We recently announced that the Fitwins Virtual Cycling Challenges had returned, with the fantastic Grand Tour Great Britain Cycling Challenge, which gives users the opportunity to take an amazing virtual tour of the United Kingdom. The tour takes you from London to Edinburgh, via the cities of Oxford, Cardiff and York, with your progress powered by Google Streetview. It has already been a huge hit with the cyclists amongst the Fitwins fitness community, with many people already hitting the first 50km target.
Cycling is a great way to exercise as well as exploring the wider world. It’s a low-impact activity that’s easy on your joints, which makes it a good choice for people of all ages and fitness levels. What can add a completely new dimension to the exercise, however, is taking on a virtual challenge.
If you’ve explored the idea of doing a virtual cycling challenge, then you’ll be aware of the concept, but let’s assume you haven’t. Let’s first look at how the Fitwins virtual cycling challenge works.
How does the Virtual Cycling Challenge work?
First you would need to download the Fitwins Virtual Fitness Challenge app via Google or Apple and register your details to get your account set up. Once you’re in the app, you will register for the latest challenge for free or purchase credits that enable medal entry, and register for the premium challenge. Once you have joined the challenge, you simply need to start pedalling.
For each stroke of the pedals you take, your profile will begin travelling the world using a Google Streetview-powered progress tracker, with different checkpoints to hit. You can explore the world via the app, dropping the little Peg Man onto your route, and see places you never knew existed.
Your first main milestone is 50km, and once you hit it, you can take on the next challenge of 100km if you think you’ll have time to get there. These different milestones increase gradually, until you’re taking on the mighty 3000km challenge.
Our app works with Strava, so to get the best experience you will link your Strava account (although we will be introducing new partner apps in the near future with some exciting announcements expected soon) to track your progress via GPS. For those without Strava, you can manually input your progress as you go.
Finally, at the end of the challenge, which spans two months, you will be rewarded with a sense of satisfaction that you get from serious achievements. If you’ve taken on the premium challenge then you will receive an amazing rewards pack that includes a certificate, goodies from our partner brands, and an exclusive heavyweight medal to keep as a memento.
How can I complete a virtual cycling challenge?
The beauty of a virtual fitness challenge is that you don’t even need to leave the house, if you have the appropriate equipment. We’ve come up with our five favourite ways of completing a virtual cycling challenge, and the Fitwins virtual cycling challenges in particular.
Commuting
Why bother with the car when you can saddle up and cycle to work? It’s a great way to keep fit and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time. Recent statistics show that almost 570,000 people cycle to work daily, which is around 2% of the entire population of people over 16. Are you one of them or could you become one of them?
Essentially, commuting to work on your bike is an easy way to complete a virtual cycle challenge and earn yourself an amazing medal. You were going to work anyway, why not bike it?
Cycle Machine
If you don’t own a bike, then why not hit the gym and smash the miles in on a cycle machine in the comfort and safety of four walls amongst likeminded people? Most modern cycling machines offer loads of different technical information about how far you’ve gone, how fast you did it and how many calories you burned. It’s very easy to track your distance and manually input the information into your Strava or Fitwins apps, then take the virtual tour as you go.
Spin Classes
An activity for the hardcore fitness enthusiast, spin classes are the perfect way to ramp up your effort and smash in some serious distance. Led by an instructor who will guide you through a series of challenging experts, spin classes places focus on speed and endurance, which means you’ll be flying through the distance targets at a rate of knots, and who knows? Maybe you’ll achieve that elusive 3000km by the end of the two month challenge?
Sports Cycling
There are millions of people who take cycling seriously. Whether part of a cycling club or just as part of socialising with friends, they will saddle up and head out to remote areas to cycle up hills and down valleys, covering huge distances. If you’re one of these people, then why not add to your achievement and motivation by joining a virtual cycling challenge?
The whole reason Fitwins exists is because our intrepid leader Carl Ryde (competitive long-distance runner) felt there should be a way of rewarding his effort when he wasn’t competing, so as a competitive cyclist, or a cycling enthusiast, taking a virtual cycling challenge is the perfect way to reward your effort when you’re training.
Mountain Biking
You don’t necessarily need to be planning a trip from A to B along the roads to hit your distance challenges at all. You can just an easily head off the beaten track on your mountain bike and take on some of the many trails that our beautiful planet holds.
The average mountain bike trail is about 10 miles, but more seasoned rider will cover upwards of 20 miles on a trail – it won’t take too many of them to smash through the distance targets of the Fitwins virtual cycling challenge.
What are the benefits of cycling?
There are many benefits to cycling, including:
- Improved cardiovascular health: Cycling is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health. It helps to lower your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and risk of heart disease.
- Weight loss: Cycling is a great way to burn calories and lose weight. A moderate intensity cycling session can burn up to 300 calories per hour.
- Strength training: Cycling can also help to strengthen your muscles, especially in your legs and core.
- Reduced stress: Cycling can help to reduce stress and improve your mood. It’s a great way to clear your head and relax after a long day.
- Increased energy levels: Cycling can help to increase your energy levels and improve your overall sense of well-being.
- Improved sleep: Cycling can help you to sleep better at night. The physical activity helps to tire you out and make it easier to fall asleep.
Ultimately, cycling is a great way to get exercise, explore your surroundings, and save money on fuel if you’re planning to replace your commute.
If you’re looking to complete a virtual cycling challenge, there are a variety of different types of cycling you can do. Choose the type of cycling that’s right for you and set realistic goals. With a little planning and effort, you can successfully complete your Fitwins virtual cycling challenge with ease.
If you haven’t already, just download the app via the link below for your operating system of choice, then register for the current challenge (or a future one, if you want to build up to it), and start pedalling.
