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The Healthy Lifestyle Swaps That Are More Effective Than Squats

When it comes to our health, we can often feel like we have to eat lots of protein, get in our ‘five-a-day’ and squat it like it’s hot to be considered healthy. But, you can often find that doing all that won’t change your health completely. Yes, it’s always a good thing to be hitting the gym, but you may find that other aspects of your lifestyle are holding you back from being your healthiest self – no matter how long you spend on the squat rack. So, if you’re serious about leading a healthier lifestyle, here are the swaps you should think about making.

 

Switching Soda For Water

 

First of all, if you’re a soda drinker, there’s a high chance that you’re not getting in enough water. It’s a stereotype, but it’s often true. When you’re a consumer of caffeine over everything else, you’re less likely to pick up a bottle of water every single day – and that’s not doing any favors for your health. If you want to be your healthiest self, you have to be hydrated. It can help your body to function better. So make the switch!

 

Walking Or Riding Over Driving

 

Whether you’re spending a lot of time in the gym or not, you should also think about using your legs a lot more. If you’re sat at a desk all day, you’re not going to be doing a lot for your health. Walking helps though. So, instead of planning on driving everywhere that you go, skip the car for a day and walk. You could even walk instead. You may find this simple swap is what finally helps you to hit your health and fitness targets.

 

Cutting Your Toxins

 

You may not realize it, but some of your lifestyle choices can often lead to increasing the levels of toxins in your body. It’s said that tobacco has more chemicals in it than e liquid, so consider making the swap. We all know that alcohol has toxins in it, so you might want to think about cutting back on that too. And you may want to read your beauty product labels more as they can often be full of chemicals too.

 

Late Nights For Early Mornings

 

You could be completely on point with your diet and exercise, but if you’re not sleeping right, it won’t be making that much of a difference. The importance of getting enough sleep is something we all need to understand. With a sleep schedule, you should find that your body functions a lot better. Plus, when you’re up early in the mornings, you will find that you’re more productive by starting earlier.

 

Eating In Over Ordering In

 

If you’re tempted by a takeout now and then, you could be harming your health in more ways than you think. Not only can they cause obesity, but they are often full of junk too! So think about cooking from scratch a little more. Homemade food is always better for you – because you know what’s in it. But, if you still need your fix, you could even make your favorite takeout meals at home yourself.

 

Ally Gonzales
Ally Gonzales is the founder & editor-in-chief of RunningSoleGirl. Along with blogging she is also juggling attending college and majoring in Exercise and Sports Science.

What Are The Best Sports To Tone Up?

Toning is a word that has made a significant apparition in the vocabulary of the fitness world. What does it mean to be toned, you ask? At worst, it means buying the next magazine that promises to tell you all about getting toned up for the summer and starting an unhealthy diet in the hope that you can get to the bikini figure before the end of the summer. At best, it means losing some fat and gaining muscle mass without getting bulky. And, believe it or not, but you can’t do it in two weeks – in other words, you can forget about the promises of trendy women’s magazines and their miracle diets. Fitness trainers and specialists agree that toning your muscles involves a healthy mix of cardio, strength, and good eating habits, without never starving yourself or risking an injury for dangerous training. Here are some the favorite ways of getting toned, depending on the sport you choose.

 

Getting ripped

 

Adopt The Shredding Regime

At the core of losing fat, there’s the need to change your diet to restrict your calories intake without falling into the trap of an unhealthy diet. In fact, you might be wondering right now: Do you have to learn what to eat if you need to learn how to get ripped? The answer is yes, definitely, you need to understand what fuels your body and whether your body needs a low-carb and high-fat diet or a moderate carb and low-fat diet. What you eat, ultimately is what your body becomes. Additionally, getting ripped is about maximizing your body energy to sustain a workout regime. What this means is that you are likely to need to take a hormonal supplement to help your muscle grow bigger in a shorter time. Achieving a toned body is the result of a workout that focuses on strength to develop your muscles. But you can control the level of toning by introducing cardio and low-resistance exercises.  

The Quick Workout That Burns Calories

Most people can find it difficult to get the time to go to the gym and exercise. But it doesn’t mean that you can’t find a workout that works for your busy schedule. All you need is 30 minutes to get some cracking results, assuming that you stick to a quick workout for a long period. Going for a jog for 30 minutes can get you to burn several hundred calories. The main problem with jogging is that it only visibly tones your lower body. If you want to notice improvements in your arms and abs, you will need to vary your workout schedule and combine running with kettlebell exercises, or even dancing. Here again, 30 minutes is a good time to achieve positive results. If you have more time, it’s better to switch to a more involving activity that will help you to tone your full body.

