Medical practitioners and health and fitness experts recommend physical activities to keep a person fit and healthy. Cycling has several health benefits that many people do not realise yet. You help the environment. It can boost your health and fitness and improve your bank balance as well. Cycling can help you prevent arthritis, obesity, diabetes, depression, heart attack and stroke. It’s a low-impact, fun and healthy way to exercise that’s good for all ages. It’s a form of exercise that is easy to squeeze into your daily schedule. Cycling regularly, especially if you lead a sedentary lifestyle, is one way to help reduce the risk of several health problems. Here are more reasons to go cycling.
It’s Fun and Easy
Cycling is good for general health improvement. It is low impact so there’s less injuries and strain while you exercise. Two to four hours of cycling a week will gradually show improvement to your health and fitness. It provides your major muscle groups with a good workout. It does not need a high level of physical skill. Riding a bike is easy to learn. Cycling increases your strength and stamina and improves your aerobic fitness. Its intensity can be varied depending on your physical ability. Another interesting feature is that cycling allows for maximal fitness gains with minimum wear and tear on the body. Cycling takes you outdoors where you can have fun and adventure while getting a good workout.
It’s an Aerobic Activity
While it gives your muscles a good workout, cycling is a great aerobic exercise as it gives your lungs, blood vessels and your heart a workout as well. You breathe deeper, increase your body temperature and perspire, which helps improve your total fitness level. Regular cycling will provide you with the following benefits:
- Strengthen your bones
- Lower levels of body fat
- Improve your coordination and posture
- Improve mobility of your joints
- Increase the fitness of your cardiovascular system
- Increase your muscle flexibility and strength
- Reduce depression, anxiety and stress
Helps control Weight and Obesity
If you are trying to reduce or control your weight, cycling is a good way to do it. It burns body fat, builds your muscles and raises your metabolic rate. You can vary its intensity depending on your need. Combined with a healthy diet, cycling helps you burn about 650 calories per hour.
Helps you Sleep Deeper
Cycling helps you sleep better and can be of great help to those suffering from insomnia. Cycling outdoors exposes you to light during the day, which aids in getting your circadian rhythm back in sync. Cycling also expels cortisol from your body. It’s the stress hormone that prevents you from getting deep, rejuvenating sleep.
Improves Bowel Movement
Cycling is a physical activity that helps reduce the time it takes for food to pass through the large intestine. It limits that amount of water absorbed back into the body, making your stool softer and easier to pass. The aerobic component of cycling speeds up your heart rate and breathing and helps in stimulating intestinal muscle contraction. This action helps you from feeling bloated.
Improves your Brain Power
The cardio-respiratory fitness you get from cycling helps improve your mental fitness by up to 15%. Cycling boosts the flow of oxygen and blood to the brain, which stimulates and regenerates receptors, helping you improve your memory and ward of the early onset of Alzheimer’s.
You’ll Live Longer
Even if you can only manage to cycle three times a week for 45 minutes each ride, you’ll be biologically younger by 9 years. People who cycle regularly shows lower risk of obesity, high blood pressure, type two diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Cycling helps in regenerating new cells to efficiently defend itself against diseases and illnesses.
These are just some of the major reasons why cycling is good for you. Let us not forget that cycling is good for the environment too since you are not burning fossil fuel. It is also an economical, faster and efficient way to commute.
