Benefits Of Cycling For Runners

Cycling is a sport that is not only widely practiced in daily life, but also special because it contributes to helping runners increase endurance and run stronger. It must be said that cycling supports you a lot like cardio, strengthens leg muscles.

In addition, rotating the pedals when cycling will help you save the exercises without hitting the road surface, thereby reducing pressure on the joints, creating perfect cross exercises. If you are a runner, congratulations because cycling can reduce your risk of injury, enhance recovery, and increase running speed. Below gearinstant share some more basics of cycling and the benefits of cycling for runners.

1. What is cycling for runners?

Cycling is known as an activity where we use bicycles for transportation, recreation, exercise or sport. People who engage in cycling are called cyclists. On the market, there are many types of bicycles suitable for each individual, cycling purpose, and even the most popular types of cycling today. In addition to two-wheelers, you can see unicycles, tricycles, side bikes, and other vehicles at many bike shops.

In general, cycling is considered a safe, gentle method of communication, bringing the best effect to everyone's health. Alternating cycling can partly help reduce fossil fuel consumption, reduce air or noise pollution, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, limit some diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes in which you do not exercise every day.

In addition, in some places cycling can help the rehabilitation process for lower extremity injuries or after hip surgery. Moreover, cycling every morning or after a working day can increase endurance and reduce stress.

However, they still have some disadvantages from two-wheelers as they need to be balanced by the driver to stay upright, reducing their ability to protect in collisions compared to motor vehicles, most of which are quite suitable for patient people because they take up a lot of your time, easily affected by outside weather conditions. To suit each individual need, the brands have produced a variety of bicycles that are essential for everyone.

Road bike

The road bike for cycling is suitable for long-distance riding through rural roads, train racing, long-distance racing, urban commuting. They are designed with drop handlebars, usually the rider will have a more aerodynamic posture when riding the road cycle. Weight reduction is a priority, so they're usually quite light, which makes for quick acceleration on hilly terrain and plenty of hand positions available.

In fact, in addition to aerodynamically designed bikes, there are 'racing' geometry bikes that put the rider in an aggressive stance and 'relax' or 'sports' geometry bikes that will be upright and are generally more comfortable when traveling long distances or commuting.

Usually such vehicles have rim brakes, but technology has evolved to upgrade to disc brake versions. Thanks to the disc brakes they provide faster stopping in wet cycling conditions, conversely they are not used for races. In addition, the tires of the road women's cycle will be 23mm or 25mm thin, so choosing a wider tire will be comfortable and feel safe when running.

In addition, it is not mandatory for women to choose a bike specifically for them, as they can choose between a women's road bike or a men's road bike. In some published tests, women have roughly the same average arm length as men of the same height. Therefore designs for the road women's cycle are usually shorter in the upper tube.

Even the handlebars are narrower because women's shoulders are narrower. On the other hand, some women prefer unisex cycle, so choosingthe right one is based on their personality.

Mountain bike

The naming of this type of cycle also somewhat describes both the terrain and their main function. The mountain bike for cycling is suitable for running on trails, forests, and mud. There are many styles of mountain cycle on the market, but most of them are for dirt roads.

They have a wide vehicle layer structure and a convex surface from which the mud can beeasily removed. It is known that hardtail mountain cycles are the most popular choice because they have suspension at the front, but the rear is rigid, so will be comfortable on most trails.

However, on more challenging routes, this type of suspension cycle is not very suitable. In general, the wheel size of each bike varies from 26 inches - 27. 5 inches or 29 inches. Larger wheels also require more effort to keep up with speed, but roll faster and easily overcome obstacles.

Most of the mountain women's cycle prefer to choose 26. 5 inches and can be more depending on the person. With the mountain women's cycle also has female-specific versions, so there will be narrow handlebars and female saddles.

Not only men but women also need to pay attention to the suspension that needsto be properly set up, including the settings, and all the adjustments that can be made on unisex and women's cycle.

