The best workout is the one you keep doing
Fitness matters for everyone, and the hard part was never knowing that. It is finding something you will still be doing in five years. For a lot of people, that is a bike.
We have spent a long time around people trying to get fit. The ones who stick with it rarely have the most willpower, but they found something they actually like, that fits into a normal week, and that does not beat them up. Riding checks all three boxes better than almost anything we know.
That is our take, and we are biased, so the rest of this post looks at what the federal guidelines say and where riding fits in.
How much is enough
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are the plain-language version of a big review of the research. For adults, they come down to three numbers.
The guidelines list bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour on level ground as moderate intensity, and bicycling faster than 10 miles per hour as vigorous. In other words, an easy cruise to the coffee shop counts, and so does a group ride. A couple of after-work loops and a weekend ride can cover the whole aerobic target.
The same guidelines estimate that about 80 percent of U.S. adults and adolescents are not active enough, so if you are reading a bike blog, you already have a head start on most people.
Why riding is the one people keep
You can feel some of it the same day. The guidelines say some benefits show up right away, including lower feelings of anxiety, lower blood pressure and better sleep after a session of moderate to vigorous activity. Others, like better fitness and strength, take weeks or months. Anyone who has come home from a ride in a better mood than they left in knows the first part already.
What makes riding easy to stick with
The federal guidelines list bicycling and riding a stationary bike among the activities with the lowest injury rates.
Under 10 mph on the flat counts as moderate, and over 10 mph counts as vigorous, so you choose the effort each day.
In a UK study of about 263,000 people, cycle commuters had lower rates of heart disease, cancer and death over about five years. That study was observational, so it shows a link, not proof of cause.
A 2012 review of 31 studies found road cycling does not appear to build bone. Riders still need weight-bearing and strength work off the bike.
Sources: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition, 2018. Celis-Morales et al., BMJ, 2017. Olmedillas et al., BMC Medicine, 2012.
That last card matters, because it would be easy to tell you the bike does everything, and it doesn't. Riding is a weight-supported sport, which is a big part of why it is easy on joints, and the same thing means it does very little for your bones. The fix is not to ride less but to add strength work, which the guidelines ask for anyway.
What to add off the bike
- Do two days a week of strength work, which the guidelines ask of every adult. Squats, lunges, step-ups, presses and rows all count.
- Add some impact if your body allows it. Brisk walking, running and jumping are the bone-strengthening examples the guidelines give.
- Spend a little time on posture and core, because hours bent over the bars are easier on a back that has some strength behind it.
- If you are working through back or shoulder pain, ask a physical therapist for a program and follow it.
Weight is part of it, not the whole point
A lot of people start riding to lose weight, and the bike helps. Moving more burns more, and over time calories in versus calories out shows up in how you look and feel. But be honest with yourself about the size of the effect. The American College of Sports Medicine's position on weight loss says 150 to 250 minutes a week of moderate activity gives only modest weight loss on its own, and that it works better combined with changes to what you eat.
Treat weight as one benefit among many. The better reasons to ride are the ones you feel on Tuesday: more energy, a clearer head, and a reason to see your friends.
Fitness you enjoy is fitness you keep.That is the whole case for the bike.
Get the kids on bikes
We feel strongly about this one. Kids spend a lot of hours plugged into a screen, and a bike is one of the few things that reliably pulls them outside.
The guidelines ask children and teens ages 6 through 17 for 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous activity every day, including bone-strengthening activity on at least 3 days a week. They also point out that most peak bone mass is built by the end of adolescence. Riding covers a lot of the daily minutes, and the guidelines note that for kids, bicycling can be moderate or vigorous depending on effort. Mix it with running and jumping games and you have most of the list.
That belief is why the team runs Bikes for Kids. Getting a kid on a bike is about the best thing we know how to do.
Ride most days. Easy or hard, every ride counts toward the weekly target.
Lift twice a week. The bike does a lot, but it does not build bone.
Bring someone with you. Ride with a friend, a kid, or a club, because people are what make it last.
It is almost never too late to start.
If you need a bike that fits the riding you actually want to do, come talk it through with us or browse what we have.
Shop bikesThen go ride it.