Running and Cycling is something we all do or probably have done, at various points in our lives. Some people tinker and enjoy activities here and there. While others make it part of their everyday routine.

 If you are anything like me, running and cycling is something I frequently do and continually incorporate it into my daily routine. Both exercises are addictive and, once you start embracing the joys that these activities bring, it is easy to get carried away and want to do more and more.

For some of us, getting carried away can often be a good thing, as it not only helps you to refocus your goals, try something new, keep fit and be active but it also enables us to achieve sometimes the unthinkable. 

Still, if you do get carried away and do not listen to your body, then take the necessary precautions, excessive exercise can easily lead to an increase in injuries.

In this particular blog post, I hope to identify some practical and valuable tips for anyone to consider exercising a little more and inturn signpost some excellent websites and youtube tube channels for you to use from today. In the hope of them helping to create and maintain a better you.

Listen to your body

From an early age, my mother always told me to listen to your body and no matter what you were doing, how or why, your body often gives you the vital clues to can explain the onset of illness and injury.

Whether that is an old wives tale or not? I continue to use it as an appropriate rule of thumb and a fitting guide within my life. Whereby I continuously follow and listen to my body.

Cycling every day to work and running regularly does inevitably take its toll on your body. Coupled with the fact that age is increasingly against me, it is massively important to get that message clear in my head. 

With that said, I tend to follow the right advice and understand the guidance that suggests all things in life go hand in hand. So much so, you can never run a marathon before taking your first steps and eating a lousy diet is harmful to your overall health and well-being.

Yoga

From what I read and from what others close to me suggest, Yoga can provide an excellent form of exercise that can be easily incorporated into your exercise schedule and can accompany both running and cycling.  

It provides an excellent way to stretch and maintain optimal health benefits. Yogas incorporation of meditation and breathing techniques can help improve a person's mental well-being, increase flexibility and improve strength.

Is Yoga suitable for cyclists?

Yoga is perfect for cyclists. Being stuck in the same position for hours on end can often lead to the stiffening of muscles and result in the need to stretch. 

After a long cycle, it is essential to stretch thoroughly and replenish the muscles used. Recovery is necessary, and the benefits of having enhanced flexibility on the bicycle provided by regular a series of yoga practices can be hugely beneficial. 

Sports Science research shows that increased flexibility will eventually lead to improvements in your overall performance. It helps to reduce the risk of injuries, and it can assist improvements when transporting blood and nutrients to the bodies muscles — thus reducing muscle fatigue and soreness.

Why should runners do Yoga?

Like with cycling, Yoga has many excellent benefits for runners. Running can lead to enormous strain on the body, and subsequently, this can increase the potential for injury.

Incorporating yoga techniques into your fitness routine and focusing on the vital principle of this practice can allow for the strengthening of both the key supporting muscles used in running movements and the underused muscles. 

The free movement on the yoga mat develops much-needed strength in the core, quads, hamstrings and hip flexors which will significantly help any runner to stay flexible and injury-free.

A world full of information

Nowadays, the world is awash with information. Some of which is good, and some only just overload. With that in mind, it is crucial to be selective, narrow down what you are looking for and once you have found something appropriate, use it frequently.

As a result, and after looking through various articles, I have narrowed it down to a few that not only have caught my attention, but they have now become my go-to guides.

A list of those articles can be accessed below and help you and your pursuit of maintaining optimal fitness while both running and cycling:

An article from Runners World

https://www.runnersworld.co.za/training/8-reasons-runners-should-do-yoga/

Yoga with Arianna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWzRE1BiAvw

Global Cycle Network

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQBfLqGaD18

Yoga poses

https://www.bicycling.com/training/a20008906/yoga-for-cyclists/