As a result of demographic changes, the proportion of people above 60 years of age will double in the next 20 years. Increasing life expectancy is generally associated with health impairments, primarily in the area of chronic illness and with functional limitations with respect to mobility and cognition. Over the coming years, this will result in challenges to the individual and to society in  both financial terms and social terms. 

Today, nobody denies that an inactive lifestyle accelerates the chronic impairments, thus severely threatening the maintenance of independence and increasing costs. Physical activity is of massive significance in maintaining independence and mobility in old age. One possible way of achieving a more active lifestyle is cycling. It has a positive influence on the aging process on a wide range of different levels, such as body functions and structures, coping with everyday life while taking part in social events. People can easily integrate it into their daily movements and thus do something positive for their own health and quality of life. 

Cycling is a very good way of training one's body in various ways and keeping fit. Endurance, strength and speed are all trained, but cognitive tasks are also to be mastered. Cycling allows body functions to be maintained and trained together with a wide range of skills, as it is not merely a matter of physical exercise, but is also a good way of establishing social contacts with other people. 

In this training program, endurance, strength and speed are trained along with cognitive abilities, coordination, sense of balance, perception, alertness and concentration. In addition, action knowledge and effect knowledge with respect to the effects of training and the training methods are conveyed in the various programs to allow the participants to put the contents that they have learned into practice independently after the program has been completed. The practical course components described here represent an interesting and varied pool of exercises for cycling training courses with older people