Cycling is one of the most popular activities on the planet but if you suffer from PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) you may be wondering whether it’s a good idea to implement this type of exercise into your lifestyle.
It’s been shown many times that exercise and physical activity, in general, are extremely beneficial for women with PCOS as they can significantly reduce some of its symptoms and help manage the condition.
If you want to know more details about the effects of different types of exercise on PCOS, I suggest you read my previous article ‘What Is The Best Exercise For PCOS & Why?’ to learn more about the science behind it.
In this article, however, I’ll explain the advantages and disadvantages of cycling for PCOS and give you some practical tips that can help you achieve the most benefits. But if you’re looking for a short answer…
In general, cycling can be considered good for PCOS as it may help reduce some of the common PCOS symptoms such as insulin resistance, weight gain, chronic stress, sleep problems, abnormal metabolism, and hyperandrogenism. It may also help prevent cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Benefits of cycling for PCOS:
- Weight management
- Increased metabolism
- Insulin sensitivity
- Cardiovascular health
- Stress management
- Brain health
- Improved sleep
✓ Weight management
It is no news that PCOS is closely related to weight management problems and it’s also one of the reasons why regular exercise is such an important part of an effective PCOS management strategy.
Cycling is actually one of the best activities that can help you lose weight for a number of reasons. First of all, It is easily adaptable which means that you can change the length and the intensity of the exercise to fit your individual needs and your current fitness status.
Longer cycling sessions (low-moderate intensity) can be a great type of aerobic workout that can help you get into the ‘fat-burning’ zone which usually occurs when your heart rate is at 60-70% of your max for at least 30 minutes. In this zone, your body uses fat as its primary source of energy so cycling at a moderate pace can be a great way to reduce body fat.
On the other hand, if you increase the intensity of your cycling, you’ll be able to burn more calories in a shorter period of time. Even though your body prefers using glucose (stored in your liver and muscles) as its primary source of energy during high-intensity activities, your greater calorie expenditure will also lead to weight loss over time.
Read more: ‘PCOS Belly Fat Explained & How To Reduce It‘
✓ Increased metabolism
Another great benefit of cycling is that it can help you increase your metabolic rate that is so often dysfunctional in women with PCOS and also the reason why it’s so difficult for them to lose weight in the first place.
Cycling is a great exercise for increasing your lower body and core strength and building muscle in those areas. Gaining more muscle is a great strategy for increasing your metabolic rate as muscles require more energy to maintain. This means that the more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn on a daily basis even during rest.
But you can also structure cycling (indoor cycling is especially great for this) into a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) type of workout. By doing so, you will be basically switching between short periods (approx. 30-45 seconds) of high-intensity intervals (fast cycling) and low-intensity intervals (slow cycling or rest).
According to multiple studies, this type of workout appears to be highly effective for increased metabolic rate and overall weight loss and weight maintenance, and cycling can be a great way to do that.
Read more: ‘Is HIIT Good Or Bad For PCOS & Why?‘
✓ Insulin sensitivity
If you suffer from PCOS, you may be already familiar with the link between PCOS and insulin resistance. If not, you can read my previous article ‘PCOS Insulin Resistance Explained & How To Reverse It’ where I go into more detail.
But in short, insulin resistance is a condition when your body doesn’t respond to insulin effectively and which can lead to high insulin levels in the blood. Unfortunately, high blood insulin can also lead to the overproduction of androgens (the ‘male hormones’) that are associated with many of the PCOS symptoms.
The good news is that there are many things you can do to make your body more sensitive to insulin again and exercise such as cycling is one of them. Cycling is a great way to immediately decrease your insulin levels (by uptaking more glucose into your working muscles) and increase your overall insulin sensitivity in the long term (by training your body to respond to insulin more efficiently).
As a result, your body will become better at regulating blood sugar and managing your insulin levels on a daily basis. The research has even shown that cycling may help to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes (which is a high-risk disease for women with PCOS).
