It’s no secret that cycling is a rewarding hobby that’s easy to master. But regularly riding bikes is actually also a fantastic form of cardio with an extensive list of benefits. If you’re curious about how adopting a daily dose of cycling can transform your workouts, read on and discover this new fitness phenomenon.
Strength and cardio
Whilst it’s been established that any level of cycling will be sure to get your heart pumping, you might be surprised to hear that this sport aids in strengthening a surprising amount of muscle groups too! Yes, it’s really your lower body muscles (particularly hamstrings and quadriceps) that are primarily targeted by the sport, but many cyclists have also experienced muscle growth in their arms and shoulders, as well as in their core. And it’s not just any particular sort of cycling that can provide these positive effects.
Any level of integrating cycling into your fitness routine can work for these muscle groups too. But if you’ve got competitive fitness goals that you’d like to reach, consider taking on some challenging cycling courses in your area. Not only will you get to expand your world a little and have some great excuses to go on weekend getaways, but regularly taking on these courses will turn you into a tank in no time at all.
Heart and lung health
You’ll be happy to know that the health benefits of cycling don’t just stop at perfecting your fitness routine. Personal trainers and physicians agree that regular cyclists are also protected against serious diseases such as various types of cancers, as well as from heart attacks and strokes. The steady movements and pacing experienced by cyclists can also gently improve your lung capacity in a similar fashion to swimming laps.
In fact, another surprising set of muscle groups that are worked by taking on this sport are your respiratory muscles and, by extension, your abdominal muscles! As cycling is also a low-impact aerobic activity that’s utilising consistent bodily movements, it’s also been proven to protect you from developing arthritis and other similar conditions. This is an added bonus that isn’t shared by high-impact sports, like running or jogging.
Social and environmental impacts
Moving away from the human body now, cycling is also a perfect method of enriching your wider world in more ways than you might think. First of all, the positive environmental impacts of cycling to work overtaking other forms of transport should be rather well-known at this point, with a large portion of cities across the globe creating cycling clubs, adding extra bike storage units, and adopting urban infrastructure specifically designed for cyclists over cars to inspire more citizens to get on their bikes. What you might not realise is how cycling can enrich your communities too! This ties back into the creation of cycling clubs, but you don’t necessarily have to join any kind of society for cycling to positively impact your emotional health and wellbeing.
Any form of physical activity will help fight mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, but as cycling can also become a relatively easy social activity, you can also be sure to incorporate cycling into your social life. For instance, transform your lunch dates into a river trail bike trip, and you’ll have a far more invigorating and rewarding day out, with some potentially great snapshots to boot. Even family trips can be improved by incorporating some hearty adventure biking, as it will be sure to provide the kids with a bit of fun as well as teaching them a valuable life skill. Just be sure to grab them some decent helmets and maybe some extra pad protection if you’re mountain biking.
Of course, this little article is just a taste of how bikes can dramatically improve your life for the better. For those of you who really want to see what regular biking can do for you, the only thing left to do is get on your bike!
