I’ve been wondering how other riders take care of their health while staying active with unicycling. Riding can be a great way to stay active, but I’m curious about things like stretching, hydration, recovery, and avoiding muscle soreness after longer rides.
Do you have any simple health or fitness routines that you follow before or after riding? I’d especially like to hear what works for people who ride regularly or take part in longer rides.
Im practising riding the 24" for next year’s Dutch championships. And then the 5km event. I figured the best way to train for 5km, is to ride say 10-20km. I noticed that I don’t get tired in my legs. I can basically ride forever, but it is saddle soreness that kills me. The seat just isn’t comfy.
That said, I just came home from a month holiday in Thailand where I hadn’t ridden at all and the 10K ride from yesterday has given me some muscle ache. Just by riding a few times a week, will make you get used to it and you won’t get sore anymore.
Personally I don’t care much about health. I ride because I like unicycling. I reckon any sport is good for your health if you seriously practise it.
I don’t feel stretching does anything for me. Also Im very bad in bringing along a bottle of water. I just drink something before riding and then again when Im back. Riding at 25ºC or hotter is not pleasant. To me 15ºC is better, because I get quite hot from riding uni.
I am no doubt a very bad example for you 
Id say just listen and follow your own body. I ride almost every, usually 1-1.5 hours on week nights and 2-2.5 hours at weekends. I also lift weights 2-3 times a week, do circuit training 2-3 times a week and try to have one night a week where I don’t ride and usually go for a walk instead.
I have a ‘rule’ that I try not to use the same uni more than 3 consecutive days and try to use at least 3 different unicycles each week. I might be fooling myself but I think using different wheel sizes and crank length helps to use the muscles and joints in a slightly different way thereby helping reduce overuse injuries. Weights and circuits help to correct any muscle imbalance, e.g. riding mostly uses the quads so I do deadlifts to work glutes and hamstrings so that the antagonistic muscles stay balanced.
Because my rides are relatively short I don’t really bother with food or drink while riding, I just hydrate before and after. If im going over 2 hours I will eat something though, usually a protein bar.
Hope that helps answer your questions, though it should be noted im no expert, im just making it up as I go along!
For hydration I use a 3 litre water bladder. :gasp: a #Murican using metric units! I bring a bag of dates with me and snack on them as needed. Stretching has come on my radar since getting cursed with sciatica, I probably ought to do it period. Keeping consistent with riding is how I avoided soreness previously. Trying to be consistent again and work my fitness level back up again. Just keep at it. I view it like trying to please the wife/significant-other. Bound to fail at it but one can occasionally succeed if you try.
I like to “warm up” before rides with mobilizing all my joints I’ll need for unicycling and especially falls and unplanned dismounts.
I had some pain with my knees. Since i started stretching my thighs very regularily this pain is gone. Especially before and during riding.
Apart from that i do strength training 1-2 times a week. I consider solid muscles a as the best groundwork to be able to enjoy sports without trouble.
But i have to admit that so far, i do no long rides on the uni. Normally i am 1-2 hours out in the fields and forest and i always have to walk inbetween. So i hardly ever ride more than 10-20 minutes before the dismounting.
If i wanted to do longer rides, then on asphalt and then i would definitely consider using a bike saddle.
And i just want to mention here, that i use a trinking bubble and never have bottles (e.g of aluminium or alike) in my backpack during uni rides. Thats because that can lead to serious injures of the spine if you fall on your back.
As an over 50 rider I really am concerned about my health and safety. As a personal testimonial as I was approaching 50 I found myself considerably over weight with breathing issues, acid reflux and drinking alcohol daily and often to excess. I really pushed myself to loose weight change my diet and start exercising including walking strength training, bicycling and I also dredged up a skill I learned as a child, unicycling. I really have taken my health quite seriously over the last 10 years, probably the most challenging and the thing I’m most proud of is quitting drinking alcohol, it has changed my life and has aloud me to focus on activities such as unicycling that are healthy. At the peak of my unhealthy life style I weighed 220 lbs I now fluctuate between 175 and 180 lbs and I was taking Prilosec daily and Prednisone to manage my acid reflux, I couldn’t do anything without becoming extremely winded. This was partially from being out of shape and overweight and partially because the acid reflux irritated my throat so badly I would be thrown into extreme coughing fits. I am proud to say my acid reflux is completely gone and as I approach 58 I take no medications at all. My new goal is to get my sweet tooth under control and lower my sugar and carb intake, this is something that ramped up after quitting drinking.
My pre ride routine includes several minutes of leg stretching and lower back stretching and once again as I finish. I maintain my strength using a Home Total Gym and keeping active daily, my garmin watch reminds me constantly to keep up with my fitness program. as for safety I never ride without a helmet and wrist guards, I should be wearing knee pads but I have struggled to get in the habit of wearing them, it’s a comfort thing for me.
Great discussion. I agree that listening to your body and building a consistent routine can make a big difference. Stretching before and after riding, staying hydrated, and gradually increasing riding time seem like practical habits. I also think proper bike fit and equipment can help prevent unnecessary discomfort. Thanks everyone for sharing what works for you.
If you want to go further in the topic, there are some things that we can add :
I will be 70 next week. After coffee in the morning I do planks/side planks, pushups, squats, and some light resistance while prone. Prior to that I do hip and neck light stretching. I have resistance bands for arm and shoulder that somewhat mimic weights. I recently began intermittent fasting and sugar detox. I have focused on really cleaning up my diet. Usually go ride mid morning on either a 29” or 36”. If road riding I try to get in 10 miles. Im addicted to unicycling.
one more thing for me. I set my bike up on a bike trainer so I can ride during our snowy cold winters. I keep pedaling year round . when spring rolls around I’m ready to roll.