✓ Cardiovascular health
Unfortunately, women with PCOS are also at a higher risk (up to 19%) of developing cardiovascular diseases due to the metabolic abnormalities associated with the syndrome. The good news is that one of the best ways to improve your heart health and prevent developing cardiovascular disease is through aerobic exercise such as cycling.
Cycling (when practiced regularly) can significantly increase your VO2max which is basically a measure of your cardiorespiratory fitness and endurance capacity. The higher VO2max you have, the better your body becomes at oxygen circulation and utilization. This means that your physical performance will also largely improve as you’ll be able to sustain exercise for much longer periods of time.
This physiological change will not only benefit your heart health, lungs and muscle function, but regular exercise might even become more enjoyable for you as you’ll literally become better at it.
✓ Stress management
It is now recognized that chronic stress is another huge contributor to the development of PCOS and unfortunately, it is also one of its common symptoms. For this reason, effective stress management strategies play a major role in the management of PCOS.
It is also well known that exercise is one of the most effective ways to reduce and manage stress as it’s been shown in multiple studies. Cycling, specifically, is great for managing stress for a number of reasons.
You can expect your body to release endorphins (the ‘mood boosting’ chemicals) during this activity and naturally lower your stress hormone levels. But that’s not all. During cycling, you’ll be also regulating your breathing which has a direct impact on your stress levels (deep breathing is the base for many of the best stress-relieving techniques).
Because cycling is an aerobic type of exercise that can significantly improve your cardiorespiratory fitness, you’ll also be increasing your blood flow to the brain. This will not only improve your mental abilities and brain health but it will also improve your ability to deal with stress.
How your body responds to stress is extremely important for your overall health, especially if you suffer from PCOS, as stress is not a one-off thing but we have to deal with it on a daily basis.
✓ Brain health
Apart from the stress-reducing properties of cycling, there are other areas of your mental health where you might start seeing improvements. Cycling is especially good for improving your balance and coordination skills as it activates your cerebral cortex that is associated with motor learning.
This can help you stabilize your body, improve posture and prevent falls, fractures and other injuries. Since riding a bike is a skill that you need to learn and develop, you might find that it doesn’t even feel like working out at all.
You can make it extremely enjoyable by going on cycling trips with your family or friends, using it as a transport tool to get to work, or even watching your favorite tv show if you’re lucky to have a stationary bike. All of this can make exercising much easier and you’ll be more likely to keep consistent and achieve your goals.
✓ Improved sleep
You may already know that sleep has a direct effect on your hormone regulation (besides so many other vital body functions) so it is no surprise that sleep is also one of the key components of an effective PCOS management strategy.
Low-quality or insufficient sleep can, therefore, lead to worsening of your symptoms and that’s why we all need to make it our priority. However, PCOS is also closely related to sleep disturbances and insomnia which can make achieving our sleep goals really challenging.
There are many factors that will have an influence on your sleep and sleep quality but one thing you can do to improve it is to include more exercise like cycling into your lifestyle.
There is strong evidence to support the fact that regular exercise leads to better quality sleep. This includes better falling and staying asleep, feeling more rested and even having lower risks of sleep disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnea.
While the mechanisms behind those effects are not completely understood, it is suggested that cycling could help you sleep better due to the natural exhaustion of your muscles, lower stress levels, reduced back pain, improved brain health or even by spending more time outside.
Things to consider:
• Timing
Just make sure you don’t exercise too close to bedtime as it may have the opposite effect on your sleep. If you want to know why and find out what time might be better for your cycling sessions, make sure you check out my previous article ‘When Is The Best Time To Exercise For PCOS & Why?’
• Safety
Another important thing to consider when starting with cycling is your safety. Unfortunately, cyclists are at a high risk of accidents that can oftentimes lead to some long-term consequences.
Therefore, for any outdoor cycling (both in urban and rural areas) it’s important to always have a helmet, proper cycling gear, a suitable bike and reflective colors. Knowing the traffic laws is equally important to reduce the risk of accidents.
