Ride your bike more often! In less than 30 minutes you will have done something for your health with this piece of exercise equipment. There are many reasons to take up cycling. Here you can find out exactly why cycling is so healthy.
So why is cycling healthy?
Perfect work-life balance thanks to cycling
Have you been annoyed again by irritating colleagues or the boss? Get on your bike and within minutes you’re out in nature. You hear the birds, push yourself, enjoy the fresh wind on your face and move through beautiful landscapes. The steady, cyclical movements when pedaling promote stress reduction and lead to an inner balance. Incidentally, you become fitter and that strengthens your self-confidence.
Ride yourself happy
In addition to reducing stress, cycling lowers the risk of developing depression. According to a study at University Hospital Tübingen, the blood values of depressed patients normalize after just half an hour of bicycle exercise. That is because the movement patterns described above during cycling promote the release of endorphins and adrenaline.
Regular exercise strengthens the heart and reduces the risk of heart attack
Ride between two and three hours per week. Fifty minutes a day are already very effective. Use the bike for shopping or to reach your workplace. In this way you strengthen your heart and, thanks to this regular training unit, reduce the risk of a heart attack by 50 percent.
Strengthen your immune defenses
Cyclists exercise outdoors in all weather. They are less susceptible to illness because they regularly strengthen their immune system. Regular physical activity in the open air leads to the body better defending itself against foreign substances and pathogens. Moreover, older people who get into the saddle at regular intervals to ride longer rounds produce almost as many T cells as adolescents. These play a key role in your immune system: the more you move, the better you therefore protect your
body.
Lose weight while enjoying it
Reducing and maintaining your weight is a major and constant challenge. Cycling makes excess pounds fall away. For less trained riders, longer distances at low intensity are perfect. This way you burn more calories. Those who combine intensive training sessions with recovery phases also lose weight more easily.
Gentle on the joints
Cycling protects your joints. Unlike jogging, you do not carry your own weight. This is less stressful and also reduces the risk of tendon, muscle or cartilage disorders. The cyclical movements deliver nutrients to the joints. The fluid in the joints is transported into the cartilage. This then stimulates metabolism and allows waste products to be expelled. Cycling is therefore also recommended for osteoarthritis patients and for the prevention of these complaints.
Relief from tension and back problems
Do you perform heavy physical work? Do you not pay attention to proper posture when lifting heavy loads or when sitting? All of this strains the back and leads to pain and tension. Cycling relieves tension and strengthens your back. Make sure you adopt a slightly forward-leaning seated position on the bike and keep your center of gravity over the pedals.
Train endurance and coordination
Cyclists have several challenges to manage simultaneously. While they pedal, brake, steer or ring the bell, they must also constantly focus on traffic. This places high demands on endurance, coordination and balance. When children learn to ride a bike, they acquire motor skills and improve coordination and their sense of balance.
A healthy mind resides in a healthy body
Cycling benefits body and mind equally. According to a study, training three times weekly leads to improved cognitive abilities, increased attention and visual perception in older adults. They are more decisive, set priorities more consciously, act more foresightedly and change perspective more often. All of this is due to continuous movement, which positively affects cerebral blood flow. This allows nerve cells to branch optimally and increases the brain’s performance.
Optimize sleep quality
Regular cycling promotes restorative sleep, with light and deep sleep phases alternating. Ideally there should be enough time between exercise and sleep. Immediately after training, the release of cortisol and adrenaline makes you wide awake. For this reason, it is best to train by bike in the morning.
Important prerequisites for healthy activity
The correct seating position
Before a ride, pay attention to a correct seating position. While seated on the saddle with one leg extended, you should be able to reach the pedal with your heel. If you increase your training gradually and start at an easy pace, incline your torso forward by no more than 20 degrees.
Adjust handlebars and saddle correctly
Also make sure not to bend your wrists. Correct handlebar adjustment is important. Adjust saddle and handlebars properly. Otherwise you will develop numbness in the buttocks, your neck will ache and your wrists will tingle. A professional bike dealer can provide competent advice on the correct setup of the bicycle.
Avoid overexertion
After breaks from training, it makes sense to restart with shorter bike rides. Do not overtax yourself with demanding routes to prevent muscle soreness. Choose a low gear and pedal evenly. This protects your joints and increases your endurance. Avoid extreme loads; monitor your pulse rate regularly.
Consult experts
Be sure to seek advice from a professional bike dealer. Try different bicycle models at your leisure so you can find a piece of equipment tailored to you. For questions about bicycles in general, optimal equipment, or appropriate ergonomics, the expert is the right contact. Consciously forgo the car more often. Get on your bike.
Cycling in everyday life
You can integrate cycling into your daily routine easily and quickly. Even with a small training volume you will soon see achievements. Regular cycling routes—whether shopping in another town, commuting to work, or visiting friends or relatives—belong to this. Cycling is healthy and has a positive effect on our physical and mental well-being. As you move by bike, you will become steadily fitter.
Conclusion: Why cycling is healthy
Use every journey to private or professional appointments for a ride on the bike. This optimizes your fitness and triggers the release of endorphins. Offer your body a meaningful contrast to office work through training. The numerous positive effects of this sport speak for themselves. Do something good for your body as well. Cycling is almost a cure-all. Go ahead and do it. Get on your bike.