The struggle between having insufficient time or energy to exercise but also being in a desperate need to exercise is so prevalent in our community that, in fact, in a short survey conducted inside the INEXT office, we found out that even though everyone who took the survey had considered cycling as a viable option for exercise in their lives, 75% of them thought that it would be too exhausting after a heavy day and the rest 25% simply, did not have the time. But activities like cycling do not require long hours, extra time and heavy execution.
You can ride your way to your place of work or school tomorrow and it will just be that easy.
Medical professionals often recite that even if you can’t walk, you can bicycle. In addition to the fact that biking saves you time, money at the petrol pump, and a traffic jam, a good bike ride every day can also provide you with the health benefits of a rigorous exercise routine.
Here is a list of health advantages that accompany this form of fitness:
According to a report by Harvard Health, a person who weighs around 155 pounds (around 70 kg), can burn 7 calories per minute at a speed of 12 km per hour while bicycling!!
Bicycling counts as a cardio workout, and its results mirror the amount of energy you put in. The faster you bike, the more calories you will burn, and the amount of calories you burn will eventually reward you in the form of weight loss and fat burning.
Cycling regularly can help with your blood circulation and lower your blood fat levels. Steady cycling helps maintain a lower resting pulse rate and protects the heart and body from several cardiovascular diseases like stroke, high blood pressure, and heart attack.
Cycling also helps control cholesterol levels in our body and supports heart patients by reducing the risks of heart disease for them.
A study by the University of Glasgow concluded that people who cycled to work were 46% less likely to develop cancer and were at a 40% lower threat of death if they developed cancer. Since cycling contributes to digestion, bowel health, and obesity, it decreases the risks of bowel cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, colon cancer, etc.
Cycling at a moderate pace every day can reduce the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. People who have diabetes can protect themselves from strokes and high blood sugar levels. Cycling burns the fat deposits and helps send a signal for glucose usage, thus lowering low sugar levels in the body.
Bicycling regularly improves bone density and makes your body eventually more used to falling and fractures. The cardiovascular workout from cycling improves our endurance and leads to better health for our joints and bones.
It strengthens the muscles in your legs without over-pressuring your joints and helps people with knee problems strengthen their knees regularly.
Cycling helps the body release the 'feel-good' hormones, endorphins. Endorphins promote a relaxing, happier environment for our brains and diminish feelings of anxiety and stress.
Studies prove that cycling-like other forms of physical exercise-can aid people with depression and other mental health issues by releasing similar hormones and supporting our self-esteem with feelings of victory and achievement.
If carried out as an intense workout, cycling daily can improve your muscle and joint health, which in turn helps you sleep better and more peacefully.
Even the intensity of the workout can help you fall asleep faster sometimes. Cycling daily calms anxiety—one of the main reasons for insomnia in teenagers and millennials.
Since cycling helps burn fat and calories, it also promotes your basal metabolic rate, thus improving your metabolic health. Metabolism can summed up as the rate at which your body converts food into energy. Exercise and physical fitness can always be connected with an improved metabolism. BMR (basal metabolic rate) is the measure of how many calories you burn when you are at rest.
Cycling supports the stability of your lower body and reduces the risk of pain and injuries in the hips. Biking has also been connected with a decreased threat of hip osteoarthritis.
Your stamina concludes your body's capacity to endure long sessions of physical stress and activity. Cycling has often been known as being one of the best workouts one can attempt to increase and build their stamina.
Your stamina determines how long your body can work for when attempting activities that require constant energy.
Your muscles grow as you try and push past your limits, as you workout against resistance. Cycling helps create tears in your muscles through the force of your physical activities.
The muscles that build after that tear come back stronger and bigger.
As you age, your body starts to lose its sense of coordination. Cycling helps you maintain that balance and coordination throughout.
The actions of stretching, moving your legs while paddling and using your hands while holding the handle increase flexibility in your body. Flexibility makes bending with your knees easier and diminishes the chances of pain or injury.
Since cycling helps with reducing body fat and weight loss, it also cuts short the chances of obesity and the threats it causes to your body.
Lethargy has often been defined as the lack of energy resulting from excessive obesity. Lethargy leads to laziness and the feeling of “not wanting to work” in general. Cycling, being an active sport that requires a person to move up from their feet and helps them maintain an active lifestyle, decreases the chances of lethargy as well.
Immunity is the body’s ability to fight foreign bacteria, germs, viruses, or any kind of infections. Biking as a form of physical exercise helps strengthen antibodies in us, thus improving our immune system. The workout helps us fight foreign infection and build stronger immunity.
Studies show that cycling improves our lung health by increasing our respiratory rate and our lung’s oxygen capacity. It makes our breathing muscles work harder as our lungs start working faster in the need for more oxygen.
As cycling helps with our immune system, it can also help slow down our aging process. The workout preserves our muscle mass, rejuvenates our immunity and keeps our heart, lungs and muscles young and healthy.
Low impact exercises are carried out in a way that causes minimal damage to you. Since cycling comes under the criteria of a low impact exercise, it has been proved to be gentler on your joints and bones.
The movement of your body while biking ensures an easy and quick flow of food through the intestines, improving our digestion.
Exercises like biking have also been known to reduce the risks of digestive diseases in the human body.
Cycling is an aerobic exercise, it can reduce stress and improve blood circulation in your body. Indoor Low Impact cycling during pregnancy can also help build up your stamina, improve your back health and keep you fit.
The mental health benefits of cycling also help during the process, like keeping your mind and energy positive.
According to Dr. Ana Raimundo, biking helps your body move waste faster through the large intestine and treats constipation by improving bowel movements.
Altogether,From helping your heart with your blood pressure to supporting your joints with everyday movements, cycling regularly can build up your health in the span of less than a month. Your posture, your paddles, and even the way you hold the handle, everything necessary in this activity promotes wellness and fitness.
Dainik Jagran-INEXT brings you a similar opportunity as we proudly announce the 14th season of Bikeathon. Start your biking journey with the biggest biking rally of all time right here in your city.Register now and take a leap from wishing for fitness to living a fun, fit and free life.
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