I've been biking seven miles a day on a rough, variable incline trail. I've been losing weight in the process and feel terrific, but something's been on the back of my mind, and that's if I'm overdoing it without realizing it. I don't have any heart conditions or anything (conclusively, since I've had an echo eleven years ago with no abnormalities) and don't feel weird while biking. Is my current routine fairly safe?
Naw it's very very difficult to injury yourself with cardio workouts. Just make sure you're always have your legs stretched out. Unless you see or feel pain or something strange with yourself. Just keep at it.
There only 2 real risks from over-exercising at your level. 1. Muscle imbalances. If you work out one muscle group too much, it becomes significantly stronger than it's respective antagonist and can put you at much greater risk of tearing a muscle/ligament. But you shouldn't have to worry about that at all with bike riding, this more applied to very inexperienced people who go to the gym and do lots of weight lifting without knowing what they're doing to their body ^^ The second thing is you make sure you're adjusting your diet, especially water intake. Even if you're trying to lose weight, if you exercise more, you need to eat more! If you're going from relatively no regular exercise to a pretty strenuous ride every day, I would be almost doubling your water intake if I were you. You'll find it will help pretty much 'everything'.
Seven miles isn't very far on a bike, but a good every day workout. Biking is one of the best, non-impact cardio routines out there. I do suggest stretching your legs afterwards. More specifically your hamstrings. They tend to tighten up when riding and in turn tighten up your lower back muscles. I had a friend who rode his bike to work every day and didn't do any stretching. He ended up throwing his back out. Doing a little yoga or limbering exercise before and after any workout is always good idea.
Your body will tell you if it needs a break. You'll be sore and stiff. Its important to let sore muscles rest and recover. Its natural to be a little sore after a hard workout. As far as the heart is concerned, if your not getting any shortness of breath or flutters in your chest then you're fine.
I love biking! 7 miles is nothing though. When I bike I like to go 20 or 30 miles a few times a week. Don't think you can overdo it with biking if you feel fine.
