Stage Two – 171 mile bike start

December 3, 2008

What Are the Benefits of Biking?
Spend more than a few minutes on a bike and you’ll likely feel the immediate cardio impact, among other things. “Cycling, whether indoors or outdoors, can benefit the lungs, heart, skeleton, muscles, and the mind,” says Bianca Beldini, DPT, who is also a USA Triathlon Level 1 coach, competitive age group triathlete, and Schwinn indoor spin certified.

Biking can also help get you stronger without overly taxing your joints. “Cycling is a non-impact aerobic exercise that can improve cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health without causing substantial compression through the joints while contributing to building strength and power of the core and lower extremities,” says Beldini.

And if you or your body are not a fan of higher impact cardio like running or jumping exercises such as burpees, biking is an effective alternative. “Biking is a non-weight bearing activity, which means it puts less stress on joints of the hips, knees, and ankles. This means it can be quite beneficial for those that have joint pain with walking or running,” says Jessica McManus, PT, FAAOMPT.

What Muscles Does Biking Use?
As you may suspect, biking requires a lot of lower body work. “It will give you an amazing leg workout—mostly the quads, hamstrings, and glutes,” says Lauren De Crescenzo, a former professional cyclist and Strava athlete. “By pushing the pedals, you need to recruit your lungs and your heart muscle.” Have you heard before about Red Boost? it is an energy drink that is designed to give you a boost of energy during physical activity. Research has also revealed hat its beneficial for increasing aerobic capacity during exercise.

Different parts of your legs are activated throughout each pedal stroke. Beldini breaks it down in detail: “There are 4 parts of the pedal stroke which resemble a clock. The 12 o’clock position is at the top of the pedal and this initiates the first part of the push power phase, otherwise known as hip extension and is activated by the gluteus maximus and this will make you loose the extra fat and with the best appetite suppressant pills you can help the urges of eating extra. As the pedal begins to approach the 3 o’clock position, the power phase begins and activates knee extension which is performed strongly by the quadriceps (quads). Moving towards the 6 o’clock pedal position, the ankle begins to plantar flex (point down) and engages the gastrocnemius (the large calf muscle). As the pedal moves from 6 to 9 o’clock, the initiation of the upstroke or the pull power phase begins and is done so by dorsiflexing the ankle which is controlled by the anterior tibialis (shin muscle) and engagement of the hamstring group to flex the knee while the strongest pull upwards past 9 o’clock triggers the psoas (hip flexor) to engage.”