Outdoor Activity Idea: Biking

After weight loss surgery, the journey continues. Working through diet and exercise are two of the biggest hurdles, and choosing the right type of diet and exercise is incredibly important.

One fantastic outdoor exercise to add to your list is biking. As a post surgery exercise, biking fits the bill. It is a great way to continue to lose weight for many reasons:

1. Biking is low cost, though it may seem different up front. Buying a bike can be a bit pricey, but if you choose well and bargain shop, you’ll find a deal! After that, maintaining a bike is low cost through and through. No monthly membership, no access card or spotting needed. Just hop on and ride!
2. Biking is a low-impact exercise on your joints. This is important because it allows you to continue to build up the length and intensity of your rides without damaging your joints.
3. Biking is a great family activity! It is something that is easy to do locally in your neighborhood, and with training wheels, it is easy to bring the kids along. Just remember – safety first! Don’t forget your helmets!
4. Biking burns many calories. It is an aerobic exercise, which means it increases your heart rate in order to burn calories. The faster you go, the more calories you’ll burn. Just make sure you work up to this intensity.
5. Biking offers an ease of doing intervals. Intervals are helpful because they allow you to push your endurance and burn even more calories. For example, pedal fast for one minute, slow back down to a moderate speed for 5 minutes, and repeat.

Bonus tip: Before biking, make sure you have a cushion on your seat or padded shorts to reduce painful rides.

So with all these positive reasons for going biking, why not give it a try?