Cycling is one of the sports that includes various activities where the bicycle is the real protagonist. The history of cycling we know from the first velocipedes, but its development as such occurred in the late eighteenth century.
It is a competitive sport, prepared for both teamwork and individual work. Each of the types of cycling has something to contribute to our maintenance. The benefits of cycling give us thousands of advantages to our health. If you also want to keep fit, keep reading, and discover everything you should know about this discipline.
Benefits of Cycling
• Cycling practice delays aging.
• Discover how to make a cycling training diary to record all your progress and improve your brands every day.
The practice of cycling acquires three levels according to the preparation time:
• Accessible to moderate: It is the basic level to start cycling. Some physical effort is good for cycling.
• Moderate or demanding: At this level, the athlete requires a little more effort. You must have experience in dirt roads and be able to travel at least 25 kilometers per day.
• Plaintiff: The athlete requires a critical physical condition and some experience. Already at this level, previous training is a must-have. Generally, the routes are in the mountains with steady climbs where you must have sound technical management, with courses of 40 to 60 km or more.
The Cyclist’s Hydration
We know that water is a vital element in the life of human beings, so hydration is a crucial factor if we perform any activity that involves physical wear. We recommend always to drink water before, during, and after the sessions of any training.
Drinking water during exercise will help us stay hydrated. The amount of water to drink will depend on the temperature, the intensity of the training, the humidity of the environment, and the metabolism of the athlete.
In the case of cycling, this activity involves the burning of energy, which produces heat, and sweating is the body’s natural way of regulating body temperature. Therefore, it is essential to consider the hydration in the diet for cyclists that begins to follow.
On a high-temperature day, the rider’s body can lose up to 2 liters of sweat per hour. This amount of water loss must be replenished by ingesting water and mineral salts during and after each stage.
It is advisable to consume about half a liter half an hour before starting pedaling, and during the activity, if you can drink a liter for every hour, you go on the bike (every 5 to 10 minutes).
Warm-Up Recommendations for Cyclists
Cycling, in its different road disciplines, is an excellent option to complement or supplement workouts of other sports activities, so it is vital to warm up before starting the journey. And precisely, one of the latest trends in this regard is the TRX training for cyclists, complete and ideal for preparing our legs.
When starting, it is vital to warm up 10 to 15 minutes before exercise, which will avoid possible injuries during competition. Therefore, we recommend that such warming be done by starting to run smoothly for a few minutes, so we prepare the heart for the activity, develop joint mobility, and also elasticity.
Here is a list of the recommendations you should follow for a first cycling competition:
- It is advisable to stretch the leg muscles well before riding the bike
- Before training take a good massage in the leg area, preferably quadriceps
- Start rolling slowly, allowing time for the heart rate to accelerate gradually
- Sliding on the bicycle, in a short relationship, that is, without exerting too much force, until it goes well into heat and reaches the point of equilibrium, between warming up and the optimal physical state
- It is always convenient to perform muscle relaxation exercises before training or taking a trip
- At the end of the training, the best option is to perform massages to relax the most committed muscle groups