Cycling – some people love it, some people hate it. Some people adore the feeling of the wind rushing through their hair, and the smell of the breeze as they speed along on their local cycle path. For many, it’s a great form of transportation, or a fantastic leisure activity for those long weekends camping with family.
A lot of people certainly get great results from cycling though, as seen on TV and in real life. Most of these results are related to their health, whether it’s because they’ve lost weight or because they’re just more physically fit. Today, we’re going to dive into 5 health benefits of cycling – just in case you needed something to convince you to give this great activity a try.
1. It Helps You Lose Weight
This one is probably the most obvious of all. It’s pretty commonly known that exercise promotes weight loss. The reason for this is simple and all comes down to your metabolism. You need a certain amount of calories every day in order to live – if you eat over or under a certain amount of calories, you can influence your weight. In order to lose weight, you need to be eating fewer calories than you are burning. That’s where exercise comes in!
Cycling is a fantastic form of exercise to use, too. It’s a low impact activity, so it doesn’t hurt your leg muscles in the way that you may expect from another activity such as running. It’s also great because it’s fun, and you can do it with your friends or family that may want to join you when you go out for a ride.
2. You will improve your physical fitness
Do you ever get frustrated when you’re walking up the stairs or walking up a hill and you end up feeling breathless? Well, in some cases, that can often be a sign that your cardiovascular fitness needs a little bit of fine tuning. There’s no better way to do this than to do a little bit of cardiovascular activity. Cycling is an example of such an activity. The more you exercise the better your cardiovascular system functions, so you can show off to your friends on your next hiking trip when you can run up the hill, if that’s what floats your boat.
3. It reduces stress
Since cycling is a form of exercise, it’s an excellent form of stress relief. It is an activity that requires you to keep control over your breathing, which can help to keep you grounded. In addition to that, exercise releases endorphins which basically send happy signals to your brain. As such, cycling is an excellent way to reduce stress and improve your mood. It also feels super satisfying to feel the breeze when you’re cycling outdoors, which can lead to a sense of happiness.
4. It’s good for your muscles
If you want to give your muscles a good workout, then it’s definitely worth doing some cycling. You aren’t going to get the same kinds of strength gains from cycling that you would otherwise get with things like weight lifting, but it can definitely work your leg muscles. This can help you to feel stronger and you’ll be able to do more things thanks to your increased strength. Basically, if you want to feel a little stronger, it’s time to hit those pedals and get moving!
5. Reduced chances of serious illnesses
One major benefit of cycling is that it can actually reduce your chances of getting seriously ill, both in the short and the long term. One reason for this is because it can improve your immune system. If you do aerobic exercise, you can dramatically improve how your immune system functions, making you less susceptible to things like viral infections. Cycling is an especially good way to gain this benefit, since you can do it as a commute in the mornings and evenings when you’re going to work. It’s an inexpensive and easy way to exercise.
In addition to this, it also reduces your chances of getting other, non immune illnesses. For instance, it massively improves the health of your lungs, and it can slash your risks of cancer and heart disease too. Cycling is even sometimes used in recovery from things like strokes.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a large number of advantages to engaging in physical activity, especially cycling. If you want to gain a variety of health benefits, it’s time to get on the saddle and ride!
