The most common misunderstandings when riding a bicycle for fitness

Cycling can be done both in the gym and outdoors. Cycling is very good for the body. Proper exercise methods are very beneficial for improving cardiopulmonary function and losing weight. However, if you don't pay attention to the methods and approaches, it is easy to fall into the following 7 misunderstandings when riding a bicycle for fitness.

Misconceptions about bicycle fitness in the gym

1. Fast riding can make your heart rate reach more than 85% of your maximum heart rate. At this time, the body mainly supplies energy through anaerobic glycolysis of glycogen, which can improve the anaerobic exercise capacity of the whole body, especially the thigh muscles, and help improve the anaerobic threshold. That is to say, the physical discomfort after strenuous exercise will be delayed, which will help us engage in higher-intensity exercise or persist in high-intensity exercise for a longer time. In addition, fast cycling is also very valuable for exercising cardiopulmonary function.

2. The combination of fast and slow cycling can not only take into account aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, and cardiopulmonary function, but also increase the fun of exercise. If you can get scientific guidance and adopt a more reasonable combination of fast and slow exercise methods, you will achieve better fitness results.

3. Moderate-speed cycling means controlling your heart rate at 65%-85% of your maximum heart rate. It is a good way to exercise your cardiopulmonary function and aerobic exercise capacity.

4. During long-term slow riding, the heart rate generally does not exceed 65% of the maximum heart rate. If it lasts for more than 20 minutes, it will "burn" more fat to supply energy. Therefore, it is more suitable for obese people who want to lose fat.

Fitness Misconceptions When Riding a Bicycle Outdoors

1. Posture

Wrong cycling posture not only affects the exercise effect, but also easily causes damage to the body. For example, turning your legs outward, nodding your head and bending your waist are all incorrect postures. The correct posture is to lean forward slightly, stretch your arms, tighten your abdomen, use abdominal breathing, keep your legs parallel to the crossbar of the bike, coordinate your knees and hip joints, and pay attention to the rhythm of riding.

2. Action

Most people think that pedaling means just pressing your foot down to make the wheels turn. In fact, correct pedaling should include four consecutive movements: stepping, pulling, lifting, and pushing. First, push the sole of the foot downward, then retract the calf and pull it back, then lift it upward, and finally push it forward, so that you can complete one circle of pedaling. Pedaling in this rhythmic way not only saves energy but also increases speed.

3. Speed

Many young people are eager to ride far and fast. For example, some people who have never ridden long distances ride 50 kilometers in one go and only pursue speed and strength along the way. This is actually very harmful to the body, and in severe cases, water will accumulate in the knees. The amount, frequency and intensity of exercise are the three main principles of exercise. It is recommended that beginners find the frequency that suits them and then increase the amount of exercise. The pedaling frequency of an average person is around 60 to 80 times per minute. Each ride should include at least 20 minutes of warm-up at high frequency and low speed (i.e. more laps with less effort) to make the body sweat slightly.

Comment: The difference between gym and outdoor cycling is that one is static and the other is dynamic, but the fitness effects are both good. If you avoid these misunderstandings, your fitness results will be twice as good with half the effort.