Once you learn how to ride a bike, it will always stay with you. You never forget how to ride one. But cycling is so much more than just moving your limbs and getting much-needed exercise.
This enjoyable hobby offers profound health benefits physically and mentally, and it's an activity that's not only confined to the young. In fact, cycling allows people of all ages to take part in a low-impact form of exercise.
You'll get so many wins if you find joy in cycling, not just on your physical health but also on your mental and emotional wellbeing.
Let's take a look at some of the most remarkable benefits you can get out of cycling.
Building Muscles
Experts say that growing your muscles is possible if you work against resistance. With cycling, you are pushing through high gears. Cycling through slopes and hills can be such an excellent way to work your muscles out.
The force of going against resistance leads to tears in the muscles which eventually grow bigger and stronger. When you move the pedals around, you let the muscles in your lower body work, specifically your quads and glutes. Exercising your muscles through cycling doesn't require you to go a great distance. Indoor and outdoor bikes can also be a good way to accomplish your goal.
Measuring your muscle growth is impossible because you need to push your muscle to exhaustion to feel your progress. Alternatively, you can ensure that you are consistent in the power you imprint on the pedals and maintain your muscle-growing exercise.
You can do this by using a good and reliable power meter to track your progress. Some power meters take other external conditions, such as wind resistance, slope, and smoothness of the road, into consideration.
Burning Body Fat
Weight control is one of the hardest things to do. Those who have obesity and weight control problems can turn to cycling for a more comfortable form of exercise. It can help you shed extra pounds by raising your metabolic rate, building your muscles, and burning your body fat.
While weight loss can be challenging, you can minimize the difficulty by making the whole process fun and exciting. Every hour of steady, moderate cycling can burn 300 calories, but if you try to push yourself harder by increasing your cycling intensity, you'll burn even more calories. This will help you progress toward your weight loss goal faster.
Of course, it's great if you'll keep in mind that cycling should be coupled with a good and healthy diet for it to work best.
Staying Healthy
Health is wealth, cliché as it may sound. What better way to maintain your health and fitness than to go cycling? Two hours a week of cycling can already do wonders for you. Cycling can increase your stamina, strength, and aerobic fitness. If you're recovering from injury or illness, cycling is a safe way to start your recovery journey.
Here are other ways that cycling can do to facilitate your health improvement:
* Enhance cardiovascular fitness
* Improve mobility of joints
* Develop good posture and coordination
* Aid in strengthening your joints
*Help develop muscle strength and flexibility
*Protect you from critical illnesses like stroke and heart attack
*Achieve better lung health
*Reduce cancer risk
Improving Self-Confidence
As a child, you must have experienced the freedom and joy that cycling can provide. It's such an accomplishment to learn how to ride a bike. When you grow older, you will be looking to take on more challenging routes and more intense journeys.
Of course, going through potholes, debris, steep slopes, and rolling hills can be painful. You will feel your thighs feeling sore at the end of the ride. But you will soon realize that as muscle pain sets in, you have actually achieved something difficult, one pedal at a time. Your confidence level will go up with every arduous ride.
Reducing Stress
Mental wellbeing is often overlooked when it comes to health and wellness. Stress is one of the primary sources of anxiety and depression. However, studies show that physical activities can help combat stress and improve your mental health. Cycling presents a convenient opportunity to do just that.
Going for a ride can lift your mood. It pumps blood around your body, aiding the rapid spread of endorphins and substances like dopamine and serotonin. If you're stressed, you can always let it out by cycling. You'll quickly fall into an easy rhythm of calm and wellbeing as you focus on your breathing, the wind on your face, and the beauty of nature around you. All of which can help clear your mind and reduce the onslaught of stress in your system.
Sleeping Better
It's no secret that fitness and sleep go hand in hand. People who are fit tend to get better sleep at night. On the other hand, those who are less fit often have trouble getting uninterrupted sleep. The duration and quality of their sleep are affected when they neglect to take part in physical activities.
Cycling is one of the best ways to keep fit and healthy. It's also an effective means to calm anxiety, which in turn lessens the chances of insomnia. When you sleep better, you tend to wake up restful and more alert the following day.
Boosting Your Brain Power
Cycling means you're keeping active. But do you know this form of exercise can also lift your mood? It can help activate your system and alter emotional and cognitive processes. That's why after cycling, you'll feel a natural burst of euphoria. Being in this state improves your brain cognition and functioning.
When you move your muscles, it sends vital hormones to your brain. It is also instrumental in increasing the size of your hippocampus, the part of your brain that controls memory and learning. Through this, you'll be able to perform better at work, especially when it comes to tasks that need focus and recall. You'll be able to process information more efficiently and make smarter decisions.
Finding a Positive Hobby
While cycling is known as a versatile exercise, it is also considered by many as a hobby-a low-maintenance and positive one. Many have kept their vices at bay by shifting their focus to cycling. You can replace harmful dependency, like cigarettes, alcohol, and binge eating junk food, with a positive hobby such as cycling.
You don't need much except for your bike and proper clothes and shoes. It fosters routine and discipline even if your only goal is to pass the time. In the process, you are also keeping fit, which helps improve other aspects of your life.
If you have family and friends who are into cycling, this physical activity is something you can bond over. You can go for a ride together, taking your favorite routes around town. The possibilities are endless. One thing's for sure, though; leisurely cycling is more enjoyable if you have company.
Saving Money
Well, it's not surprising anymore. Cycling to work or for quick errands downtown can help you save money from transportation. A bike doesn't require fuel, which can be very expensive if you have to use a car to move around, with maintenance, parking fee, and insurance factoring in as well.
Riding your bike helps you cut back on daily transport expenses. If you keep that in mind and challenge yourself to cycle to work five days a week, you will be saving a lot at the end of the month. The money you save from cycling can be used to achieve bigger goals.
Additionally, if the Bicycle Commuter Act of 2021 is passed, bike commuters may get pre-tax benefits.
Helping the Environment
Of course, the absence of fuel in bikes is a huge environmental gain. Air pollution in densely populated cities can be detrimental to your health. You can do your part in cutting back by choosing to ride your bike instead of driving your car or taking public transportation.
If more and more people use bicycles as a means of commuting, environmental pollution can be minimized. It might be a small sacrifice for some, but it can positively impact efforts for a cleaner planet.
Wrapping It Up
Cycling's benefits go beyond physical health. It has a tremendous impact on your mental and emotional wellbeing too. There are also advantages in terms of saving money and avoiding contributing to environmental pollution.
Plus, cycling can be versatile. You can choose the intensity of every bike ride, taking it slow when you have to and doubling your pedal power when you need something more intense.
People who want to stay active but can't run or participate in more demanding forms of exercise can settle for cycling. While you ride your bike, you can even spend time with your family and friends as you explore new routes together.
If you're looking for a moderate exercise that's easy to fit within your routine, then you can never go wrong with cycling.
What other benefits have you gotten by cycling? Share your cycling stories and journey with us in the comments below!
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