Surprisingly, cycling also reduces back pain because it strengthens the muscles around your spine. Another benefit is the increased exposure to sunlight that you won’t get inside the gym which gives you vitamin D which can help prevent certain types of cancer.

Of course, cycling will also help you lose weight, strengthens the heart, improve blood circulation, and build a stronger immune system.

sxc.hu

Post from: EveryJoe

The Benefits of Cycling

Image: sxc.hu

These competitive activities and sports are some of the best to help you get in great physical shape.  Even better, you can find some sort of organizations in almost any community.

1. Basketball
2. Running
3. Tennis
4. Volleyball
5. Football (or flag football)
6. Dancing
7. Skating
8. Bicycling
9. Soccer
10. Martial Arts

Adding your favorite of the list once or twice a week to your schedule can pay big dividends while you have fun competing.  The great thing with sports is you’re not just burning calories, but you’re developing athleticism, coordination, and skill.

Post from: EveryJoe

10 Great Sports and Activities for Fitness

This Detours KoKopelli bike pack is available right now for just $51.99. It was originally priced at $75, then on sale for $64.99. But right now, you can take an additional 20% off at eBags.com.

Image: eBags

This bag has a large front pocket, plus an additional mesh pocket. It also have a tuckaway helmet hold. Whether you are cycling in the mountains or on the city streets, the bag is a fantastic option.

Post from: EveryJoe

Detours KoKopelli Bike Pack

• Sunday 3/29 I talked about the importance of utilizing weight training in to your fitness routine. Built strength and burn calories!
• Monday 3/30 I stressed that dieting alone is never the best option for weight loss and control. Mixing Fitness with a good diet is key to losing weight and staying healthy.
• Tuesday 3/31 Tied in to Dieting AND Fitness I talked about counting calories and “toneing”.
• Wednesday 4/1 There was a lot of April Fools joke rolling their way through the internet, but I find April Fools pranks a little too predictable. I chose to stick to topic and talked about Getting Back On Track after you’ve fallen off of the fitness train.
• Thursday 4/2 I talked about how important it is to have a Game Plan when going in to a fitness regiment. Having a plan is easy and it helps greatly.
• Friday 4/3 I was informed and passed on some information about the risks of bone loss in bicyclists and swimmer.

I hope you’re having a great and restful weekend, Monday is right around the corner!

Image: ©Everyjoe Fitness

Post from: EveryJoe

This Week In Everyjoe Fitness 4/4

Image: Newscom

getting back in to it. Bicycling burns calories but according to a recent study that was featured in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, cyclist may not be consuming enough calories.

The study showed that cyclists were susceptible to lower bone density due to not consuming enough calories, even when calcium intake was higher than most athletes. The specific area where bone density was lower was in the spine of road cyclists, but cyclist of the mountain bike and rough terrain variety didn’t seem to have this problem. The problem is that cyclist’s weight  being distributed and supported by the bicycle didn’t allow for proper bone growth as out bodies are adaptive organisms. This is also a problem with swimmer and an issue that has been discussed for years about astronauts spending long periods of time in space.

Swimmer and cyclist often burn a lot more calories than the average athlete and this is also concern for bone loss due to lack of caloric consumption. Besides the obvious increase of healthy calorie intake, what can you do to prevent bone loss?

“Unfortunately, many people consider osteoporosis a disease that primarily concerns women and the elderly,” says Dr. Warren P. Levy, President, and CEO of Unigene Laboratories. “Of course, exercise is good for people, but in order to maintain healthy bones, avid cyclists and swimmers should be mindful of incorporating cross-training weight-bearing exercise into their routines. People do not achieve peak bone mass until their late twenties, so if cyclists or swimmers are in their early or mid twenties, and they’re not doing any exercise that’s going to load their spine and help them achieve peak bone mass, they may be putting themselves at risk for a fracture.”

Read more about cycling and osteoporosis at Newswise.com.

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Cycling May Lead To Lower Bone Density

Madison, Wisconsin, located about 150 miles northwest of Chicago, is the state capital and the home of the University of Wisconsin. The city’s hilly terrain also makes it a favorite of championship cyclists and the city hosts many such events. In keeping with that tradition, Madison has signed on to host the Olympic cycling competitions should Chicago be successful in their bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Wisconsin’s governor, Jim Doyle announced the plans on Friday and indicated that Madison would be the site of the road race, individual time trials and mountain bike events. The city also proposes to construct an athletes village for the cyclists at the University of Wisconsin.

Chicago is one of four cities bidding for the 2016 Games. A host city will be chosen in October from Chicago, Rio de Janiero, Madrid, and Tokyo.

^{(photo © lost albatross/cc license)}

Post from: EveryJoe

Wisconsin to Help in Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid

Image details: Olympic Trials – BMX served by picapp.com

BMX (bicycle motorcross) will make its Olympic debut at the Beijing Games. BMX riders use bikes with 20″ wheels and navigate a dirt course filled with bumps and turns. There will be a women’s and a men’s competition.

The United States BMX team includes Jill Kintner; three-time world champion, Kyle Bennett; Mike Day (pictured at left above); and Donny Robinson.

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BMX to Debut in Beijing

Image details: RADSPORT: TOUR DE FRANCE 2002, PROLOG served by picapp.com

The United States Olympic cycling team will be led by racer, George Hincapie, a veteran of four Olympic Games. He will be the first US racer to compete in five Olympics.

Hincapie is joined by two-time Olympians Jason McCartney and Christian Vande Velde as well as David Zabriskie and Levi Leipheimer, who finished third in last year’s “Tour de France.”

Post from: EveryJoe

US Olympic Cycling Team

There’s Geraint Thomas who recently World Track Championships gold medal won in the Team Pursuit. Thomas is also a British record holder as the competitors in team pursuit broke the national mark twice before coming within a second of the world record when beating Ukraine in the final.
Then there’s Athens Olympics hero, Bradley Wiggins, who was with Thomas on the win.

Top British riders Ed Clancy and Paul Manning and also joined by Steve Cummins will be part of the same team.

As for the women, Glamorgan’s Nicole Cooke preparing to continue the defence of her women’s World Cup Series in the Belgian second leg.

That’s to name a few. Seems a pretty tight team, I must say. Sound credentials, too. What do you think? ;)

Any team care to object? Or does Britain hold this title till medal day for the cycling events in 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing?

Thoughts? Comments? Violent reactions? :lol:

Source

Post from: EveryJoe

Is Britain the Cycling Team to beat in Beijing?

GOLDEN girl Shanaze Reade insists she is still a novice despite sensationally becoming world champion in a second sport.

The 18-year-old World Junior Women BMX champion, one of Great Britain’s great hopes for next year’s Olympic games in Beijing, China, took up track cycling to keep in shape during the BMX off-season.

But she quickly demonstrated amazing ability, and won silver for Great Britain in the UCI Manchester World Track Cup in February – her first ever track competition.

[icCheshireOnline]

Reade is now the Women’s Team Sprint champion after partnering with Victoria Pendleton to bag the gold at the 2007 UCI World Track Championships at Palma, Mallorca, clocking at 33.631 seconds, beating Holland and Australia into second and third, respectively, in the Team Sprint, last Thursday.

She hails from Crewe but is now based in Leeds for training.

Shanaze’s ultimate goal is to become Olympic champion in Beijing 2008 and in London 2012. She plans to compete in three Olympics and take home some medals, of course.

Post from: EveryJoe

Shanaze Reade Aims to Compete in BMX and Team Sprint in Beijing