beasty wrote: »

Make you fitter, and generally healthier. Gets you out in the fresh air. Can head out into the countryside with your new like-minded friends. Then there's the practical things - cheap, more flexible than public transport, minimal carbon footprint etc.

Cheap? ha - there's always one more "absolutely necessary" carbon component to save up for ...

TheBlaaMan

Lumen wrote: »

Cycling makes you sexy.

Jeez that looks rough. I Google'd to discover that this is Bradley Wiggins after Paris-Roubaix 2009. He looks like an inmate of Auschwitz in fancy dress. I think thats beyond "lean and super-fit"......but maybe not. He went on to finish fourth in the Tour that year, after all.

Plastik

Yes, uber sexy ...



... na ...

sy

fat bloke

Chr1st.

Is that yer man Rasmussen???

It's a funny one. I love cycling and I love it's weight moderating effects but the pro-cyclist physique is one of the least desirable IMO. I remember watching Schleck last year winning a TdeF stage and putting his wimpy skeletal arms in the year like the worlds most feeble and unlikely poster boy.

So my advice is to moderate your cycling miles with a liberal intake of pints and cheeseburgers

LastGasp

Cycling does nothing for your gut, so I started doing a few sit-ups before bed, and tore part of my stomach muscle six pack. Thought I had given myself a hernia or something. I'm surprised no-ones mentioned the obvious mental benefit of escaping from the kids for a few hours of peace !

Brenireland

sy wrote: »

Now that's what I'm talking about

Brenireland

Plastik wrote: »

Yes, uber sexy ...



... na ...

That's where fake tan comes in helpful

Lumen

LastGasp wrote: »

Cycling does nothing for your gut, so I started doing a few sit-ups before bed, and tore part of my stomach muscle six pack. Thought I had given myself a hernia or something.

If you want a six pack just lose the fat. There are muscles under there somewhere. Unfortunately once you've lost all the fat and found your abs you may have to face the fact that what you thought were biceps and pectoral muscles were actually 90% lard and you now look like Bradley Wiggins.

Anyway since you're married you're exempt from aesthetic considerations so you can focus purely on going up hills faster.

Brenireland

Lumen wrote: »

If you want a six pack just lose the fat. There are muscles under there somewhere. Unfortunately once you've lost all the fat and found your abs you may have to face the fact that what you thought were biceps and pectoral muscles were actually 90% lard and you now look like Bradley Wiggins.

Anyway since you're married you're exempt from aesthetic considerations so you can focus purely on going up hills faster.

Wouldn't mind a six pack myself....

*grabs bike,heads for Off-Licence*

rooney111

Benefits Of Cycling

Heath Benefits
Cycling minimizes the risk of coronary heart disease. Essentially an aerobic exercise, it gives your heart, blood vessels and lungs a workout, thereby reducing the risk of heart problems.
A few miles of cycling per day assure trimmer and toned muscles. This is because your upper thigh muscles, backside and calf muscles all get to workout.
Pursuing cycling helps a great deal in building your stamina. It enables you to carry out your day-to-day activities more effectively.
For people, who are on the heavier side, cycling can prove to be beneficial. It manages weight and helps in getting rid of increased waistline and bulging fat.
The pleasure and satisfaction attained while riding a bicycle alleviates all the stress, anxiety and depression of a person.
This might come to you as a surprise, but cycling ensures a control in the level of blood pressure.
Cycling enhances the overall fitness level of a person. It makes you breathe deeper and perspire more, thereby leading to a feeling of enhanced body temperature.
Cycling has found to be effective for treating people diagnosed with diabetes and cancer.:D:D:D

rooney111

Lemag

^^^^^^^^^^^
That is one guy I would not wish to buy a secondhand saddle from :eek:

Cookie_Monster

:eek:
Thread now need NSFW tag

Jawgap

LastGasp wrote: »

Cycling does nothing for your gut, so I started doing a few sit-ups before bed, and tore part of my stomach muscle six pack. Thought I had given myself a hernia or something. I'm surprised no-ones mentioned the obvious mental benefit of escaping from the kids for a few hours of peace !

Indeed - not to mentioned it's problem solving potential - the amount of sh1tty problems I've left gone for a spin and come back with a fully worked out solution in my head are fairly numerous!

Brenireland

Jawgap wrote: »

Indeed - not to mentioned it's problem solving potential - the amount of sh1tty problems I've left gone for a spin and come back with a fully worked out solution in my head are fairly numerous!

Are you John Gormley?,If so,those solutions?,they really didn't work.

tomasrojo

http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2011/03/tragedies_commons

Interesting rebuttal to a rather silly piece in the New Yorker about cycle lanes in New York City.

It's worth reading in full, but this bit is relevant to this thread. Cycling is good for cities, from an economic perspective.

Of course, if drivers paid for all the costs they impose on others, there would be fewer drivers complaining about bike lanes and more people using them. As things stand, given that cyclists help alleviate some of these externalities (a cyclist takes up dramatically less road space than a car, doesn't use on-street parking, does not emit ozone, and does not contribute to climate change) it seems quite sensible to allocate a larger share of New York's roadways to lanes for cyclists. From an economic perspective.

EDIT:
This one is good too.

http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/i-was-a-teenage-cyclist-or-how-anti-bike-lane-arguments-echo-the-tea-party/

Nice summary of much anti-cycling sentiment that appears in the papers or online:

Or, if this all seems too strenuous or, you know, long-winded, you can simply reduce your argument to its four essential words: “I have been inconvenienced.

Both courtesy of bikesnobnyc.

Lawrence1895

- You are out in the fresh air
- You get plenty of exercise
- You don't need to rely on public transport
- It is cost effective
- You are not stuck in traffic (usually )

And the best of all: Laughing about all those motorists, who are stuck in traffic and who think, a car gives them independence