All the spring weather we've been having the last two weeks has made me VERY anxious for summer to get here. (This California girl is choosing to ignore the fact that it was "snowing heavily" in North Bend only yesterday…and the fact that summer doesn't come to this area until July 5th…)
Pretty spring weather (and the promise of eventual summer) brings with it the opportunity to get outside and take advantage of the beautiful outdoor activities available to us in the Pacific Northwest. One of my favorite activities for taking advantage of the precious sunshine is biking.
As a PT, I love biking for a lot of reasons. Biking promotes:
- upright posture
- bilateral coordination (two legs working together in that reciprocal pedaling motion)
- coordination of upper and lower extremities (pedaling AND steering)
- lower extremity strength (pedaling up those steep driveways and hills)
- cardiovascular fitness (getting hearts pumping and blood flowing)
The great thing about biking is that it develops the important things listed above, and it's FUN!!! This means that it is inherently motivating! Kids know that biking is a blast and that is all that they need to know! Biking with family and friends also provides a great opportunity for social interaction.
With this in mind, I'd like to invite you all to a biking event at ICAN Center for Autism this Friday... Outdoors for All is coming!! Outdoors for All is an organization that provides adaptive equipment and assistance to allow all people to access outdoor activities, and they are bringing an actual TRUCKLOAD of adaptive bicycles to the clinic. Stop by the clinic from 5-7pm THIS FRIDAY MAY 3RD for some fun biking activities! Your LCA physical therapists will be on hand to answer any questions, and provide tips and strategies to maximize your child's success on wheels!
Hope you can join us!!