Mountain bikes may not be very popular in India yet, but its just a matter of time before these bikes get popular with fitness enthusiasts who want to mix fitness with outdoor activity. Mountain Bikes helps in fat burning, reduces body fat, enhances endurance, increases body strength and is a fun way to exercise and to keep fit.
Are you the outdoor types?
Are you bored of doing the indoor routines and want a break from the regular weights and cardio activities?
You need to seriously consider biking!
What is a Mountain Bike?
So how does a mountain bike differ from a regular bike?
A mountain bike (also known as ‘MTB’) is designed to have a better grip on a variety of surfaces, including gravel, dirt, rock and sand.
That’s the reason these come with wide, deep-treaded tires that offer a much better grip on the surface. These bikes come with multiple gears, and offer better control on rough surfaces.
So if you want a bicycle that’s suited for riding on off-road terrains, get a mountain bike.
Types of Mountain Bikes
Here are the more popular types of Mountain Bikes:
- Cross-Country Mountain Bikes: Designed for long-distance routes, these are among the lightest, but efficient enough to handle rough terrain.
- All-Mountain Bikes: Also known as trailbikes, these are built to handle any terrain that a mountain biker will run into. These are designed to climb hills very efficiently, but are generally heavier.
- Downhill Mountain Bikes: Designed for riders who just want to go downhill, and fast (the more adventurous and those with a better health insurance plan). The gears and frame are strong and hold extremely well under pressure (for speedy downhill descents).
- Free Ride Mountain Bikes: Similar to the Downhill bikes, these are more compact, flexible and easy to maneuver, which makes them more suited for jumping and doing stunts.
- Dirt Jump Bikes: These are cross breed (fusion of Freeride and BMX bikes), also referred to as urban, or street mountain bikes. Usually have low seat posts and suited more for aerial stunts.
Irrespective of what type you choose, make sure you take adequate care of your safety (use gloves, helmet, shoes, etc.)
Mountain biking disciplines such as downhill biking, dirt jumping and freeride focus on tricks, style, and technical trail features.
Watch: Freeride Mountain Biking
What are the Health Benefits of Biking
There are many advantages of biking but here are my top three reasons for biking.
Yes, you feel much better if you step out of the steamy gym and have some fun looking at the sun, scenery.
Get some speed on your bike and you can burn more than 800 calories in an hour. A zero impact exercise that is friendly on your joints and gives you a strong butt and legs!
It’s a fairly flexible exercise; you can cruise on the road or go up a steep hill. You can do it solo or with a group of friends.
Mountain Bike Exercise & Workouts
To be a good mountain biker, you need to have strength, power, endurance and mobility in the right areas. Here are some great exercises to help you get better at mountain biking.
Working out your UPPER BODY
Most cyclists ignore their upper body; after all your legs are used for biking right? However, its important to have a strong upper body (especially arms and shoulders) to negotiating obstacles efficiently and to move the bike during all phases of cycling.
So so work on your shoulders, arms, chest, abs, and low back as well.
In general, Squats, Push-ups, Lunges, Single Leg Deadlifts, Deadlifts Planks, Bent over rows, Raised leg ab crunches are some exercises that you should regular do to be in great shape for mountain biking.
Most bikers also need to have strong calf muscles. Besides doing the various leg exercises, make sure you do the single leg jump rope for building calf stamina.
Best Mountain Bike Brands
So if you are more of a fitness freak type then you should look forward to mountain biking.
Schwinn, GMC, Diamondback are some of the best mountain bike brands available to you.
If you can afford it, opt for a Full Suspension as against a Hardtail. Hardtails, without rear suspension, are lighter weight but full suspension offers more comfort and better control.
Here’s a video showing the best bikes of the world:
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