Now that September is reaching its end, the Fall season opens the door to more outdoor recreational activities. One activity/sport that is enjoyed year-round but is a great way to enjoy the scenery this time of year is cycling. It's not only a great way to get outdoors and breathe in that cooling air this time of year but its also a great form of exercise that will continue to help you improve your overall health.

To be fit and healthy you need to be physically active. Regular physical activity can help protect you from serious diseases such as obesity, heart disease, cancer, mental illness, diabetes, and arthritis. Riding your bicycle regularly is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of health problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle. And there is no better time of year to begin this healthy journey than in the Fall season.  Which is a good way to use the season as a "marker" to weigh your progress on what you have accomplished, this time next year.

Cycling is a healthy, low-impact exercise that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, from young children to older adults. It is also fun, cheap and good for the environment. An estimated one billion people ride bicycles every day, for transport, recreation, and sport.

It only takes two to four hours a week to achieve a general improvement to your health, using cycling as the means to an improved, healthy lifestyle.

Cycling is:
Low impact, it causes less strain and injuries than most other forms of exercise.

A good muscle workout: Cycling uses all of the major muscle groups as you pedal.

Cycling is for Everyone: unlike some other sports, cycling does not require high levels of physical skill. Most people know how to ride a bike and, once you learn, you don’t forget.

Good for strength and stamina: Cycling increases your stamina, strength, and aerobic fitness.
As Strong, of a Workout as YOU Want: Cycling can be done at a very low intensity, to begin with, if recovering from injury or illness, but can be built up to a demanding physical workout.

A fun way to get fit: As we stated above, cycling can be done any time of the year, all you need to do is dress accordingly, and take advantage of the cool Fall weather. Enjoying your physical activity makes what you’re doing, exercise wise, fun, while you enjoy the adventure and buzz you get from coasting down hills and being outdoors. It also means you are more likely to continue to cycle regularly, compared to other physical activities that keep you indoors or require special times or places.

Great Muscle Workout: Cycling on a regular basis helps you to strengthen the following muscle groups and providing you with a way to increase your stamina as you continue to cycle your way up and down those mountain trails or just the open road.

Leg muscles used while cycling:
Quadriceps muscles (front of thighs)
Hamstrings (rear of thigh)
Calf muscles.
Hip Flexors.
Gluteus Maximus (your butt)
Plantar-flexors of the foot
Dorsiflexors of the foot

Cycling as you can see can do quite a bit to help you maintain your regular exercise regimen. In order to take advantage of taking new bike trails, both on and off the beaten path, it’s a good idea to take along with you a good reliable GPS biking computer so that you know where you are, when you are and with the right model, your friends and family can also be aware of your position, just in case there is a need. One such bike computer is the Garmin Edge 820 GPS Cycling Computer  It is designed exclusively for the people who love to cycle and are looking to enhance their performance. It is loaded with the features like performance monitoring, Group Track feature, GPS navigation and much more. All these features will be available on your fingertip while you cycle your way through the tracks.

The Edge 820 GPS bike computer always keeps you connected with the world while you are out there enjoying the crisp Fall air while taking in all the new vistas as you pedal along. It also provides you with "Smart Notifications" including, social media sharing, live tracking, and automatic uploads to the Garmin connect family. Moreover, you can completely customize your Edge 820 the way you want with the available custom data fields and apps.

So, with a device like the Garmin Edge 820, you're never really alone and you can take the time to have a pleasurable ride while knowing that you're exercising those muscle groups mentioned above to get the maximum performance out of your body as you continue to tone it.

Happy Cycling, from your pedaling buddies here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com

 

Ok, it’s now approaching the end of April, in fact, it’s the last full week, and the weather is just now beginning to corporate in as such I can begin thinking of getting my bike out and hitting the roads and trails around where I live. Here in the northeast, we have been seeing more white than green and the temperatures have been hovering closer to 30 than 50 degrees.