 

The Long-Term Investment In The Week

When you can invest over one hour of your time several times a week, you can embrace a sport that will help you to develop your strength and your endurance at the same time. Swimming is always a favorite, especially as it is so soft on the joints. It’s difficult to injure yourself when you swim, and you can improve your body shape visibly over a long time. Toning your muscles implies that you need to work against a resistance, which the water provides when you swim. The resistance of the water is stronger than air, so you are likely to see better results faster with swimming than with a kettlebell. But more importantly, swimming is a combination of arm strokes – that engage your shoulder, biceps, triceps, chest, and upper back –, leg kicks and core balance. It’s a full-body workout, and it doesn’t even feel like it! What’s not to like?

Swimming

Got Lots Of Time To Kill?

If you find that you have a lot of time to dedicate to a sport activity,  you may want to get involved in an outdoor workout that trains your entire body. Golf is one of those sport gems that provide full-body training and plenty of wonderful health benefits, and yet, you don’t feel like you are training hard. In reality, an 18-hole round exceeds the 10,000 steps a day recommendation. If you take into account the fact that you need to carry your clubs for the round, you can be burning over 700 calories. Additionally, golf can help to reduce the impact of stress, which is often related to weight gain. It’s a win-win all the way: You’re outdoors and you are toning your muscles and relaxing your mind.

 

Ally Gonzales
Ally Gonzales is the founder & editor-in-chief of RunningSoleGirl. Along with blogging she is also juggling attending college and majoring in Exercise and Sports Science.

Lower Your Blood Sugar Level With These 4 Foods

Keeping our blood sugar levels low is extremely important. With a increasing number of people suffering from diabetes and prediabetes it has never been more important to be aware of the food that we are putting into our bodies in order to keep our blood sugar at a healthy level.

 

Although there are no foods that directly lower blood sugar there are certain things that you can eat that have a low Glycemic Index (GI). These foods will help to keep your blood sugar at a healthy level and will help you to avoid sudden sugar spikes. So read on for our top foods for helping to lower high sugar levels and fight against diabetes.

 

Avocados

 

Avocados are an all round winner as they offer so many health benefits. As they also contain polyunsaturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids they are an extremely important part of any healthy blood sugar eating plan. They can also improve insulin sensitivity and can also have a healthy impact on blood pressure and inflammation.

 

Recent studies have revealed that avocados can also lower the risk of metabolic syndrome, which can increase the risk of diabetes. Therefore it works in many different ways to keep blood sugar to a healthy level which works to avoid many other problems. So whether you integrate avocado on toast as a new breakfast dish, or whether you make delicious guacamole once or twice a week, integrating avocado into your weekly diet is really important.

 

Omega 3 Fish

 

Fish with omega-3 fatty acids are just about some of the best things that you can eat. As protein allows the body to repair and maintain itself and as it doesn’t have a GI ranking it will not raise your blood sugar levels. As protein also makes you feel fuller for longer it is a much better way of filling yourself up than with blood sugar raising foods such as bread, pasta and rice.

 

If you are unsure about your current level of blood sugar then you can do a blood sugar chart. Once you have a better idea of what your blood sugar levels are you will then be able to determine how much you need to adapt and change your diet. Adding omega-3 fatty acids is one of the best things that you can do to change your diet for the better so that you feel fuller for longer without spiking your blood sugar levels. The best fish for these healthy oils are salmon, tours, mackerel, halibut and albacore tuna.

 

Garlic

 

Everyone loves a bit of garlic and the good news is that it also has the potential to help manage our blood sugar levels. Regularly eating garlic can lower fasting blood glucose, which is basically your blood sugar when you haven’t eaten for a while. It doesn’t have a GI ranking so it works well in maintaining a low and healthy blood sugar level.

 

Apple Cider Vinegar

 

Apple cider vinegar contains an acetic acid which reduces certain enzymes in the stomach. It can also improve the insulin sensitivity in your body after meals. So adding just a little apple cider vinegar into your salads will, like all the above ingredients, go a long way in helping you to manage your blood sugar levels and keep them at a low and healthy level, long-term.

Ally Gonzales
Ally Gonzales is the founder & editor-in-chief of RunningSoleGirl. Along with blogging she is also juggling attending college and majoring in Exercise and Sports Science.