Casual bike

The next category we would like to introduce to you is the casual bike for cycling. They are often used for commuting and entertainment. They are known as flat bar cycles that canrun on a variety of terrain. In addition, it is changeable and suitable for many sports, with a wide construction and off-road suspension.

In addition, other cycles have smooth tires for riding around the streets. Moreover, cycle styles like Dutch cycles or sit up and beg types allow the rider to sit in a very upright position and often require little maintenance. Plus, they often have protective locks that help prevent oil from cycle parts from touching clothing and very few gears. With a heavy frame design for better rolling on flat terrain.

Electric bike

Next is a rather special type of vehicle, they use electricity to affect the engines. An electric cycle is a bicycle with a motor mounted to the frame at the bottom of the bike or on the rear wheel axle.

They will support the pedals and add more power to the pedals, so you also have to build up force by pedaling a few times to give the cycle propulsion. On the market today you can find ebike versions of road cycles, mountain bikes, hybrids and folding cycles, all of which are great for making your commute easy, supporting climbingmountains.

Adventure bike

This is also a cycle built on a road cycle, with a lightweight frame design and reduced handlebars, but they have been carefully and tweaked in terms of geometry and large tire clearance. more to allow cycles to run on off-road roads.

In addition, they often have a more robust frame design, including treads with tread grooves to grip more grass, mud and gravel, and mounting points for adding fenders and luggage. It is known that Cyclocross is a type of bicycle racing, they will almost put the cycle and rider in a difficult position, but the design of the adventure cycle is very suitable for long distances on rough surfaces. rough so the bike will tend to have a more upright position. Besides, this type also comes with different types of suspension to increase comfort and grip.

Free bike

A type of bike for cycling that is very popular with all ages and for those who have little time after working hours. They are called a lifestyle and city bike. They are designed for short weekend periods or the familiar routes you take to work every day.

Usually they tend to be lightweight aluminum frames, so moving the bike when away from work or at home will be very easy. Sometimes some bikes even have a front basket to help you keep your essentials.

2. Benefits of cycling for runners

Improving performance of cycling for runners

If anyone is a professional athlete, they have undergone cross training before participating in cycling. Cross training is known to be the use of an alternate sport or activity to enhance and improve performance in a particular sport. Some runners incorporate cycling into their workouts. On the other hand, it makes it easier for people to go outside, improving running performance by developing endurance. And this is also a gentle cardio exercise.

Adds endurance to the muscles

The jogging movement that you do every day means it is helping you build certain muscle groups to perform certain functions. You can't rely on running every day to improve performance, you must build yourself a training process from the inside out. And cycling mostly uses different muscle groups for running like the glutes and core muscles. All of these muscles will complement those used for running, increasing muscle endurance.

Injury recovery of runners based on the cycling

By the time you feel your muscles and even your body becoming exhausted, it's likely that your legs will ache. But incorporating cycling into your training sessions or walks can boost low- to moderate-intensity cycling after a long day of running because it helps your legs recover faster. Besides, they have a gentle effect on the joints.

Thus, cycling can aid injury recovery by increasing blood flow to the calves, buttocks, glutes, and hamstrings, flushing lactic acid out. Light movement will also somewhat reduce stiffness in the muscles and joints.

Lose weight for runners

In addition to exercises that impact the body, burn excess fat quickly, jogging is always a priority exercise. But not necessarily, cycling will be a new exercise for you, of course running will burn more calories than cycling but it will decrease if you are a professional athlete, then the number of calories burned will be less.

Fat burning occurs when the heart is working at about 65 to 75% of its maximum heart rate, with results as high as it is for your health.

Conclusion

In addition, the benefits of cycling for runners have been shared, but you also need to understand how to control the vehicle to avoid causing a lot of damage to yourself. Before starting, you should check that the height of the chair is right for you, after adjusting, you should lock the fixed seat to avoid when moving it will deviate the sitting position.

On average at straight, the knee should be bent at about 145 degrees. It is advisable to choose clamp pedals because they can follow the movement instead of just pushing the pedal down. Finally, you should change a sport you have been with for a long time to cycling. You are sure to enjoy this.