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Bicycling For Fun and Fitness
Warming Up and Cooling Down
The Importance of Warming up and Cooling Down for Cyclists
Cycling is one fun exercise that can be incorporated to one’s fitness routine.
It is an easy and fun activity that can burn a lot of calories. However,
cyclists are quite infamous not doing proper preparations before cycling because
it is quite easy to just hop on a bike and then speed away. This is bad, as your
physical education teacher would tell, because the engine of the bike is your
body. And just like car engines, you body needs some proper warm up before it
can run smoothly and prevent itself from getting injuries.
The Concept of Warming up and Cooling Down
Just like in any sport or fitness routine, warming up before cycling and cooling
down after riding the bike is very important. Both processes are necessary to
maintain high levels of performance and to prevent injuries that could occur
during and after cycling.
There are two main objectives of warming up and cooling down. First is to
enhance one’s performance capacity and second, to decrease the likelihood of
injury. Warming up prepares one’s body to withstand all the rigors of cycling.
On the other hand, cooling down helps cyclists get back in shape to for the next
ride.
The Benefits of Warming up and Cooling Down
Warming up and cooling down are both seen to be beneficial for any form of
exercise. Warming up increases the muscle temperature to what is needed for
strenuous activity. It avoids being sluggish because of low muscle temperature.
This happens because the increase in energy also increases flexibility, which
helps the muscles move well, avoiding the chances of tearing or getting other
injuries. This also increases the circulation of the blood, which brings the
necessary extra oxygen and nourishment to muscles when exercising. Warming up
also relieves tightness of the muscles.
Meanwhile, cooling down helps the body to eliminate wastes produced while doing
high-intensity activities. As you work out by cycling, your body produces lactic
acid, which helps you feel tired afterwards so that you would have the urge to
rest. Cooling down helps burn off extra lactic acid, which ay later cause cramps
and fatigue if are left in the body in high concentrations. Cooling down by
stretching also helps lengthen muscles, which tend to become short and stiff
after cycling.
The Process of Warming up and Cooling Down
A lot of cyclists fail to warm up or cool down because they see it as a
time-wasting ordeal. But actually, the process does not really have to take off
one’s cycling pleasure. Just 10 minutes or so of some simple warm up and cool
down exercises could make a lot of difference into one’s performance and
recovery.
Warming up can be as easy as walking for five minutes to meet your riding
buddies, or doing some light pedaling on your way to the bike trail. Once your
body has picked up heat, you should then do some stretching especially on your
lower body parts, which will be doing the most work during cycling. Do leg,
calf, thigh, and ankle stretches, to keep your lower extremities nimble.
If you are going to race, you need to give yourself more time to warm up.
Perhaps you could pedal smoothly for 15 to 30 minutes, gradually escalating the
intensity of your pedaling as the race comes near. You would want to be warmed
enough for you body to sweat lightly, but not too much that you become tired
even before the event. Allow your heart to pick up its rate so that it would be
able to pump the right amount of blood to your entire body.
After cycling or racing, you should then allow your body to cool down slowly to
normal state. Allow your body temperature to decrease and for your heart to
gradually slow down. During this time, your muscles are also gradually
eliminating waste products through the excretory system. Never drop cold, and
rest immediately as it will make your body ache and sore throughout the day,
making it quite hard for you to get back up for your next ride.
The importance of warming up and cooling down in exercising can never be over
emphasized. Avoiding these crucial steps could lead to disastrous results that
could prevent you from enjoying cycling or any other fitness program.
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