5 Tips For the Beginner Cyclist: Improving Your Cycling Fitness

 Getting started with cycling can seem like a great way to improve your health, save money on gas, and get some fresh air. However, if you're not careful with your approach to cycling, you could be setting yourself up for disappointment and injury. We've put together some tips for the beginner cyclist to help you avoid common mistakes and build a foundation that will help your fitness level skyrocket!

1. Cycling is a great way to get active, but only if you do it right.

Cycling is a great way to get active, but it can be dangerous and can lead to injuries if you don’t do it right. To avoid injury, there are a few things you should do. First, make sure to stretch before you start cycling. You should also make sure to wear a helmet and avoid cycling at night or during rush hour.Finally, check out our top tips for getting a great cycle! We live in a violent society, so it shouldn’t be a shock that serious injuries happen on the roads. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 38% of cyclists will get a puncture while on a cycle, and some of the reasons cyclists get hurt include: So, wear your helmet and take common sense safety precautions before you get out there. Regardless of whether you’re doing indoor cycling or going out for a bike ride, keep the following tips in mind. There are several different apps for people to use when they want to get fit and build their fitness levels, but if you’re an avid cyclist, you should download Fitbit. The company has strong traction among gym goers and cyclists alike because it offers a full array of workouts. The best thing about biking with a smartwatch is that you can track the calories you’re burning, how long you’re exercising for, and feedback on your skill level. Some of the most popular activities for a cycling smartwatch are: Fitness is something everyone should strive for, so it is important that you do your research and get the tools to get there. Instead of just buying a fitness tracker, you should invest in an app or an app-controlled smartwatch that can track your training. The more evidence you can gather about your fitness goal and equipment, the more likely you are to achieve it! After all, you don’t want to just start going for a nice solo ride and be out of breath and sore hours later. Try to keep a fitness journal where you write everything that happens to help keep you on track.

2. How can you get the most out of your cycling workout?

Cycling is a great workout for both your upper and lower body, but it’s important to adjust the workout according to your fitness level. If you’re just starting out, you may want to start with a stationary bike and adjust the resistance up to a challenging level. You can also use a higher gear to increase the intensity of the workout.The most important thing is to find something that challenges you. Staying committed to the workout is key because if you quit cold turkey, you may burn out and reduce your duration of exercise. Racing against yourself is a popular way to stop yourself from getting injured and improve your fitness level. However, this method does come with a few drawbacks which we will discuss below. Take it easy when you’re starting out because you don’t want to hurt yourself before you’ve even hit your first peak fitness level. It’s also important that you don’t overdo it. If you get into a workout that you aren’t enjoying, or you go out hard for too long, you’ll likely injure yourself. Quite often people who are new to cycling don’t spend enough time practicing at home before they head out on the road. If you have the opportunity, try incorporating some indoor cycling into your program. Cycling to and from a train station is a great way to introduce yourself to the exercise. Workout riding a stationary bike to the train station is a great fitness truck but do it for a couple of days before you actually start biking to your destination. If you’re not used to cycling, it may help to do a combination of strength training and cardio to get used to the movement patterns. To build strength, you’ll want to do compound movements that involve several muscle groups. Examples of compound movements would include the bench press, dips, or pull-ups. Full-body workouts are important because they develop multiple muscle groups working together in a coordinated manner. You can do push-pull-legs, rows, or any combination. Cardio is important for cyclists because it gets your heart pumping and raises your oxygen capacity.

