Top 4 Benefits of Cycling

It only takes two to four hours a week to achieve a general improvement to your health. Cycling is:

• Low impact – it causes less strain and injuries than most other forms of exercise.
• A good muscle workout– cycling uses all of the major muscle groups as you pedal.
• Easy – unlike some other sports, cycling does not require high levels of physical skill. Most people know how to ride a bike and, once you learn, you don’t forget.
• Good for strength and stamina– cycling increases stamina, strength, and aerobic fitness.
• As intense as you want– cycling can be done at very low intensity, to begin with, if recovering from injury or illness but can be built up to a demanding physical workout.
• A fun way to get fit– the adventure and buzz you get from coasting down hills and being outdoors mean you are more likely to continue to cycle regularly, compared to other physical activities that keep you indoors or require special times or places.
• Time-efficient – as a mode of transport, cycling replaces sedentary (sitting) time spent driving motor vehicles or using trams, trains, or buses with healthy exercise.

• Cycling is mainly an aerobic activity, which means that your heart, blood vessels, and lungs all get a workout. You will breathe deeper, perspire and experience increased body temperature, which will improve your overall fitness level.

  The health benefits of regular cycling include:

  • increased cardiovascular fitness
  • increased muscle strength and flexibility
  • improved joint mobility
  • decreased stress levels
  • improved posture and coordination
  • strengthened bones
  • decreased body fat levels
  • prevention or management of disease
  • reduced anxiety and depression.

Cycling is a good way to control or reduce weight, as it raises your metabolic rate, builds muscle, and burns body fat. If you’re trying to lose weight, cycling must be combined with a healthy eating plan. Cycling is a comfortable form of exercise, and you can change the time and intensity – it can be built up slowly and varied to suit you.

Research suggests you should be burning at least 8,400 kilojoules (about 2,000 calories) a week through exercise. Steady cycling burns about 1,200 kilojoules (about 300 calories) per hour.

If you cycle twice a day, the kilojoules burnt soon add up. British research shows that a half-hour bike ride every day will burn nearly five kilograms of fat over a year.

Cardiovascular diseases include stroke, high blood pressure, and heart attack. Regular cycling stimulates and improves your heart, lungs, and circulation, reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Cycling strengthens your heart muscles, lowers the resting pulse, and reduces blood fat levels. A Danish study conducted over 14 years with 30,000 people aged 20 to 93 years found that regular cycling protected people from heart disease. Research also shows that people who cycle to work have two to three times less exposure to pollution than car commuters, improving their lung function.

• Cycling can help protect you from serious diseases such as stroke, heart attack, some cancers, depression, diabetes, obesity, and arthritis.
• Riding a bike is healthy, fun, and a low-impact form of exercise for all ages.
• Cycling is easy to fit into your daily routine by riding to the shops, park, school, or work.