Cycling is among several fun and productive ways to become physically fit. With proper and consistent training, the right choice of bicycle, and necessary accessory devices such as a power pod to know your actual performance, you are all set for your fitness journey.
Not only can you reach far places and integrate with nature’s best, but you can also use your bicycle as an alternative way to go to the office or school on a daily basis. There are plenty of benefits that you can get from making the bike a part of your daily lifestyle, and this includes an array of health wonders that may be utilized to your advantage through regular cycling activities.
In this list, you will learn that cycling is more than just losing some unnecessary weight and sweating. You can improve your well-being, decrease the risk of acquiring diseases, and build more muscles. By the end of this article, you will learn that cycling should be the way to go and should be done consistently as part of your daily routine.
Improve Your Well-Being
You cannot help but to observe that many things in the world today are in a problematic state. A growing number of studies show that people have become more depressed, insecure, and alienated through their constant use of social media. There are a multitude of domestic and international challenges all over the news that we just cannot handle all at once. That is why almost everyone is trying to search for a powerful antidote, a real solution to improve oneself.
Cycling may be what you’re looking for to improve your well-being. A YMCA study showed that people who are physically active, such as those engaged in cycling activities, have a better state of well-being, which is 32 percent greater than those who are inactive. The benefits of doing physical activities include the release of adrenaline and endorphins—your happy hormones.
The release of these hormones can improve your mood and boost your confidence. In addition, cycling gives you a fresher perspective, especially when you pedal outdoors and see the beauty of nature. It also strengthens social bonds, especially when you regularly join a cycling group activity.
Reduce Disease Vulnerability And Cancer Risks
Surprisingly, cycling can reduce your exposure to various pollutants. The Healthy Air Campaign, Kings College London, and Camden Council conducted a study categorically concluding that a motor vehicle driver experiences five times higher pollution levels than a cyclist.
Therefore, it is reasonable to say that respiratory ailments and even lung cancer seem remote for a regular cyclist. Regularly traveling by bike in the idyllic countryside especially allows you to breathe fresh air that you simply cannot experience in the metropolis.
Britain’s National Health Services (NHS) recommends to its citizens to cycle as a way to cut risks in developing heart diseases and cancers. The NHS believes that through cycling, one’s heart rate is raised, blood is pumped throughout the body, and later, calories are burned. A University of Glasgow study found that cycling can cut the risk of developing heart disease or cancer in half.
Lose Weight And Build Muscle
It is without doubt that cycling can burn calories, with an estimated number of four hundred to one thousand calories burned per hour. The number of calories burned, however, depends on several factors, such as the level of intensity, the duration of the cycling activity, and the weight of the rider. It also means that in order to achieve optimal results, you need to maintain a healthy diet, so eat nutritious food and avoid fatty meals.
Cycling, which is unique for its resistance element, is a good muscle-building activity. As explained by Harvard Health, among the muscles that would surely be improved when cycling are the gluteus muscles in the buttocks, the quadriceps in the thighs, and the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in the calves during the power phase of pedaling or during the downstroke.
On the other hand, the hamstrings in the back of the thighs and the flexor muscles in the front of the hips are used during the recovery phase, which involves the backstroke, the upstroke, and the overstroke.
*collaborative post