Your Image Always Precedes You…

It’s an amazing thing when a hobby becomes a job, as it’s something you’ve spent a long time working for, and now you get paid to do it. You can feel like you’ve hit the jackpot, but there comes the point where doing something that you love actually does feel more like a job rather than a passion. With something like running a blogging business, or any business for matter, there’s not just the fun of indulging in your passions, it’s about meeting deadlines, working long hours on things you may not necessarily care about, and the stress of making sure that employees are paid on time as well as other essential parts of the trade. Is there a way to strike a balance and keep a professional image while also making it enjoyable?

 

Keep On Learning

If you find that the fun of the job has been replaced by endless number crunching and boring admin in work, then it’s time to start expanding on what it is you do. It’s always important when it comes to expanding a business to research into new and exciting areas to keep yourself ahead of the pack. And as a business like this should be an extension of your passions it gives you the perfect opportunity to do research into something that you care about and see if you can implement it as a new department of your company.

 

Make The Most Of Resources To Bulk Up Your Image

Regardless of the size of your business, your image is always what precedes you, and there are little tricks of the trade to help push that right image out to potential clients or sponsors. If you’re running a business out of your own home, you could make the most of a virtual PO box which benefits you by not having to put your residential home address on correspondence as it doesn’t look as good as an office or a suite number in a desirable business location. You could also use virtual assistants to answer the telephone, again adding another layer of professionalism to your small company.

 

Delegate Duties

While this business is your baby, there will come a time when there is so much work to do that you won’t be able to physically complete it all yourself, which is when you will have difficulty in communicating with other staff members how to do certain tasks. It is better now to get over this while the business is still in its relatively early days. It can be hard to attribute tasks to certain people at the start because this is something you’ve grown all by yourself, and you won’t want to let it go. But if you can get over this quickly then you are teaching yourself the importance of relinquishing control over certain aspects, and it’s also giving you some breathing space which is integral to the work/life balance.

 

Maintaining a sense of professionalism is difficult when you are working out of your home, and it’s just you, but there will be a time when the business will expand so much that you need to have these important factors in place, so it’s best to learn them now.

Ally Gonzales
Ally Gonzales is the founder & editor-in-chief of RunningSoleGirl. Along with blogging she is also juggling attending college and majoring in Exercise and Sports Science.

How to Turn Your Passion For Fitness Into a Career

Are you a health and fitness enthusiast that is wanting to turn that passion into a career, but unsure where to start? If you find that your friends and family turn to you for health and fitness advice or maybe you spend most of your days either outdoors enjoying being active or planning your next healthy recipe then a career in fitness and health could suit you down to the ground. Follow our top tips below on how to channel your love for all things sporty and active into a successful and lucrative career.

Consider Your Speciality

First of all you are going to need to establish a specific area that you think you could specialise in. Think about the different areas of fitness and health that really get you excited and then set about getting yourself really involved in those areas. If it is long distance running then sign yourself up to the local running clubs. If it is nutrition then try and get yourself involved in local organisations that specialise in nutrition and diet.

Getting yourself involved in specific organisations and clubs will help you to not only gain a deeper understanding of your chosen field but it will also present an invaluable networking tool which you will be able to tap into further on down the line when you are setting yourself up. Therefore the best place to start is to research all the different areas of fitness and health that you are interested in and then get yourself involved in as many organisations as possible to gain valuable experience and knowledge.

Start a Blog

Starting a blog has never been easier and as blogs are one of the top ways to share tips, expertise and knowledge so they are a great option for anyone wanting to establish themselves as an expert in any industry. So if you are obsessed with sharing healthy recipes or feel you have original and unique ways of getting fit then this is certainly an avenue that can work really well. Start by getting down all your ideas and setting up a blog with software like WordPress or Wix. Then link your account up with other social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and get to work creating unique content that sets you apart from other fitness and health bloggers.

Re-Educate

If you are thinking about going a more academic route with regards to your new career choice then thinking about going back to school is a really good idea. Thinking about a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology is a good idea for anyone wanting to get into physiotherapy or any other more scientific or medical areas of sport and fitness. Or if you are more interested in nutrition and diet then look into courses that offer an in-depth look into that side of the industry so that you can confidently market yourself as a nutritional specialist.

Any qualifications and certificates that you can get under your belt will go a long way in establishing yourself as an expert and will give you the confidence to pursue an exciting new career in fitness and health.

Ally Gonzales
Ally Gonzales is the founder & editor-in-chief of RunningSoleGirl. Along with blogging she is also juggling attending college and majoring in Exercise and Sports Science.

