Have you ever wondered what happens to your body when you stop riding?

Have you ever wondered what happens to your body when you stop riding?
The benefits of riding are immediate. Within 24 hours, your blood pressure drops, your blood sugar improves, your metabolism burns hotter, and your mood gets better. Long term, the positive hits just keep coming as you get fitter, faster, and healthier. Everyone needs a rest day now and then, but hang up your unicycle for too long and those hard earned benefits slip away— some, almost immediately. Here are some really good reasons to keep on pedaling.

When you stop riding....... The day of....
Your mood sails south. Within minutes of starting exercise, neural activity lights up your brain like a slot machine on full tilt, which not only builds your brain (literally), but also improves your mood. Deny your body that fix for even a day and your mood will slump, particularly during a stressful day when you need the release and lift most. Your metabolism stagnates.

... One week later
Your blood pressure rises. Aerobic exercise like unicycling prompts your body to release hormones that make your blood vessels more compliant. It also pumps high levels of blood through your system, which helps keep your arteries and veins supple. The effects are swift—when you start and when you stop. It starts rising again after just one week of not riding, and you’re back to where you started in just two weeks’ time.

... Two to four weeks later
Bye-bye, blood volume... and fitness. Regular unicycling builds blood volume and your body’s ability to use the oxygen it carries. After just two to four weeks off the saddle, your blood volume plummets nearly 10 percent. Your stroke volume (the amount of blood your heart can push out per beat) drops 12 percent. Your mitochondria, which act as your body’s energy producing furnaces, start to shrink from disuse. The end result: Your V02 max—the benchmark of fitness—declines 6 percent, leaving you off the back from where you were just a few weeks before.

... More than one month later
Your clothes get snug as you grow soft. As your metabolism and muscles’ fat burning activity dwindle, your fat stores rise.

We strongly encourage you to stay active and keep the adventure of riding alive, even if its for 5 minutes. Unicycling is a great cheat to feeling good both in mind and body.

Until next time, love your unicycle,

Team UDC