A dissertation is a long, detailed essay that demonstrates you have studied a subject deeply. Creating one also indicates that you have become an expert in a particular niche. Writing one is part of how you can get a PhD. For many, it is the pinnacle of their academic achievements.
For all types of students, a dissertation helps you stand out from other job candidates once you’re ready to begin your professional life. Many individuals who get their PhDs go on to have long and storied careers. However, even the most dedicated dissertation writer faces challenges while creating this long and carefully crafted deliverable. You can get help with dissertations from various credible sources, but you should not neglect your physical needs during this time. That is why you must exercise when taking breaks from your writing. Cycling is a way for you to do that.
We discuss how cycling can help you stay fit while writing your dissertation in the following article. You can also use the practice of mental manifestation while getting the finished product ready. This way, you’re attending to both your mental and physical health.
Why is Cycling Ideally Suited to Help You During This Time?
Picture this scenario for a moment. You’re creating your dissertation. You know that the process will take several months. You must come up with a thesis statement and write an outline for it. You must gather the research materials upon which you will base your arguments. Then, you must sit down and write the thesis, a labor-intensive process that challenges all of your mental faculties.
Writing a dissertation taxes the body as well as the mind. You might sit in a room in your house or apartment for hours on end, writing on a computer and looking up source material. You may do the same thing at your school library. When you do that, it’s very easy for your muscles to start cramping up. Your back might be bent over for much of this time. You can develop tingles in your legs from not using them for hours.
When you start to think about this, it becomes obvious why you need to break up the dissertation writing routine with exercise. That’s where bicycle riding comes in. It’s so helpful in these situations because when you ride, you’re working out several body parts simultaneously.
What Parts of the Body Does Cycling Strengthen?
When you ride, you work out the following body parts:
- Your gluteal muscles
- Your back
- Your arms
- Your quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves
If you meet someone who cycles regularly, you will doubtless notice how fit they are. Their arms are typically strong, but you might also notice their sculpted lower halves. When you ride, you’re forcing your leg and back muscles into dynamic action.
That is something you need if you’re going to be spending hours inactive in a library or sitting at a desk at home, working on this vital project. After a few hours of that, you will probably feel more than ready to get out on some local roads and breathe the fresh air.
You Can Do It Either Indoors or Outdoors
Bicycle riding also works so well as a tonic for individuals who are working on their dissertations because you can potentially do it both indoors and outdoors. There’s no guarantee that you will be busy on this project during a time of year when you will want to be outside. It’s just as likely that you could be working on it in the dead of winter when there’s ice or a foot of snow on the ground.
Presumably, you won’t want to be out riding your bike during those cold winter months. However, if you have a stationary bike in your home, you can use that instead. That way, untenable weather conditions won’t stop you from getting a workout in when you feel like you need one.
You Can Go Riding Along with Friends or Family Members
You might also be attracted to bike riding because if you do it, you can select some other individuals who might want to go with you. If you’re working on your creation, you must by necessity spend a lot of time alone. If you’re someone who craves company, you might not like that much, but it’s just one of the realities of this time in your life.
If you buy a bike and take breaks to go riding, you might do so with:
- Your friends
- Your fitness-minded neighbors
- Some coworkers, if you have a job
- Some family members who also have bikes
Bike riding with others is a way for you to motivate each other. You might push each other to go for an extra mile or two when otherwise you would turn back.
Spending time with people if you have been cooped up in the house or library working on this project for hours can be like a palate cleanser. You might chat about current events with your bike-riding companions as you pedal along at a leisurely pace. If you’d prefer to push each other by tackling a steep hill, you can do that as well.
You Can Explore Your Neighborhood While Clearing Your Head
If you’re working on this project, that can come to dominate your thoughts until you’ve finally finished with it. It’s crucial that you sometimes have a distraction, though, and biking can be that for you.
If you take up biking during this time in your life, you might go explore parts of your neighborhood you have never seen before. You may pedal up and down some backstreets where you’ll find pretty, picturesque little houses. Maybe you’ll notice some bodegas or mom-and-pop stores that you’d like to stop and investigate.
You Can Get Out in Nature
Biking while working on this project can also get you out in nature. Reconnecting with wildlife and green-growing things might seem very refreshing to you after spending several hours with your nose in a book.
You might see whether you can find any public parks nearby. Perhaps you’ll find a scenic lake where you can hop off your bike and have a picnic or sit on a bench watching the ducks for a while. If you’re in the park during the fall season, you can crunch over the multicolored leaves while checking out some of the bike paths.
In short, riding can be one of the best ideas for staying fit while working on your masterpiece. The finished product matters so much for your academic career, but you don’t want to burn yourself out while writing it.
That’s why physical fitness matters during this intellectual journey you’re on, and you must not neglect it. Biking gives you a chance to stay limber and focused while you get closer to completing your project. Hopefully, when you give it to the professors who will be judging its merits, you will also be a finely tuned athlete from all the time you’ve spent on your bike.
Resources:
Cronkleton, E. (2023, May 30). 12 benefits of cycling, plus safety tips. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/cycling-benefits
Ellis, M. (2024, January 16). The Complete Guide to Writing a Dissertation. Grammarly. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-a-dissertation/
Health Benefits of Cycling and Do’s and Don’ts. (2022, June 5). Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/benefits-of-cycling