Sure, we’ve had a couple of teasers as far as warm weather goes, but those days, were far and few and when they did make an appearance, well like most of us, we tried to make use of that time to try and get our yards cleaned up from what Mother Nature deposited on our lawns throughout the long, cold winter.

But, I think that is all behind us and even if the temperatures do drop down to a chilly state, we can handle it, especially if we know in advance and dress a little warmer, than we would normally like. That being said, there are a few needed steps you need to go through in order to make sure your bike is ready to take you where and as far as you want to go.

1. Dig Out Your Bike! Get your bike out of the garage, down from the loft storage or any place that its been stored since your last excursion. Hopefully where you’ve had it stored up off of its tires this past winter to a place where you have room to check it out.

2. Give those pedals and tires a couple of turns: Make sure everything glides properly, without any rubbing or snagging. Make sure the chain moves smoothly, without any skips or stiff spots, and listen for any clicking, popping, or grinding noises, which can indicate drivetrain issues, and make sure you check your bike’s gears by shifting through all the possible gear combinations. It’s a little too late if you run into trouble out on a secluded road or path and your bike fails to shift gears properly!

3. Pump up your tires to your preferred tire pressure; 24 hours later, check the pressure again. If a tube goes flat immediately, it needs to be replaced. If it loses more than 75 percent of its air overnight, it’s probably time to replace the tubes.
If you have tubeless tires, make sure that the sealant inside is still liquid. If not, clean them out and fill them up again.

4. Tighten Things Up! Check all of the nuts and bolts to make sure they haven’t loosened. You’ll want to use a torque wrench to make sure you’re tightening them to the correct spec. While you’re doing that, watch out for bolts that have seized. Nothing can be more frustrating than snapping a bolt or nut, just because you think tighter is better. It's not, this is why you need to periodically go over your fasteners to make sure none are becoming too loose.
Keep in mind, all of the above you should be able to take care of all by yourself. If you find one of these problems and you’re not comfortable doing work on your own, take your bike to a reputable bike shop. While tune-up costs can vary widely between shops, most will run you between $45 and $75, and you’ll have the peace of mind knowing your bike is safe and ready to ride for the rest of the season.

Even if you decide that your bike is in good working order, it still doesn’t hurt to take it to a reliable bike-shop and get a safety check done. A mechanic will go over the bike and confirm everything is in tip-top shape, a process that usually only takes a few minutes and dollars to do. Think of it this way, most states have yearly car inspections, it makes sense to treat the integrity of your bike's mechanical parts the same way.  Then you have the peace of mind of having a dependable bike under you, and you should be ready to get out there and enjoy your ride.

Now, that we covered the Basic-Spring-Bike-Checkup, we can concentrate on the whole purpose of why you’re getting your bike ready for the road. To get out and peddle! Going for a couple of miles bike ride is very enjoyable, but if you are one of the biker elites, you may venture out to go on some very long rides, perhaps even participate in a hundred or a few hundred-mile bike-endurance run.

These runs are nothing to take lightly and are only for the more experienced biker. You have to be in proper physical condition, and of course, your bike is of the kind that can handle any kind of rough or smooth terrain. Making sure your staying on the proper course is very important too! Over the years personal GPS devices have become more popular and there are a lot of companies out there that provide them, from bike computers that are mounted to your bikes, frame, ones that easily detach and if you want can be used in other forms of transportation like motorcycles and autos. But for reliability and accurate course plots, nothing beats a GPS computer tailored for a bike! Now it took me a bit of time to convert from downloading a preset course from the web and carrying it with me as I took part in these long-distance runs. And this is fine if you consider yourself a purist at heart.  But finding a good reliable terrain map is not always an easy option, especially if you happen to run across a complicated bike run challenge.

Cycling has always been about adventure and enjoying the fact that I was seeing new areas and vistas, for me, sometimes a wrong turn can lead you somewhere beautiful. And truthfully, relying on others for partial route knowledge on long rides has been a great way to meet people and make new friends.

