Get the most out of your cycling experience, by making sure your posture and saddle position are just right.
Cycling is an exciting outdoors activity that burns up to 500 calories an hour. It improves the heart health and is an ideal low impact cardiovascular exercise that doesn’t exert much pressure on the joints. In addition, experts say that this is an ideal form of exercise for those recovering from a sports injury.
Here are some tips to guide you to get the best out of your cycling experience:
- Don’t hunch
Hunching your shoulders while cycling can leave you with sore muscles and fatigue. To save yourself from getting a stiff neck, try to tilt your head to either side every few minutes. - Slide forwards or backwards
Different muscles come into play when you slide forwards or backwards on the saddle. Alter your position on a long climb or while descending a slope to give various muscles a rest at intervals. - Get the saddle height right
Pro-bikers will tell you that if your saddle height is not correct, then you will have aches and pains everywhere in the body. If you have pain in front of the knees, then your saddle is too low and if the back of the knee hurts then your seat needs to drop a little. - Descend with a loose body
If your body is wound up too tight while descending a hill, then your descent will be quite bumpy. So stay loose, allow your weight to fall on the front wheel and get your hands to drop below your body’s center. While making downhill turns, let your weight drop on your outside foot and inside hand. - Climb strong with ease
Climbs are important and need power. Go at a steady pace and shift gears to reach a balance. Wasting too much energy on a climb will make you tired and eventually slow you down. - Increase your endurance with each ride
Start slow and gradually increase your rides by 30 minutes every time. Give yourself time to gain comfort with a certain distance first before stepping up. To start with, do smaller circuits closer to where you live. - Stay motivated
Give yourself realistic goals. Plan your training each week and keep it interesting by mixing things up in each session. Joining a biker group is a good idea as you will be pitted against stronger riders. Find out what motivates you, and don’t be upset with failures. If you really enjoy pro biking, then invest in a new hybrid bike and pick a few wearable devices that can help enhance your performance.