Beat Boredom with Bike Riding

Christina Newport, RD, a wellness and performance specialist and nutritionist at the Meredith College Human Performance Laboratory in Raleigh, North Carolina, suggests warming up with 5 to 10 minutes of riding at an easy pace. "With a warm-up, you want to go pretty light," she says.

After that easy start, you can increase your speed a bit and ride at a comfortable pace for 10 minutes. On subsequent rides, if you feel ready, add 5 more minutes.

"When you're first starting out, get used to being in the saddle (the bike seat). Take time for your body to build up cardiovascular endurance," says Newport, who teaches cycling classes. "That's one of the biggest challenges to new riders," she adds.

Newport advises that you focus on working within your own body and limitations, and give your muscles time to get used to the new activity. "Your tush gets sore—that's normal," she says. 

The most important physical preparations for riding involve your bicycle. "Get a bike that's comfortable and a seat that’s comfortable," says Janis McDonald, program manager of Women on Bikes, a Portland, Oregon, city program that offers group rides and classes on bicycle maintenance. "It doesn't matter what shape you're in—if you're not comfortable on your bike, you're not going to ride it."

Many bike shops can help you check that your bike correctly fits your body. If your rear end hurts during or after riding, make sure your bike seat is adjusted correctly and not tilted up or down. Avoid narrow racing saddles. After a first week of riding in which "my butt was extremely sore," Jennifer Batchelor switched to a wider seat and now rides comfortably.

Also, keep your bike tires inflated correctly and the chain oiled to roll smoothly, says McDonald.

Gaining momentum

As you build strength and endurance on a bike, you can increase the physical challenge (and body benefits) by adding distance, time or hills. Indoors, on a stationary exercise bike, increasing the resistance setting intensifies your workout. 

You can even make bike riding more weight-bearing—and gain some bone benefits—by  alternately standing up for a minute while you pedal, then sitting down for several minutes of recovery, and repeating. The bone-strengthening effect of such interval riding "is not as substantial as with running," says Dr. Ingraham, "but it's certainly better than sitting down. The fact that you're weight-bearing is going to load more muscle, which should help bone integrity." Weight-bearing exercises are important for preserving bone strength.