But, having the ability to use an onboard GPS navigation unit is definitely a plus when your biking on trails that you were never on before. Participating in these types of rides are all but impossible without route directions guiding your way.  Turn-by-turn navigation is necessary if you plan on competing in these runs at an individual level against a clock. After all, if your competing, the longer it takes you to bring out your smartphone or unfold a course map to make sure you're on the right path, the longer your overall time will be when you cross that finish line.

After making up my mind and doing a lot of online research and looking at reviews, I decided on the Garmin Edge-520  It's compact and rugged, which was a big factor for me and it's 15+ hour battery life make the Edge 520 perfect for off-road trails and competitive biking. It’s also compatible with GPS/GLONASS satellites, so you benefit from more signal options, wherever your ride takes you, and never have to wonder just where you are in relation to your checkpoints on the course.

Uploading and enabling the "MapMyGPS" route was straightforward, and starting out on my journey, the device would beep 300 feet before upcoming turns, giving me both the street name and turn directions. This provided me with plenty of time to be aware of what and when I needed to do something. I could keep the course displayed on its screen in order to view upcoming course features or rely solely on those notifications while looking at other ride stats like my power average or speed.

I found that if I did happen to make a wrong turn, which was, of course, my fault in NOT paying attention, the Edge 520 brought me back on course by letting out a booming "Off Course” alert, with the aid of which I was able to correct my mistake instantly! Now having something with you like the Garmin Edge-520 provides you with a bit of a safety net. There is nothing like having a reliable device that can pinpoint your location with the aid of those GLONASS satellites overhead. Since my goal this year is bike through at least 3 national parks this year, having the Garmin Edge with me can give me accurate course adjustments if I want to get off the normal bike trails and take in the scenic beauty that each park has to offer.

So there you have it, give your bike a good once over and if need be, take it to your local bike shop for in-depth checks and when all is checked, get out there and enjoy the clean fresh air via your bike-seat and see where that open road or mountain path leads you. And if you take along that the Garmin Edge-520 , you can be sure your going to arrive at your specific destination, safely and best of all with its smartphone connectivity, your friends and family will know where you are, when you are. Happy Biking!

The Fall Season is a traditional changing time of year. The leaves on the trees change, it becomes darker earlier, and the temperatures start to dip down a bit. It is a favorite time of year for many people. For some people though, they may fall off the health and fitness wagon during this transition. And there is NO reason to! There are many enjoyable activities that take place in the Fall that allow you to remain fit, or even begin a fitness program.

Take Advantage of Autumn Activities
There are many local events that can get you out of the house and getting active this time of year. Remember, exercise does not mean getting your keister to a gym and sweating to the oldies! Autumn events like pumpkin picking, corn mazes, haunted trails, and raking up some leaf piles are active options that can provide you with some additional reasons to get outside and enjoy that crisp autumn weather.
According to health trainers, a 150-lb. person can burn 135 calories by raking leaves for 30 minutes. Turn outdoor chores into a free fitness workout by setting small, achievable goals to help pass time and burn away fat. And you won’t have to wipe off someone else’s sweat from the support rails of the leg press machine or stair stepper!

Now don’t get me wrong, these are supplemental activities that you can fit around your usual exercise routines. (I was just kidding about sweating to the oldies!).

Now, since the sun is rising a bit later in the morning, the early time of day is still a great time to get out and say, go for that walk, run or maybe just a quick bike ride around the neighborhood. If you work out in the early morning, before your busy work or home responsibilities take up most of your time, you can get that feeling of accomplishment that can stay with you the rest of the day!
With the time change, that is taking place later this month, and the sun setting earlier, it can feel as though it's later in the day than it really is. This can make people more tired than usual. Getting into a routine of working out early will guarantee your workout gets done and still allow time in the afternoons and evenings to relax, or better yet, get to that corn maze with some friends and have some fun that will also involve some walking. The laughing will come later after you find yourselves lost in the maze and asking for help!

