Is cycling good for PCOS? [My Aunt’s story – all you need to know about cycling lifestyle changes and PCOS]

When my aunt started feeling symptoms for PCOS she started to do everything that she could to rebalnce her hormones. She ate healthier, she lifted more often and she took longer walks. She was overall happy with the results after changing her lifestyle to rebalcnce her hormones, but wanted a bit of an extra boost to lose some weight. That was when she approached me to talk about pcos and cycling. She mainly wanted to ask me is cycling good for pcos. I remember when she asked me and learning a bit abnout the challenges that she was facing. We went to our family doctor and after talking it through with her as well and this was what we found.

In this post we will discuss the main benefits to cycling with PCOS. We will also discuss some of the lifestyle changes that may need to be made in order to regain the hormonal balance. Typically a change in diet and exercise will be enough if the case is mild enough. Finally we will wrap up with what specifics to look for in the types of foods that you ought to eat to further tackle the hormonal imbalance.

Is cycling good for PCOS?

Yes, cycling is good for PCOS. Our family doctor recommended at least 30-45 minutes of cycling to help mitigate the challenges faced by PCOS. My aunt was able to use one of my older road bikes to go for rides. She spent each day after work riding around the neighborhood for 30 minutes at a reasonable pace. Along with this, I gave her some suggestions on how to eat in a more balanced manner to help her feel stronger and lighter.

The reason why cycling is good for PCOS is:

• Core Training: When you are cycling, your core, (and your pelvic floor) are engaged for balance on the bicycle while riding. This is great for supporting the lower back and the extra weight that is gained. Muscle is built in the right places to mitigate chronic pains in the lower back, and pelvis areas. Building muscle in the region also helps for maintaining posture and helping the body ease out of chronic fatigue, pain and lethargy caused by poor posture.
• Interval Training: Along with easy bike rides, we bought her a stationary recumbent bicycle so that she could train and do interval workouts safely at the house. I like riding at speed throughout my neighborhood and other places in the bay area, though I don’t really want to suggest that level of training in traffic to my auntie. The stationary recumbent bike is great because she is able to emulate the hills of the east bay while at home. The interval workouts are great because it reduces the overall testosterone in her body. High interval training when paired with cardio also improved insulin resistance.
• Cardio: The added cardio workouts are great because it aids in the reduction in weight. When she rides she burns through a large amount of energy and carbs to help her lose weight around her midsection. She also strengthens her heart as well to push back against PCOS’ negative symptoms towards the heart.

How did she change her diet for PCOS?

My auntie was instructed to change the way that she ate for PCOS along with adding cycling into her exercise regimen. She changed her eating in two specific ways. She cut out most simple sugars and switched to an anti inflammatory diet.

• Simple processed sugar reduction: When she chooses food, she looks at the ingredient section. From there she looks at the added sugars label. If there is a large amount of added sugars percentage for the day, then she’ll typically skip it. Simple processed sugars are largely inflammatory to the body. Natural sugars like fruits and carbs from oatmeal are generally fine and have a lot of other positives for the body.
• Anti-inflammatory Foods and Diet: She went to our local grocery store and found one of those magazines that advertised anti-inflammatory diets. Actually, she got all of the magazines that had anti-inflammatory diets and recipes. That day the groceries cost less than the amount that she paid for those magazines, but the food that she is cooking now is great, and she told me there’s a noticeable change in her energy and her pants are now getting to big for her.

Conclusion

Is cycling good for PCOS? Cycling is great for PCOS if coupled with an overall lifestyle change. This can include changing how you eat to help your body regain a chemical and hormonal balance to continue keeping its energy level high and your body feeling healthy. By changing the food that my auntie ate and coupling it with 30 minutes of cycling a day, most of her symptoms were eliminated.