Exercise on the Cheap!

Let's face it: gym memberships are expensive, and quite frankly so are home gyms. Besides, it is embarrassing going to work out with folks who are already in better shape than you are. But if you own a bike, you can be healthier in just minutes a day!

We have all heard the experts say that walking for fifteen minutes every day will burn extra calories. You bet it will! However, you can one up that figure by hopping on a bike and tooling around for a while every day.

If you are like me, you are finding that it just isn't a whole lot of fun to ride long distances on a BMX style bicycle anymore. I don't think it is necessarily the size of the things; it is the fact that they only have one gear.

Last year I decided I would get back into the whole BMX riding thing with some of the neighborhood kids, so I sourced one out, rebuilt it and went riding. Ugh! The first hill almost killed me, and coming back wasn't a whole lot better. I decided that the bike was fine for doing tricks out front or short jaunts around the neighborhood, but if I was going to ride for a mile or more, I needed me some gears, baby!

I purchased a mountain bike with twenty-one speeds, and haven't looked back. I am now traversing hills that I couldn't have attempted when I first got the bike, and can ride for much longer periods without getting winded.

Riding a bicycle is also much easier on the knees than is running, jogging, or even walking. Riding can provide a great cardio workout by maintaining constant movement, and the ability to adjust the tension on the pedals with the click of a button.

The key is to always push yourself, just a little bit. If riding on a flat surface, click to the next gear up so that it is a tad harder to pedal. We aren't looking for excruciating, all-out blasts of strength for each stroke, but a little more tension will do wonders.

After a couple of weeks, you will find that you can ride certain terrains in a much higher gear than you could when you started, and I guarantee you will feel better. Riding a bicycle for exercise is a great way to top off a small dumbbell workout in your home!