Now, these early morning exercise routines will probably get you up before those sun’s rays start to make themselves felt. But that also is part of the “Fall Effect”, of getting up in the dark, heading home from work in the dark. This is why it’s important to keep that mental outlook in the right place so you can keep a good attitude to your healthy, fitness routine. The good thing about exercising in the morning before the sun makes an appearance is that it usually cool, so you won’t break as much of a sweat and studies have shown that people that choose to work out in the morning to start their day have a better outlook on their daily tasks. So why not be one of these people? You may even find that your stress levels have gone down a bit since you would still be working off of those endorphin highs you created with your early exercise!

While some of us are thinking of apple picking and maybe enjoying the fruits of our labor by eating a slice of homemade apple pie. Keep the latter in check please, enjoying the fruits of fall apple picking is of course eating those choice fruits and if you’re lucky enough to have someone in your life that bakes a great pie, strudel or any other of your favorite family treats, just remember to eat them in moderation and make up for it by maybe doing some chores for your baker in return for her efforts!
The Fall besides picking some apples or gathering the fall crops from the garden is also a great time to dig that bike out of the garage and hit some biking paths or if your adventuress, some bike trails that lead you up and into the mountains or remote areas around where you live.

Cycling is a great workout for your entire body, cycling strengthens your muscles while going easy on your joints, like your knees, unlike the high impact on your knees and hips from running. And the Fall is a great time of the year to not only reap the benefits of this type of exercise but at the same time you get to see the colors of the trees change right before your eyes as you venture out on your bike enjoying the cool crisp autumn air.

One thing you may want to consider taking along with you on your cycling excursions is a good bike computer, one that offers an accurate GPS function so you can not only keep track of where you’re going but your friends and family can also see where you are when you are!

A good model that fits the bill is the Garmin Edge 1030 GPS Cycling Computer  Easy to use, even when wearing pressure gloves for riding, its touch screen offers a high-resolution screen that even adjusts to the amount of sunlight hitting it. And you don’t have to worry about straying off of the trails because the 1030 has a vast inventory of maps and its GPS capabilities will keep you on track and let you and your friends know where you are at all times, via Garmin Connect. And being the latest in a long line of Garmin GPS products you can bet that using this advanced device you will get all the data you need in order to get the most out of your cycling adventures. This is only going to augment your regular exercise training routines and turn your leisure, outdoor experiences into helping you maintain a healthy body toning lifestyle!

So, again, if you think the autumn season is just a prelude to winter winds, blowing snow and extreme cold, you better start re-thinking your idea of the autumn. Whatever you elect to do, just get out there and enjoy the change in the seasons and take advantage of what Mother Nature brings your way and there’s no reason, why you can’t stay active and fit “All Year Long”!

 

Well, Get That Bike Out Of The Garage and Go The Distance!

You know that you want to get yourself active and start living a healthier lifestyle. You already made the commitment to eating healthier and now that you’re putting down the bag of potato chips and trading them in for pita chips and humus, the time is ripe to give your heart and your body’s circulatory and cardiovascular system a workout so you can be that mean, lean physical specimen you always wanted to be… Well, at least a healthier version of what you were last year 

You know you tried the walking around the block system, and that just didn’t do it for you. Not that you got bored with it, well, maybe just a little, but you found your knees just couldn’t handle the shock of your feet hitting the pavement over a period of time. And let’s face it, you need to rack up some miles walking to get the benefits you’re looking for, while trying to get yourself in shape, you need to listen to your body’s aches and pains. That is your body trying to communicate with you. If you’re hurting after you’ve been hitting the streets or trails recently there is another option you may want to try to let you keep being active and pushing your body for its health.

