Do you go to the gym regularly? If yes then you must be used to cycling as a part of your workout. For those who do not workout regularly, you must at least make cycling a part of your everyday routine. Why?
Cycling is a low-impact aerobic exercise that offers a wealth of benefits. You might not necessarily consider cycling as a part of a workout but see it as a mode of transport, for casual activity, and so on. It keeps you active and helps shape a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally.
If you are still not convinced, here are a few amazing benefits about bicycles that ensures a healthy life
1. Helps improves mental well-being
According to research, people who had a physically active lifestyle recorded a wellbeing score 32 percent higher than inactive individuals. Exercise in the form of bicycling also acts as a mood-booster due to the release of adrenaline and endorphins. Further, it also boosts our confidence which comes from achieving new things like reaching the target.
Cycling is a combination of physical exercise with being outdoors and exploring new things. When you go on a ride, it also gives you time to process your worries. Some recent experiments also suggest that getting out and riding help people who are suffering from depression.
2. Burns calories & promotes weight loss
Is a bicycle good for burning calories? For your answer, cycling burns calories between 400 and 1000 an hour depending on the intensity and rider’s weight. This greatly helps people in losing weight. But if weight loss is your primary motive, cycling alone isn’t enough.
Weight loss also depends on other factors. The calories intake throughout the day, especially after cycling, the quality of your sleep, and the amount of time you spend on burning calories, all together make-up for promoting weight loss in your body.
Enjoy cycling and eat well!
3. Alleviates cancer & heart disease risks
Cycling also increases your heart rate by multiple times facilitating blood pumping through the body. The NHS has also recommended cycling as one of the best ways for being healthy to cut down your risk of developing major illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.
After an experiment of many years, it is also believed that regular cycling can cut a rider’s risk of developing heart disease or cancer including breast cancer to half.
4. Improves Immune System
Bicycling has many health benefits especially on the health of the upper respiratory system. This helps people who are prone to frequent common colds. Mild exercise boosts our immune system by increasing the production of essential proteins required by one’s body. In addition to it, it wakes up the lazy white blood cells in the body.
Do you use public transport to commute between places? It is highly preferable for you to cycle to work because it not only reduces the time of your commute but it also keeps you away from the confines of germ infused buses and trains.
5. Facilitates Muscle Building
Cycling does not just promote weight loss by burning fat. It also helps in building muscles particularly around the glutes, calves, quads, and even hamstrings. People with a higher percentage of muscle burn more calories even when inactive.
You might not start having quads like an athlete but cycling surely develops a nice toned gluteal region.
6. Boost Brain health
Brain health and regular exercise go side by side. It reduces cognitive changes that can leave us extremely prone to dementia later in life. Further, studies suggest that cycling increases blood flow in the brain by 28 percent and up to 70 percent in specific areas. Post-cycling results claim that blood flow remained up by 40 percent even after.
This improved blood flow helps the red blood cells keep our body healthy and fit. Ideally, research suggests that cycling for 45-60 minutes at least four times a week is enough but of course, no one’s stopping from pushing your limits further!
For those thinking of getting a new bicycle for yourself, you can also check out XDS Bicycles. They offer a variety of bicycles with a catalog of designs depending on your requirement.
Over to you…
We might have learned cycling in our childhood but surely today is the day when you realized the benefits of it. So, now what are you waiting for? Now is the chance to live your childhood once again with the additional benefit of being healthy.