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The health benefits of regular cycling include: If you already ride your bike regularly, you will be happy to know the benefits of this ...
The health benefits of regular cycling include:
If you already ride your bike regularly,
you will be happy to know the benefits of this sport. And if your bike is
picking up dust, hopefully, this will encourage you to tune it in and roll
again. Before we get into business, here are some interesting facts and figures
about the health benefits of cycling.
We start with a strong piece of
information: Regular cycling reduces the risk of heart attack by up to 50%. Not
bad, is it? Also, cycling is one of the first recommended activities to improve
blood supply and restore muscle atrophy after injury. It is also important to
note that pedaling is not only synonymous with health and fun, it is also a way
to work faster or protect the environment.
Urban cyclist
Now, without further ado, let's take a look
at the 10 most significant health benefits of cycling:
1. Gives oxygen to the brain
and fights stress:
When you cycle, you increase your gaseous
capacity and your lung capacity, forcing your lungs to exchange much more
efficient gas.
Studies show that cycling helps the brain
oxygenate and produce specific hormones that allow you to dedicate time to
yourself with the tremendous power to disconnect from routine, which boosts
self-esteem, fights stress, and helps you improve. The mental state helps to
avoid grief and even come out of depression.
The hormones involved are:
Endorphins: Induces feelings of
happiness.
Dopamine: Makes you feel happy.
Serotonin: Provides sleep benefits.
Urban cyclist:
2. Helps you sleep better
Biking stabilizes the body's biological
rhythms and lowers cortisol levels, a stress-related hormone that interferes
with deep sleep.
A study from Stanford Medical University
found that people who cycle in the United States reduce their sleep time and
increase their sleep quality.
Bike family
3. Strong in tone and back
Quadriceps and hamstrings are toned faster
because they are the muscles that work the most when we ride a bike. Other
muscles that work are the calf and gluteus maximus.
On the other hand, regular biking
strengthens your back. Leaning your body towards the handlebars stimulates the
small muscles of the dorsal vertebrae and strengthens the lower back,
stabilizes the trunk, and protects the spine from vibration and shock. It
reduces back pain due to the sedentary lifestyle, as well as the possibility of
herniated discs. Of course, you need to make sure that you always maintain the
correct position of the bike.
It is important to choose the right saddle,
for sports cycling we recommend Elton Built Saddle or Eltin Camp Saddle, and if
cycling is your thing, no doubt, Eltin Ticker Saddle.
MTB cyclist
4. Strong heart
If you are consistent with the bike and you
increase the intensity little by little, you will be able to increase your
aerobic and anaerobic threshold. In addition, it will pump blood with much more
energy to the heart to facilitate the arrival of oxygen throughout the body,
indirectly making the blood vessels more flexible. Thanks to this, you will
strengthen the circulatory system, the heart and reduce the heart rate at rest.
In other words, you will be more efficient before any daily work.
It is good that you control your pulse
parameters with a heart rate monitor, they are usually integrated into the GPS.
At Elten we have support for your GPS and action came.
Elite helmet
5. Resistant immune system
When you practice this sport, your body
makes phagocytes (immune cells) that attack the infectious bacteria that enter
your body, reducing the chances of getting sick. It also helps you maintain
adequate blood sugar levels, as improving blood flow reduces the risk of type 2
diabetes and heart disease by up to 20%.
This is confirmed by a study conducted by
the University of Birmingham, which says that cycling can reduce the effects of
aging and revitalize the immune system.
The key is in the thymus, the primary lymphoid system of the immune system. The thymus produces immune cells
called T cells, the production of which decreases after the age of 20. However,
researchers have found that the thymuses of older cyclists produce T cells
similar to those of younger ones.
Dr. Frobos emphasized that the bike "is
good for people suffering from cancer. It seems that the cells responsible for
the body's defenses, which were asleep, have been awakened by paddling from
prolonged laziness".
Cyclist
6. Healthy, strong, and more secure
joints
Unlike other disciplines such as running,
strengthening the leg muscles means greater support and stability, especially
your knees, and it is the fact that most of the weight that falls on the seat
together causes the absence of joint impact. Also, the cyclical speed of
pedaling achieves healthier, more resistant, and protected joints, in favor of
the spread of nutrients through the cartilage.
For joint convenience, cycling must be
performed with a well-adjusted saddle and handlebars, as well as paddles and
other components. We have a wide range of tools to change the components of
your bike in Elten.
The cyclists are going down
7. Farewell to cellulite
Biking is one of the most effective
exercises to fight against orange peel skin. The toning of the muscles that we
have discussed, with the massaging action on our skin as a result of pedaling,
actively activates water and toxins in the body, preventing them from
accumulating fat for energy production.
It is also important that you wear cycling clothing that protects your body. Be sure to get enough food, fruits, and vegetables with exercise, and above all drink at least 2 liters of water a day.
City cyclist
8. Helps to control your weight
According to experts, it is an optimal
activity for burning fat and therefore, to reduce cholesterol, is one of the
first causes of cardiovascular disease.
One hour a day out on a bicycle is enough to burn about 500 kcal.
A study conducted by researchers at the University of Bath, in two groups of individuals, found that those who exercised daily despite consuming the same extra calories as those who did not exercise regularly were able to offset the harmful effects of overeating. When you go out for training you should always be protected with clothing, a helmet, goggles, and lights. If you want to know more about how to use cycling glasses or bicycle lights, we leave you some articles.
9. You prolong your life
A study conducted in Norway analyzing a
group of men in their 70s and 80s found that just 30 minutes of exercise per
day resulted in five more years of life, compared to men in that group who did
no physical activity.
Photochromic cycling glasses Eltin
10. Social, economic, and
environmental benefits
In addition to the benefits mentioned
above, the mood also improves because we are more receptive to meeting people
and making new friends. And the use of bikes for daily life to the detriment of
cars or other public transport contributes to the economic savings for our
pockets as well as to the fight against pollution, especially in big cities.
Bikes are the most environmental means of transportation that you can use in the city. For every 3 km by bike, 1 kg of CO2 is saved. If you are one of those who use e-bikes, we recommend the Elton BMX pedal, which is the ideal pedal for urban bikes.
In Copenhagen, bike riding is so important that parents take their young children on freight bikes, and most children ride their own bikes by the age of seven. 59% of all city dwellers use this type of transportation to get to work. Cycling in the Netherlands prevents about 6,500 deaths each year, and Dutch cycling has a life expectancy of more than half a year.
If you are afraid that your bike may be
stolen and that is why you do not use it to get around the city, you should
know that there are very safe locks to avoid these accidents. The Caiman Lock
brand has the best range of padlocks in the market
Eltin lock
These are just a few examples of what regular cycling can do for you, as many of you have already found that cycling is not only fun and rewarding but also helps you to relieve anxiety, relax, and improve performance. Lack of physical activity is now the biggest threat to our health, increasing the risk of various chronic diseases including diabetes, dementia, depression, heart disease, and cancer.
We urgently need to re-integrate physical
activity into our daily lives. Active travel, more walking, more biking, more
use of public transport, give us all the easiest and cheapest ways to live a
more active and healthy life.
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