What most of us do not realize is that stuck in the back of most of our garages is a bicycle. Or at least we all have memories of having one. Well now that you’re a little older, biking is probably one of the best forms of physical exercise next to swimming (And that will be another blog post later) that you can do for yourself!

Whether you're young or old, athletic or sedentary, bicycling is an enjoyable and healthy way to travel and experience the outdoors. Done vigorously, it gives the heart and circulatory system a workout and can burn more than 500 calories per hour. The development of new types of bicycles—notably the hybrid, which combines the speed of a road bike and the ruggedness of a mountain bike—has made riding easier and offers more options to suit your specific needs. What's more, cyclists now have more places to ride.

Cycling's low impact, so you can keep going longer, and it’s a sustained stamina training form of exercise as well. If you already experience twinges in your knees. Powering your bike is called "Cycling Power" which is generated by your glutes, quads and hamstrings. So it won't be long before you start to see some improvements in the overall strength and definition of your legs and thighs, without putting a lot of strain on your knees and calf muscles.

Now before you just go climbing onto the old bike saddle (seat) and hit the open road, there are a few things you need to have checked out first!
1. Is your health, get yourself checked out by your doctor, just to make sure there are no issues that would prevent you from undertaking this new form of physical activity.
2. If you have a bike, get it to a reputable bike shop to have it checked out. The last thing you need is to go off on the road or bike trails and have a breakdown with your bike.
3. If you don’t have a bike, refer back to number 2 above and get yourself to that bike shop and talk with them. Let them know what you plan on doing. Tell them this is not a purchase for an occasional bike ride, that you will be putting some serious miles on your new bike and want one that is suited to your current body frame. Believe me, if they are good at what they do, they will pair you up with the right bike to fit your needs, even a combo bike that is good for the roads but is also adequate for some easier bike trails as well.
4. Get yourself a helmet! This is probably the first thing you need to do, after getting yourself checked out by your doctor. And since you’re going to the bike shop anyway, ask them to fit your head with the right helmet. These can be a little tricky, so let them help you.

That’s about it for the important part of what you need to get yourself out in the open and enjoying the beauty of the scenery around you.

Now, one thing you may want to consider is getting yourself a good GPS bike computer/navigator to take with you as you venture out further than your living area. Now you won’t need one if you’re just going to be biking around the neighborhood 15 times a day, but that really goes beyond boring.

We like the Garmin Edge 520 GPS Bike Computer  Because it not only offers some of the best features that Garmin has engineered over the past decade or more, but now they have developed an easy to view smart screen that can be easily seen in the daylight, which before ow, presented some problems. So now you can not only see where you are but with the Bluetooth functionality built into the Garmin 520, your friends can see just where you are as well, as the device’s data can be uploaded to the Garmin community up there in the vastness of space called the internet!

Just kidding but yes your friends can see and follow your progress, so besides sharing this bike course with your friends, you never have to worry about them not knowing where you are!

One of the key reasons a lot of people that are say, mid 30’s and are starting to feel the aches and pains of going for a long run, sprints or up and down mountain trails is their knees, calf’s or ankles can’t take that impact from having them pounding the ground. So, cycling is the best next thing to keeping yourself fit, and enjoying the outdoors in and around where you live.

And since you decided to take to the open road or mountain trails, its a good idea to be able to see where your going if your ride finds you still wheeling around and its starting to get dark. You want to make sure you have a reliable lighting system on that 2-wheeler of yours and the Garmin Varia Smart Bike Lights will do the trick!

So, what are you waiting for, get that bike ready and start enjoying the summer sunshine out on a bike ride. But don’t forget that helmet. I want you around to read our next post.

Stay safe, have fun! From your support team here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com !

 

It’s big news for cyclists. This month, Garmin will release a new product that we’re really excited about: The Garmin Edge 200. The Garmin Edge 200 is designed to bring new life to every workout, every ride. Check out the awesome specs on this upcoming addition to our selection. The Garmin Edge 200 Packed with […]