Buff's Fitness 

By Jim Manning

Mountain Biking an alternative to MCS (Multiple Chin Syndrome)

    Are you the type of person that has trouble sticking to an exercise regimen?  I think I know the type.  You find weightlifting tedious and working out on a treadmill or exercise bike bores you to death. Walking seemed like a good alternative, and although it was nice to be outside in the fresh air, results were slow and you are getting tired of walking around the streets in your neighborhood.  Sound like you?  I know this because it was me until about six months ago.  I was having trouble sticking to anything long enough to get any real health benefits.  One day a friend suggested I go mountain-bike riding with him and I was hooked.  Now I don't feel guilty if I don't get on the stepper or take another mindless walk around the block.  The fantastic thing is that while I am having a blast zipping over the hills and through the woods I am burning between 350 and 450 calories an hour.  I know that doesn't sound like it would put a dent in what you ate for breakfast, but regular bike riding will increase your metabolism all day and even while you sleep.  The bike riding increases your lean muscle mass which is what causes your metabolism to raise.  So even as you get to be in the fresh air and look at the scenery you are changing the make up of your body and reinventing the efficiency of your calorie furnace. 

Whether you ride on the trails or in the street there are plenty of places to ride to keep the scenery changing from now until you're too old to ride.  So get out there and literally enjoy yourself into shape.  There are a few things you may want to know before you get started with your new lifestyle.

Proper Nutrition    

Before you go out on a long ride, make sure you have eaten enough calories to keep you energized the whole ride.  It feels incredible to be exhausted after along day of hard riding, however, feeling run down and weak after the first fifteen minutes can be discouraging.  Get to know your body.  Some friends of mine can ride all day after a large meal and others have to exercise on a virtually empty stomach.  Either way it wouldn't hurt you to take along an energy bar or a piece of fruit for a pick me up half way through your ride.  Stay away from candy bars or fatty foods.  Besides defeating at least part of the reason you hit the trails, sweets may give you that initial burst of a sugar high but you quickly end up feeling more sluggish than before you ate your snack.    

 

Proper Rehydration

     Along with your energy bar it is essential you bring something to drink for during the ride.  You may not feel sweaty because of the wind whipping all around you, but you will sweat quite a bit.  All that sweat has to be replaced, preferably sooner rather than later.  Dehydration can cause you to feel tired or even to cramp up.  Drinking too much water could cause you to cramp up as well.  I suggest you periodically sip water the entire time and you should be fine.

     After a hard exercise session, it is important to replace the water and sodium lost in sweat. The best choices for replacing the water in the body are sports drinks that contain sodium and carbohydrates, both of which increase fluid uptake from the intestines into the bloodstream. Research shows that the body absorbs more fluid when electrolytes such as sodium are added. Studies have shown that people rehydrating with waster alone replace 68 percent of the fluid they lost, whereas subjects rehydrating with a drink containing sodium replaced 82 percent of their lost fluids.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, carbohydrates should also be included in rehydration drinks. Research shows that carbohydrates increase water absorption by interacting with sodium in the intestinal wall. The glucose molecules that make up a carbohydrate stimulate sodium absorption, and sodium, in turn, is necessary for glucose absorption. When the intestines absorb these two substances, they pull water with them, thus increasing absorption into the bloodstream.

     Now that you have a few ideas to help you get started, you're ready to hit the trails.  I recommend borrowing or renting a bike at first to see how you like it.  As much as I enjoy it, everybody's tastes are different and it would be unwise to invest in another piece of unused exercise equipment.  I am happy to report that I have made the commitment to the purchase and at this time it is the only piece of exercise equipment I own that is not dusty.

Jim Manning