3. How will you know if you are improving?

It’s important to measure your success to know if you’re improving. Measure your progress by looking at how many followers you have, how many views you’re getting, the number of comments or likes you get on your posts, and how many backlinks you have. Watch your stats to see how they change over time. Many beginners don’t take the proper time to build a solid following prior to starting a cycling journey. Building a cycling Instagram is no different. If you don’t have a presence on Instagram or don’t know how to drive traffic to your blog, you’re going to struggle regardless of whether your goal is weight loss or health. Take the time to get on your platform the right way. You don’t want to be the 500th person to start a chain when you can start with 100 people the first time. Also, make sure you constantly monitor how active you are and find new ways to grow your audience. Creating content is an investment so make sure you pay it forward by sharing your triumphs and motivating someone else to get on their bike! If you are as sick of the gym atmosphere of the typical dieting and workout community as I am, you can embrace a more active alternative at home without costing an arm and a leg! There are activities you can do at home that are plenty intense to get your heart rate up and keep your skin like toned DAHLIA! Things like yoga (try this at least twice a week!), yard work, rock out! And don’t forget to wash it down with a glass of hard seltzer! 1.) Dance at home: 2.) Yoga at home: Other good options: CrossFit is taking the fitness world by storm and providing a great outlet for individuals of all fitness levels. Try it out for a short time and you’ll be hooked! Most fitness devotees believe that HIIT is a fad. There may be some components of HIIT that you enjoy, but it is very time-intensive with diminishing returns as you get more advanced.

4. What makes up a proper fitness routine for cyclists?

Having a proper fitness routine is essential for cyclists but there are a few things you should know. First, make sure you train your core. The core is the foundation of you body and if you don’t have a strong core, you’ll end up hurting yourself. Below we’ve described the three core muscles that you should be working on. As your fitness improves, you should aim to increase your time spent on each exercise. For beginners, focus on lower intensity and gradually build your way up to more frequent activity. It’s recommended that you start slow at first and work your way up to longer sessions. The first thing you should realize when starting cycling is that you are going to need a good pair of cycling shoes. Specifically, there are three components to consider when choosing your shoes. The outer sole, midsole, and insole are all critical pieces to the cycling shoe. While this may seem like a lot to take in, it's really only the start of building a comfortable cycling routine. While you can’t really go back after a couple of weeks once you’ve found a good fit, you may find it more convenient to spend more time perusing footwear options available online. The first thing you want to do when choosing your cycling shoes is to find the one that fits you. Go big on a stability foot grip or stability ball. Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and with your hands shoulder-width apart. Take a big breath in through your nose and let it out through your mouth slowly. Bounce up and down on the balls of your feet slowly. While you should be breathing deeply and slowly, make sure there’s no air moving in or out of your lungs. Also, make sure that your upper leg is perpendicular to the ground, not at an angle. This will give you stability when you move your weight through your training moves. Also, try to combine your inhale with your exhalation. Don’t over-stride.

5. How do you avoid common cycling injuries?

Cycling is one of the best workouts you can do because it’s convenient and efficient and it doesn’t take up a lot of time. But, if you’re not careful, it can also lead to injury. Here are three ways to avoid common cycling injuries: 1) don’t overdo it.2) fix your form. 3) develop a beginner’s discipline. When you’re first starting out, it’s a good idea to stick to the fundamentals. Consistency is the name of the game and focusing on your form and Warmup will ensure you do that. Here are a couple examples of common errors you‘ll want to avoid at all costs: Common errors 1) choosing the wrong bike. Your first option is almost always going to be your old road bike. Do yourself a favor and find a new road bike before you get started — you’ll save yourself a lot of frustration. And if you can’t find a new one, you can always buy a recumbent bike. Yes, there are a few differences between the two types of bikes, but you can completely avoid cycling injuries if you learn the differences between the three. Common errors 2) not wearing enough gear. It can be intimidating to try out a completely new exercise like cycling. You might not be leagues above your friend’s ride, but you also don’t want to risk injuring yourself. It’s best to start out with wearing eye and ear protection, extra socks (underwear), and a basic tube/cord system targeted toward hills. If you’re new to cycling, this should be more than enough! Common errors 3) missing warmup. Depending on how intense your workout is, you‘ll certainly want to warm up. However, the classical form of warmup is to do a short warmup ride before you start your workout. Why does this prove so important? Well, it’s very common to overdo the warmup when you‘re first starting out. Cranking out a hard workout without completing at least a couple of warmup circuits is the quickest way to injure yourself.