Health benefits of cycling – bikerbuys.com
Table of Contents
- Train the whole body
- Strengthen your cardiovascular system
- Helps you lose weight
- Protect your joints
- Strengthen your immune system
- Makes you happy
If your goal to start the year is to start practicing a sport, in this article we want to introduce you to the benefits of cycling for your health. Riding a bike is one of the most complete sports activities and there are many benefits it offers you. Why? We will tell you.
Train the whole body
Cycling is a complete sport with which you will train your whole body since it not only activates the muscles of the legs but also involves the abdominal muscles and those of the back to provide stability. Also, when you grip the handlebars you will also be working your arms and shoulders.
Strengthen your cardiovascular system
Cycling is good for your heart. Medical studies recommend doing aerobic exercise (such as riding a bike, jogging, or going for a brisk walk) at least three times a week for 30 minutes to strengthen the heart. Cycling regularly, and pedaling at an adequate intensity, strengthens your cardiovascular system, lowering your resting heart rate and increasing the amount of blood that the heart expels with each beat. Thus, cardiac efficiency is higher, requiring less energy to work.
In addition, riding a bicycle reduces the risk of heart attack, improves blood circulation (preventing the appearance of varicose veins), lowers LDL cholesterol (the bad one), and increases HDL cholesterol (the good one). Combine sports with foods that help lower cholesterol.
Helps you lose weight
Riding a bike is an effective way to lose weight. The ideal is to do a bike ride in which your heart rate is between 60 and 75% of your maximum heart rate, in the so-called fat-burning zone, since that is when the “fuel” your body needs comes from accumulated fat, and not from other sources of energy. For fat loss to be effective, the duration of training must belong, since it is from the second or third hour of exercise when fat begins to burn.
Specifically, the number of calories burned on a cycling route will depend on your age, gender, body composition, and the intensity and duration of the session. For example, during a one-hour outing at a pace of 20 km / h, you could burn around 450 kilocalories.
Protect your joints
Like swimming, cycling is a low-impact sport, as the bike carries your weight and relieves the load on the joints. That is why it is a recommended sport for overweight people. In addition, the continuous movement of pedaling strengthens the muscles of the legs without the impact that other sports such as running have. Of course, for cycling to be smooth for your joints you must wear a bicycle size appropriate to your body, the position and height of the saddle must be correct and you must have a correct posture on the bike.
Strengthen your immune system
A moderate effort on both wheels will strengthen your immune system (not intense effort, which weakens it). Exercising is known to help remove bacteria from the lungs and airways. It also causes changes in antibodies and white blood cells, so they can detect disease more quickly. Also, the slight rise in body temperature during and immediately after a cycling session can prevent bacterial growth. Likewise, cycling reduces the stress hormone (cortisol), thus reducing the chances of getting sick (the higher the cortisol level, the fewer defenses).
Makes you happy
Playing sports, including cycling, releases endorphins, chemicals produced by the brain that produce an effect similar to opiates (but without their negative contraindications). The endorphins generated by sports practice produce analgesic effects (reduce the sensation of pain), anxiolytics (cancel negative sensations), and a general feeling of well-being and euphoria. Effects that last for several hours after exertion;