Tired of Being Tired? Read This

You may have heard that a good fitness regime helps you strengthen your energy levels. But a lot of people who have started a fitness regime end up feeling a bit baffled by this logic. After all, don’t you need good energy levels in the first place in order to exercise efficiently?

This is true, to an extent. But it doesn’t mean you’re doomed to a life of being unfit if you feel your energy levels depleting way too quickly. This problem is mostly the result of mistakes in your approach. Here’s how to keep your energy level boosted!

Stop rushing!

Your energy levels are going to increase gradually. If you go from zero to a hundred with a fitness regime, then you’re going to tire yourself out like crazy. The key is to take things slowly to ensure you don’t eat up all your energy. Make reasonable short-term goals and work towards those – this will make your progression make less daunting.

Be careful with what you eat

Your diet is going to have a massive effect on your energy levels. Even if you’re not putting focus on exercise right now (mistake!), the right diet will help prevent both physical and mental fatigue. Make sure you’re getting enough energy-boosting nutrients such as protein and B vitamins. Ensure your meals have a few additives as possible; this includes any performance boosters, which is why people buy Isagenix. And be strategic with your portions! Too small a meal or snack will rob you of energy; too big a portion will divert all your energy towards digestion!

Get some more sleep

No matter how many energy-boosting methods you use, there will simply never be a better method than getting enough sleep every night. This is especially important if you’re working on a fitness regime. Don’t fall into the trap of associating sleep with laziness; this is a mindset that plagues many new go-getters in the world of fitness. Make sure you’re getting seven to eight hours of sleep every night; your body needs that recovery time. Try to ensure you’re going to bed at more or less the same time every night, and definitely ensure you’re waking up at a consistent time – even on your days off.

Take breaks

Whether you’re having an intense workout or simply working away at a desk job, you need to take breaks for both your body and mind. Overworking your muscles leads to fatigue and inefficiency. The problem, like what we talked about in the last section, is that people associate breaks with laziness. They see it as an indulgence, rather than for what it is – a necessity. Don’t skip breaks at home, at the gym, or at work!

Drink loads of water

Even mild dehydration is going to zap your energy levels. Unfortunately, most Americans are mildly dehydrated for most of the day. It’s estimated that we should be drinking around 1.5-2 liters of water a day. Those of us who are exercising need to drink a little more on the days of our workouts. Along with sleep, a healthy and regular intake of water is one of the most essential elements to maintaining energy levels.

Ally Gonzales
Ally Gonzales is the founder & editor-in-chief of RunningSoleGirl. Along with blogging she is also juggling attending college and majoring in Exercise and Sports Science.

How To Raise Awareness For Your Cause

If you want to do more to help raise awareness for causes and charities that you believe in, then it isn’t as complicated as you may have thought, although, there isn’t just one best strategy out there to do so. There are tons of ways, and what might work for you, may not for another individuals, so it’s important to figure out what you’re passionate about doing, because as long as there is passion – people will want to help.

The best thing that helps charities are donations. The more donations they get – the more that can be invested to help the people that need it, and make the organization even bigger.
In order to bring awareness to your cause, it helps to have a budget so you can figure out what you need and how much it will cost you.
Now you can start looking at the several ways to bringing awareness to whatever you believe in.

Events

Set a World Record

Try thinking of a world record that is in some way in relation to your cause. Then invite all of your supporters to come and take part in the challenge, or just watch and enjoy a fun day out. You may even get press coverage – which is ideal!

Educational Events

If you have a certain skill or talent that you are able to teach others, whether that be something creative like art or music, or even motivational speaking – share your knowledge with others, and once you have their attention, engage in conversation about why you are really doing this today.

Fundraising Events

Things like auctioning at an art exhibition, or sporting event are great for these, especially because they tend to be quite ‘fancy,’ so a lot of people will be dressed up looking expensive, and if they’re in a good enough mood, they’ll be feeling generous too.

Contests

Like & Comment to Win

If you’d rather stick to the basics, then go with this method. Make a new post online that’s in relation to your cause, and tell everyone to like and comment for a chance to win. – Then you can just pick a winner at random. Of course, you’ll have to come up with a prize. Try getting in touch with local businesses to see if they would sponsor a gift card or something of the sort.

Photography

The world is all about visual content nowadays – take Instagram for example, a social network full of photographic content – and people love it. So why not hold a contest to see who can capture the best moment. Choose a theme or an object to be photographed (that relates to your cause,) and then post and share your competition online, along with the closing date. Then the winners work gets to be featured on the next poster or brand logo, etc.

