Dooley Noted: 6/16/2014
Yesterday, I drove on a busy road in Indiana. It’s technically a backroad, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw cyclists using it.
Professional cyclists tend to respect road rules. Outfitted in their aerodynamic gear, their speed and efficiency keep them safe.
And then come the people that mimic professional cyclists.
These are the folks using cycling for fitness, if you ask them. What I see is something different.
They wear the aerodynamic gear. They move at about 0.2 miles an hour. And they disobey the vast majority of traffic laws.
Yesterday, a three person-wide cycling blockade occurred in front of me – in a no-passing lane.
While my traffic anger brewed, I also brewed about the choice of fitness.
They were traveling at a speed that would not promote any degree of fitness or endurance, no matter how tight the aerodynamic spandex. They weren’t challenging each other. They were simply blocking traffic.
These are the same people that I postulate drive to work, just to sit at work for 8 hours, to sit on the drive home, to sit and eat dinner, and finish the evening by sitting.
These are also the people who sit on machines at the gym, and choose to sit on a bike for fitness.
Do I think cycling is bad for you? No.
Do I think cycling is good for you? Not necessarily.
The following list would be my litmus.
Don’t choose cycling for a huge part of your fitness if you fall into any of these categories:
1. You have low back pain, particularly a flexion-intolerant low back.
2. You have a sit-down job.
3. You drive to work or sit on your commute.
4. You leisurely stroll on the bike instead of creating a demanding cycling environment.
5. You sit on machines at the gym.
6. You sit and watch TV in excess of 30 minutes daily.
Consider that you have four limbs, and the body might crave that you use all of them.
Cycle if you love it. Follow traffic laws. Create demand.
Perhaps you can also add walking, sprinting, swinging kettlebells, crawling, or other activities that require the use of all four limbs.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley