10 Health Benefits Of Cycling
Aside from its travel aspect and fun, cycling boasts of its amazing health benefits that fitness buffs truly love. Reducing health risks can be a lot of fun with cycling. Here are some benefits for your body and mind that you might get from cycling:
1. Weight control
Not watching our weight may cause serious health risks. Because of that, a combination of exercise and proper nutrition is advised by health professionals to manage our weight.
Cycling is one of the best exercise routines to try if you want to raise your metabolic rate, build muscle, and burn body fats. Cycling is one of the fun exercises that you can change up in terms of time and intensity, and it can be built up and varied according to your whims. Some researches show that a half-hour bike ride every day will burn nearly five kilograms of fat over a year.
2. Reduces risks of cardiovascular illnesses
Cardiovascular illnesses such as high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack are some of the common health issues today. With proper exercise and diet, these illnesses can be managed.
Regular cycling helps in reducing cardiovascular problems by stimulating the heart, lungs, and circulation. Cycling is an activity that strengthens the heart muscles, reduces blood fat levels, and lowers resting pulse.
Research also shows that people who cycle to work have two to three times less exposure to pollution than car commuters, so their lung function is improved. 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.
3. Prevents diabetes
Our sugar level dramatically impacts our overall health. Diabetes is one of the common illnesses that people acquire and cannot cure easily over time.
You may prevent diabetes by managing sugar level through a proper exercise. A large-scale research in Finland found that people who cycled for more than 30 minutes per day have a 40% lower risk of developing diabetes.
4. Improves Mental Well-Being
Depression has become pretty rampant today due to the pressure of social media culture. The best way you can do is manage your mental health and disposition by producing endorphins, the hormones in our body that interact in our brain that reduce the perception of pain.
When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which also trigger a positive feeling in the body. Exercise, in general, can produce these happy hormones, and when you choose cycling as your go-to routine, it can naturally bring enjoyment because of the intensity you can manage, and the travel and game aspects of it are fun too.
5. Builds Muscles
Muscle is leaner than fat, and people with a higher percentage of muscle burn more calories even when sedentary.
The resistance element of cycling means that it doesn’t just burn fat: it also builds muscle – particularly around the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves.
To be clear – you won’t end up with quads like a track sprinter unless you invest a serious amount of time. But you will develop a nice toned derriere.
6. Improves Navigational Skills
In the world of Google maps, sometimes there’s just not that much incentive to sharpen your natural sense of direction.
Exploring the lanes through cycling can provide essential exercise for your internal mapping capabilities, and with pro-active, it can give you a better idea of which way is east, west, and whatnot. These natural navigational skills can be easily learned through regular cycling.
7. Improves Sex Life
Sex is good for our overall health. In fact, studies show that it can prolong life. According to studies, a typical man who has 350 orgasms a year lives about four years longer versus the national average of around a quarter of that number.
How can cycling improve your sex life? Cycling builds some rather essential muscle groups good for physical intimacy. Some muscles worked on the bike are mostly used during intercourse. The better developed these muscles, the longer and more athletic intercourse will be.
8. Promotes Better Sleep
Tiring yourself on a bike can guarantee you’d be knocked out tired from cycling, but more than that, a researcher from one of the top public research universities in the USA stated that a drop of 2% in fitness for men and 4% for women could result to sleep problems. Cycling is one of the high-intensity exercises you can practice to make sure your fitness level is on an all-time high.
The reduction in anxiety brought about by exercise elevates the ability to sleep. Exercise also protects against weight gain with age, which is another cause of sleep dysfunction.
9. Reduces risks of Bone Injuries and Arthritis
Cycling improves strength, balance, and coordination. It may also help to prevent falls and fractures. Riding a bike is an ideal form of exercise if you have osteoarthritis because it is a low-impact exercise that places little stress on joints.
Cycling does not specifically help osteoporosis (bone-thinning disease) because it is not a weight-bearing exercise.
10. Improves Immune System
Exercise can strengthen your immune system by increasing the production of essential proteins and waking up lazy white blood cells. Cycling is one of the best exercises to practice to maintain a healthy immune system.
So what are you waiting for? Take the road to a healthier 2019 and join the biggest cycling event in the country this year! PRURidePH 2019 will have its 2nd leg of the race on May 24-26, 2019 at Harbor Point Mall (Manila parking area) in Subic.
The event will feature the UCI 2.2. Stage Race, Masters Race, Gran Fondo, and free fun activities for the whole family including Zumba sessions, arcades, Strider Cup, face painting booths, Massage and health check stations, food stations, and a whole lot more!
You can still register for Gran Fondo 30/60/100 at the event grounds on May 24-25, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., or May 26, 3:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.
For more info, visit www.pruride.ph