Top Benefits Of Cycling Towards Improving Your Fitness

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icycle, which was once the means of day to day travel, has garnered special attention from the health sector in current times for a number of health benefits it offers. The word bicycle soon reminds us of our childhood days, when cycling was all of our favourite past time. I can never forget the refreshing experience of being outdoors riding a bicycle while I was a child and feeling the cool breeze against my face and hair as I used to speed along. What an unparalleled joy it was!

Unfortunately, bicycle riding is limited just as a childhood recreational activity…the benefits of cycling although legitimate has gone under-publicized.

The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. Many international organizations have been calling for multisectoral and multidisciplinary approaches to increase physical activity. Despite the proposed benefits of physical activity, increased proportions of people fail to achieve recommended levels of activity.

In this blog, you’ll learn how integrating cycling into daily routine provides a promising approach to increase physical activity and helps you stay in shape, revamp your health, help unwind after a hectic day, stay active.

Let’s go cycling…

The biggest advantage of cycling is it does not require major skills, doesn’t require you to maintain particular timing for workout, you can go cycling anytime you feel like, it is suitable for the majority of the population, be it men, women, children, old age individuals. Moreover, the bicycle is easily accessible to most of us, it makes a low-impact aerobic exercise, contributes to impressive calorie burn, good muscle toning, gets you out of your comfort zone, improves balance and coordination, reduces stress and increases confidence and works as a destresser.

CYCLING IS AN EXCELLENT WAY TO CURB STRESSORS

While virtually all exercise is beneficial for physical health, there are some forms of exercise that show great mental health benefits, promote self-esteem, reduce stress, and anxiety.

In the present fast-forward lifestyle, all of us feel like to put a break to the racing thoughts and stay calm, bicycle riding efficiently helps you with it without you noticing it.

·Cycling helps to keep your spirits uplifted, boost your mind, reduce stress, and make you more confident and productive. Pedalling a bike burns off excess adrenaline and cortisol (stress hormones) you’ve built in during meetings with the boss, or hassles of the day.

·Cycling boosts blood circulation around your body at a greater rate which allows for the rapid spread of endorphins and other happy hormones like dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin, which promote feelings of pleasure.

·Cycling sets in physical exertion which makes oxygen and nutrients flow more freely towards the brain and muscles.

·Cycling works as a powerful neuron building stimulant, which stimulates nerve cells to fire up the neurons, which in turn boost the creation of proteins that help promote the formation of new brain cells.

·Cycling increases the production of nitric oxide (vasodilator), helps synchronize your circadian rhythm and promote proper regenerative sleep.

·The older individuals can find benefits of cognitive enhancement or delay cognitive decline with regular cycling.

So, those of you who want to diffuse tension, elevate your mood and stabilize sleep patterns affected by stress, those who would like to have a higher concentration level, sharper memory, and better problem-solving skills should get into the habit of cycling…

CYCLING IMPROVES MUSCLE TONING & MUCLE MOVEMENT

Isn’t it a wonderful feeling to use your own strength, fat fuel to power your workout? Cycling builds muscle mass, particularly around the glutes, hamstrings, quads and calves.

The circular, continuous motion of pedalling strengthens your leg muscles and works as knee extension, cycling is gentle on joints and helps preserve cartilage.

Cycling builds muscles in the power phase of pedalling (the downstroke), wherein you’ll use your gluteus muscles in the buttocks, the quadriceps in the thighs, and the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in the calves. In the recovery phase (the upstroke), you use the hamstrings in the back of the thighs and flexor muscles in the front of the hips.

Cycling builds other muscles too, it builds abdominal muscles to balance and stay upright, it builds your arms and shoulder muscles when you stand and ride in elevated areas.

If you’d like to have rock-hard glutes and firm buttocks, strong legs, you should take on cycling.

CYCLING HELPS BURN EXCESS CALORIES & CONTRIBUTES TO SHEDDING POUNDS

Cycling burns calories somewhere between 400 and 1000 an hour, depending on intensity and rider weight.

The chief requirement when it comes to weight loss is, calories out must exceed calories in.

Does pedalling help burn calories? Here’s how it works…

When you ride a bicycle, your leg muscles heighten demand for energy. This forces your body to break down carbohydrates and fats to meet the energy requirement.

Cycling particularly benefits weight loss if you’re a morning person and hit the road before breakfast. Cycling in a fasted state will shift your body’s energy production from carbs towards your body fat.

The low-impact exercise won’t hurt your joints and the daily routine cycling can fight the incremental weight gain and waistline expansion that many experience after the 30s.

Cycling as told earlier helps reduce the stress hormone, which is one culprit for weight gain. Increasing muscle mass is another good reason to help burn calories.

As compared to running or walking, cycling will let you get farther in terms of the miles that you can work out.

The convenience of cycling is that even beginners can easily ride a bicycle for one hours or more.

Choose cycling as a means of exercise if you intend to lose pounds…and don’t forget, the intensity of your exercise and your diet still matter when it comes to weight loss.

CYCLING BOOSTS IMMUNITY

Don’t laugh, when I say, cycling can help boost immunity. In my opinion, you must ride it to experience how. Even moderate cycling, when done on a regular basis, can help keep infections at bay. What physical activity like cycling do is, they make immune cells more active, increase the production of essential proteins and boost production of white blood cells so your body can easily fight off infections. By riding a cycle for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, you’ll fairly improve your immune health.

By promoting good circulation, cycling allows cells and substances of the immune system to move through the body actively and do their job efficiently.

Cycling curbs anxiety, boosts your mental health, improves stamina and keeps you fit and healthy.

Ok, guys, you’re done reading this blog…

So, have you planned to still park your old cycle in the garage, or would you plan to take it out, give it a new look and give yourself a new look too?

Also read: 10 Ways To Boost Energy Naturally & Quickly

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