• Injuries
While cycling is a great low-impact activity suitable for the majority of people (even the elderly with joint problems) there may be some injuries or other health conditions that cycling is not recommended for.
For this reason, it’s always important to discuss it with your healthcare provider who may suggest a better alternative.
• Overtraining
If you’re new to cycling (or exercising in general) it’s also important to take it slowly as you can easily end up overtraining. This, in turn, can have a negative impact not only on your health but also on your progress and your relationship with exercise.
Additionally, overtraining may even contribute to some of your PCOS symptoms as it puts too much stress on your body which can lead to hormonal imbalances. So finding a balance and tailoring your workout plan to your personal needs and fitness status is key.
I suggest you follow a specific plan or work with a qualified professional if you want to take this seriously and get the best results. However, you don’t need to become a pro to gain all the benefits associated with cycling. You can just start cycling to work and back if you live within a reasonable distance.
My tips for cycling:
- Invest in a high-quality bike or e-bike (it’s worth it if you plan to cycle regularly)
- Use public bikes as a city transport (if it’s available in your place)
- Try indoor biking (spinning classes or home stationary bikes are great)
I have:
ATIVAFIT Indoor Bike (best for limited space/folding) - Plan cycling trips and holidays (great for exploring new places)
- Listen to an audiobook or your favorite podcast (only for indoor cycling)
- Stretch regularly (to prevent injuries and speed up recovery)
- Include other types of workouts (to strengthen other parts of your body)
- Track your activity (use fitbit/smartwatch/phone apps or speedometer)
I use:
Fitbit Inspire 2 (best durability/minimal design)
Resources:
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- Chavarrias, M., Carlos-Vivas, J., Collado-Mateo, D., & Pérez-Gómez, J. (2019). Health Benefits of Indoor Cycling: A Systematic Review. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania), 55(8), 452. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55080452
- Eriksson, J., Taimela, S., & Koivisto, V. A. (1997). Exercise and the metabolic syndrome. Diabetologia, 40(2), 125–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001250050653
- Gillen, J. B., & Gibala, M. J. (2014). Is high-intensity interval training a time-efficient exercise strategy to improve health and fitness?. Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme, 39(3), 409–412. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2013-0187
- Jhingan, A., & Jhingan, R. M. (2017). Effect of Cycling on Glycaemia, Blood Pressure, and Weight in Young Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research : JCDR, 11(7), OC09–OC11. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/28111.10162
- Kim, S. J., Cho, H. Y., Kim, Y. L., & Lee, S. M. (2015). Effects of stationary cycling exercise on the balance and gait abilities of chronic stroke patients. Journal of physical therapy science, 27(11), 3529–3531. https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.27.3529
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- Leyland L-A, Spencer B, Beale N, Jones T, van Reekum CM (2019) The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults. PLoS ONE 14(2): e0211779. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211779
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- Rasmussen, M. G., Grøntved, A., Blond, K., Overvad, K., Tjønneland, A., Jensen, M. K., & Østergaard, L. (2016). Associations between Recreational and Commuter Cycling, Changes in Cycling, and Type 2 Diabetes Risk: A Cohort Study of Danish Men and Women. PLoS medicine, 13(7), e1002076. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002076
- Stepto, N. K., Patten, R. K., Tassone, E. C., Misso, M. L., Brennan, L., Boyle, J., Boyle, R. A., Harrison, C. L., Hirschberg, A. L., Marsh, K., Moreno-Asso, A., Redman, L., Thondan, M., Wijeyaratne, C., Teede, H. J., & Moran, L. J. (2019). Exercise Recommendations for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Is the Evidence Enough?. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 49(8), 1143–1157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01133-6
- Scicchitano, P., Dentamaro, I., Carbonara, R., Bulzis, G., Dachille, A., Caputo, P., Riccardi, R., Locorotondo, M., Mandurino, C., & Matteo Ciccone, M. (2012). Cardiovascular Risk in Women With PCOS. International journal of endocrinology and metabolism, 10(4), 611–618. https://doi.org/10.5812/ijem.4020
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