Terry Peloton

Tag: health and cycling

  • CYCLING: SECRET OF ETERNAL YOUTH.

    Casual cycling at the sea front in Terry Metro Skort
    Metro Skort – won’t make you immortal, but will enhance the ride.

    File this one under Good news that we sort of knew already: 

    Researchers seem to have discovered the secret of eternal youth – riding a bike. 

    It’s nice to have something you thought all along confirmed by research: A Dutch study found that cyclists live longer than others, and endure fewer health complications as they age.  

    This is not exactly a new study, as it dates back to 2015, but it keeps surfacing on the internet, and recently Cycling Today put it this way: it turns out every hour you spend riding a bike extends your lifetime by … one hour! 

    Hmmm… if that’s true, the secret to eternal youth is to just never get off your bike! 

    Well, maybe cycling won’t guarantee immortality, but it is nice to know that the health benefits of cycling are quantifiable. Knowing this, it’s much easier to make that choice between getting some unpleasant project done, or going for a ride. Now you can say the ride should most certainly come first, and it will actually give you more time in your life to get those less welcome tasks done later… right? 

    Either way, what we have known all along is that getting around by bike, for health, transport, fitness or simply for fun, adds immeasurably to your quality of life. Knowing it’s also making that happier life longer is great.  

    Let’s celebrate with an extra ride this week! 

  • MORE GOOD NEWS ABOUT CYCLING & HEALTH.

    Moderate to vigorous exercise like cycling helps reduce risk of Parkinson Disease

    Add Parkinson’s Disease to the List of Ailments Warded Off by Cycling

    As though we didn’t already have more great reasons to keep on cycling than we know what to do with!

    Research published on Jama Network shows that physical activity, such as cycling, decreases the risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease. Even moderate exercise helps, though the research found a strong correlation only for males, not so strong for females.

    Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an aging-related neurodegenerative disorder involving progressive motor impairment. It affects more than 1% of people aged 65 years and over.

    The researchers set out to quantify the dose-response relationship between exercise and incidence of Parkinson’s, by analyzing data from all available studies on the topic. The pool of subjects included more than half a million people.

    Their conclusion is clear – just a few hours a week of moderate to vigorous activity reduces risk of PD by about 17% for men.

    They quantified the amount of exercise using MET-hours (metabolic equivalent task values), a way to compare the benefit of different physical activities.

    It turns out that about 20 MET-hours of moderate to vigorous exercise is enough to make the difference in PD risk. That translates to about three hours of cycling at 10-12 mph, or as little as one hour if you’re a speedster who averages 16 mph or more.

    The researchers call for more study to understand the factors affecting the different dose-response relationships between the genders. Even so, since it’s so well established that exercise reduces risk for many ailments like heart disease, stroke and diabetes, it’s pretty safe to say to guys and gals alike – keep on pedaling!
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    More about cycling and health: Cycling – Fountain of Youth?.

  • CYCLING – FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH?

    Feel younger after a vigorous bike ride?

    Now there’s a solid reason to believe it.

    A team of scientists in the U.K. felt that way. Their group happens to include several keen recreational cyclists – of a certain age – who decided to put the idea to the test.

    Their experiments produced results we cyclists might not be surprised by, but will certainly relish. Now we can be confident that the activity we love is helping us stay younger longer.

    The research caught the attention of the New York Times – How Exercise Can Keep Aging Muscles and Immune Systems ‘Young’.

    The researchers looked at a wide range of physical and cognitive abilities of people between 55 and 79 years of age. Later they focused on muscle condition and immune system markers. The results revealed that the senior cyclists were closer to 30 year olds in their capacities than to their sedentary contemporaries.

    They concluded that “older cyclists are not like most of the rest of us. They are healthier. They are, biologically, younger.”
    – New York Times

    The studies did not look at other forms of exercise, so we don’t know what other activities could deliver similar benefits. For now at least it’s good to know that, as long as we cyclists keep riding, aging is optional!

  • WELLNESS REVOLUTION

    Screen Shot 2014-11-10 at 1.04.31 PM

    This past spring, TERRY and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont partnered up in a pilot program designed to promote healthier lifestyles for women through cycling. Since this was the first program of its kind in Vermont, we weren’t sure how many women would be interested in going through a biometric screening process and committing to an 8-week cycling program. Within 48 hours, we had a full session and a huge waiting list. Women of all experience levels signed up to set cycling and health goals for themselves, go on group rides with other participants and learn about cycling through co-sponsors, Earl’s Cyclery, Local Motion and other members of the Burlington cycling community.

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    The absolute best part of this program was the community that it built. For the participants, the additional benefits were free health screenings, Terry gift certificates, free helmets, bike fits and lots of helpful information. For me, a participant and facilitator, it was completely awe-inspiring to see several women who hadn’t been on a bike since they were six years old, grab an old mountain bike or 1970 Peugeot and ride 17 miles.

    Based on the success of the program, we’re planning 2 revolutions for 2015!

    Whitney McKiddy