Videography

Similar to the photo idea, ask your followers to come up with a short video about your cause, and why people should want to help raise awareness about it. Choose a winner and then share that video for everyone to see, and if it’s really good, use it as part of your campaign.

Branding

Social Media Awareness

Make sure you cover the different social media platforms by making pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and even Snapchat. The more people you engage with, the more interest and attention your cause will get.

Design The Merch

Consider investing some money into making merchandise. It doesn’t have to be anything too fancy, just keep it simple like the breast cancer awareness bracelets. They can then be given out at your events, or bought online which works as a donation, but people get something out of it too.

Be Consistent

If you want your cause to be recognized amongst all other charities out there, you will have to be consistent with your branding. This means once you have an idea for a logo (and you’re sure!) stick to that, as that will be how people identify you from others.

Get Your Cause Noticed

Now that you have all the different tricks of the trade, get thinking about what ideas suit you best, but try everything first. It’s always wise to have a variety of different things up your sleeve, so your audience doesn’t get bored. You don’t want to be predictable; you want to excite people and bring in positive attention and love from others out there. The more lives you can reach – the more lives you are helping.

Ally Gonzales
Ally Gonzales is the founder & editor-in-chief of RunningSoleGirl. Along with blogging she is also juggling attending college and majoring in Exercise and Sports Science.

What’s The Link Between Stress & Mental Health?

Our minds are made to handle a lot of stress – we’re built to be able to withstand stressful situations. However, when we come under a lot of stress on a constant basis, that’s when problems can arise. The fact is that study after study has shown that high levels of stress on a constant basis, such as from a job that comes with a lot of pressure, or an upsetting situation at home, can make mental health problems more likely. There is a link between stress and mental health, but it’s not exactly clear cut – there are a lot of ins and outs to it. Want to learn more about the link between excessive stress and mental health problems like OCD, anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia? Then read on, as all is about to be revealed.

Does stress automatically lead to mental health problems?

Despite the fact that stress can, in some instances, cause mental health problems, it’s important to realize that it doesn’t automatically cause them. In some instances, stress can be a contributing factor to why a person develops an anxiety disorder, for instance, but that doesn’t mean high levels of stress will always lead to mental health problems. The fact is that being under pressure is a normal part of life – it can drive us to work harder, be more productive, and reach our goals. Problems arise when you begin to feel overwhelmed by stress.

Is stress the only factor linked to mental health issues?

Stress isn’t the only cause linked to mental health problems. Most conditions, such as schizophrenia, are also linked to genetics, brain structure, neurotransmitters, and triggers, one of which is stress, but there are also others like drugs and alcohol, for instance. A lot of mental health problems also have different levels, so for instance, there are different types of schizophrenia, ranging from mild to severe. If someone becomes withdrawn, doesn’t want to socialize, and struggles with the day to day aspects of lift, but isn’t having delusions, then it may be mild schizophrenia, instead of a more severe level of this condition. Sometimes, more mild version of a condition are linked to stress, whereas more severe ones are caused by other factors, although this isn’t always the case.

Can stress make existing mental health problems worse?

Studies have shown that stress can excavate existing mental health problems, making them worse. For instance, say you suffer from depression, studies have shown that when your stress levels are high thanks to a hectic job, family problems, money worries, or something else, it can make your depression worse. The same applies to other mental health problems, from OCD and anxiety to bipolar disorder. So if you suffer from an existing mental health problem, it’s important to keep your stress levels to a minimum by having an outlet for stress such as jogging, practicing yoga, or doing a calming activity like reading, adult coloring, or completing brain puzzles.

There is a link between stress and mental health, but it’s not a clear-cut one and is tends to differ from person to person.

Ally Gonzales
Ally Gonzales is the founder & editor-in-chief of RunningSoleGirl. Along with blogging she is also juggling attending college and majoring in Exercise and Sports Science.

Top Tips To Help You Handle Stressful Situations

We can all feel very stressed out at times. It might be down to work with huge deadlines to adhere to, a workload to work through, or simply having a tough time shining within your career or workplace. Stress can also hit you in other areas of your life such as relationships, and in times like this, the stress can manifest in many different ways such as losing sleep, anxiety attacks, shortness of breath, and even feeling sick with nerves. However, there are some great ways to handle stressful situations, and I thought I would share with you some of the top tips to help you get a hold of yourself during your times of need.

