And it can all be done on a bike. Cycling is as good as running and swimming as an aerobic (meaning “with oxygen”) exercise that will elevate your pulse rate and increase your cardio-vascular activity. Sports medicine specialists often prescribe cycling because it causes less wear and tear on the joints and muscles than running, while still building endurance and alleviating stress.

Cycling, both road and mountain, tones many of the same large muscles of the lower body as hiking does. You’re working the quads, hip flexors, and calf muscles when pushing the pedal down; and the hip flexors, hamstrings and calves when pulling the pedal up. But it’s an upper body conditioner as well since the muscles of the torso, as well as the arms and shoulders, are very active while riding.

You know that time spend on a bike helps to develop your aerobic engine which in turn increases your ability to burn fat. Combine it with a healthy diet, and it becomes an enjoyable way to increase lean weight. You can expect to burn about 700 calories for an hour of road cycling, and 500 or more calories during an hour of mountain biking on level and downhill terrain.

One more advantage to cycling is the positive feeling you get when your body releases a shot of endorphins during an outdoor riding excursion. Breaking a sweat will cause these hormones to release, producing a sort of physical high. Talk to anyone who exercises regularly and they are likely to admit that this is why physical exertion seems to be so addicting.

To get the most out of your cycling workouts, keep a few things in mind. A pre-ride warm-up prepares your body for exercise, improves performance and reduces the risk of injury. Be sure to include some stretch exercises for all the major muscle groups, but especially the legs and lower back.

Also, you need to drink liquids at least every 15 minutes during your ride. As you ride, you sweat, but the wind generally evaporates it so quickly you don’t realize how much water you’re losing. The best solution is to drink not just water, which will dilute your body’s electrolytes, but an energy drink containing sodium. On rides that are longer than two hours, you should eat too. You need a shot of carbohydrates since you don’t want to bonk or cramp on a hot day.

Cool Down After the Ride

Don’t forget to do some cool down exercises after the ride, and be sure to drink again and eat carbohydrates immediately for a quick recovery. Do a nice relaxing stretch, which should be a reversed version of the warm up. You can also gently massage your legs to improve the circulation and loosen the knots.

One of the unfortunate knocks on bicycling is people fear a condition known as saddle soreness, which can mean anything from a numb butt or minor chafing, to severe ulcerations. The sore butt syndrome is caused by oxygen deprivation (ischemia) in the soft tissues surrounding the ischial tuberosities (sit bones) when blood flow is cut off to the tissues. You can do a few things in advance to prevent this, such as checking to see that you’re using the correct seat height and angle, and wearing padded shorts.

Even if you have found the perfect saddle but are still sore, then it may mean that you need to spend more time on the bike. It’s true, you actually need to ride more often so that your body can get conditioned to the seat. Try getting out several times a week for a while and see if the soreness subsides.

If not, consider a different seat, such as a saddle with a “cut-away” midline section. Your own sit-bone spacing might require a wider saddle, or the saddle you use now can actually have too much padding. You need to get a few miles on the saddle and decide for yourself, but most bikers agree that a less-padded seat is better because it supports your weight on your “sit bones,” and not on the soft tissue. Keep in mind that the shape of the seat is the most important factor, not the padding. Aim for support over “cush.”

Don’t forget that on any saddle you still need to rise off the seat at least every 15 minutes (for about a minute) to get the blood flowing again and prevent nerves from going to sleep. It’s also a good way to stretch your legs. Also, you can reduce the vibrations on your hands by wearing a pair of padded gloves and remember to frequently change your hand positions on the handlebars. If you feel a little numbness and tingling in the little fingers after an hour of riding, it’s caused by nerve compression.

Just remember these few simple tips and you’ll increase your chances of completing your ride refreshed and invigorated, not sore and fatigued.

Articles in the cycling magazines talk about using a mixture of fast rides, sprints, hill climbs, and long distance rides to get in shape, but do you really need to follow someone else’s training regime? Have you attempted sprints only to find that it takes your breathing longer to recover than it took to ride the distance in the first place? Do you believe you need to climb hills to build the legs until your quads feel like lactate bricks, in order to achieve fat burning benefits? The great advantage of outdoor biking is that you can choose any of these drills, or just set your own pace.

If you do challenge yourself with fast riding, you’ll be right in a training zone since a ride of five miles done in less than 20 minutes is comparable to running one mile in less than 8 minutes.

If you chose long distance riding as a goal, you’ll be in great physical condition and find your endurance is vastly improved. In cycling, “long distance” is roughly a division of sub-century (less than 100 miles) from the longer rides of : century, double (200 miles), and distances of 200 miles or more.

Outdoor cyclists have created their own subculture, complete with riding clubs and weekend cycling getaways. Riding with a friend is especially beneficially since it’s harder to find an excuse not to go riding if someone is expecting you. If you want to participate on a long group ride, or solo train for your first century, you should be riding at least thirty miles a day for a few weeks to get your body and mind conditioned. Once you’re riding centuries comfortably, success in the additional long hauls will depend on how well you eat and hydrate effectively during the ride.

Many cyclists are able to boast that they never lift weights and never have to diet. They just ride a bike, usually no less than 100 miles a week. Once you’re in shape, shorter regular rides can keep you feeling good, and missing a few days will have no effect on your fitness level. But it is up to you; you get from biking what you put into it.

Exercising outdoors is good for the body, mind, and spirit, and you shouldn’t save it just for mornings or weekends targeted for workouts. Riding a bike to school or the store actually achieves exercise which would otherwise require gym time, so pedaling to your destination really takes no additional time out of your day.

Why spend all that time in a gym pounding away on a stationary bike or elliptical – and paying for the privilege of simulating hamster exercises – when you can jump on a bike and do some of those quick errands you would have used your car for? You save gas and get a good workout all in the same process.

By utilizing biking as a mode of transportation, it’s an easy way to exercise 20 to 60 minutes a day, three to five days a week. Just get on the bike and go. You’ll soon discover that it’s not necessary to be a fanatical road biker or a “little Lance” in order to obtain the fat burning benefits of outdoor biking.