Get a good night’s sleep

You may find you are having trouble sleeping if you are feeling particularly stressed out, but this can be a great way to resolve your issue as well. Try and ensure that you work on your routine before heading to bed. Switch off the technology at least an hour before bed, indulge in some reading or enjoy a hot bath instead. You may also want to try a warm drink like a camomile tea to help calm the senses. Also drinking water throughout the day and exercising can help you to feel tired when the time comes for bed.

Consider supplements to help calm your emotions

Sometimes the emotions and feeling that come with stress can force us to feel anxious at times. Which is when taking something like Caruso’s supplements for anxiety could help you keep those feelings under control. There is nothing worse than letting an anxiety attack take over your senses, so take action and try and nip the symptoms in the bud before they develop into something more.

Change your mindset

A negative outlook can only fuel a stressful situation instead of resolving it, so try and consider changing your mindset. Have a positive outlook and approach to each day and avoid thinking negatively. It may seem hard to change a habit, but it could prove beneficial in the future.

Distract yourself

Distraction is a great way to shift your focus. Put on some music or watch some TV to help relax your mind and enable you to think about something else. It may seem hard at first to switch off, but often this can be a quick way to overcome a stressful feeling.

Make a plan of action

Tackling a situation head on is the only way to truly overcome it, so make a plan of action on what you need and want to do to resolve it once and for all. Sometimes just the process of doing this can help you align your thoughts and think positively about things moving forward.

Put things into perspective

Finally, it can be hard to think outside of your current circumstances but putting things into perspective can help to lower the stress levels. It can be hard to think outside of what is going on, but you may find that things aren’t as bad as they could be. Try and remember how lucky you are. This works hand in hand with positive thinking and feeling grateful for what is going well in your life.

Ally Gonzales
Ally Gonzales is the founder & editor-in-chief of RunningSoleGirl. Along with blogging she is also juggling attending college and majoring in Exercise and Sports Science.

Get Ready To Improve Your Running Performance With A Bike

When it comes to running, whether you are a beginner or an experienced runner, there are some plenty of tips that you didn’t even think you needed. We have touched on the most obvious of them in a previous article on runningsolegirl.com. For a start, a healthy runner, needs to pick the right attire, which means that you need to choose shoes that can absorb the shock and protect your knees and ankles from getting injured. When you run, you need to accept that you are investing in your health. Consequently, you have to be ready to pay the full price for a pair of shoes that will help you to prevent injuries. But naturally, embracing the running side of life doesn’t stop there. Your body goes through a lot, especially if you decide to run long distances. You need to adapt your diet to your workout requirements so that you can fuel your body with all the nutrients it needs to perform. There’s something else that can help you to improve your performance too: Taking on cycling can have a dramatic impact on your running performance. Want to see how? Read below.

Pick the Right Bike for Your Needs

Just like running requires the right equipment, cycling does too. However, the kind of bike you need will depend on your cycling abilities and preferences. Are you a road cyclist or are you an off-road enthusiast? If you fancy the idea of cycling along natural tracks in the countryside, you might need to studies some of the mountain bike reviews from mountainbikesreviewed.com to find out everything you need from brake power to suspension. As a rule of the thumb, runners need a light to a medium-light bike that is suitable for road and slightly out of the beaten track trails so that you can follow your usual running route. Stay away from heavy bikes, and pick instead bikes that offer a responsive, stable and smooth riding experience.

Bikes Offer a Friendly Training Option

Contrary to running, cycling offers a joint-friendly alternative, that is very helpful if you’re recovering from an injury or if you suffer from painful joints. In truth, cycling regularly can help your joints to become stronger and can gradually help you to prevent the development of long-term weaknesses such as arthritis. More importantly, it keeps your muscles active even through a recovery period, which makes it the ideal activity to maintain your strength without causing your body any further damage.

Bikes Can Develop Your Endurance

Last, but not least, cycling offers an ideal combination of strength and endurance, which can help you to improve your performance. Cycling long distances with periods of sprints is a preferred training method for runners who want to maximize their endurance, as it gradually develops your muscles to sustain a bigger effort. Additionally, there’s no denying that cycling helps your lung capacity to grow, which is exactly what you need when you are running long distances. You will find yourself feeling less out of breath and able to tackle more sizeable running challenges. As surprising as it might sound, one of the best training approaches for a marathon is to go cycling, a lot!

Ally Gonzales
Ally Gonzales is the founder & editor-in-chief of RunningSoleGirl. Along with blogging she is also juggling attending college and majoring in Exercise and Sports Science.

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