Cycling is one of the healthiest sports, as well as one of the best alternatives to replace the most polluting means of transport tomorrow. Although bicycles are an ecological means of transport and help improve health, some people may wonder if it is really worth the effort and start pedaling. Even if it is only for health reasons, cycling has great benefits for the body, among which nine stand out above the rest.
Helps to lose weight: being overweight is one of the most damaging risk factors for cardiovascular health. Pedaling two or three times a week helps burn fat and speeds up metabolism, helping you lose weight even when you’re not on the bike.
Improves cardiovascular health: cycling is one of the sports with the greatest benefits for the heart. Riding a bicycle on a regular basis reduces the risk of heart attack by 50%, improves blood pressure, reduces the level of LDL (bad cholesterol) in the blood and puts the blood vessels in shape.
Improves joint health: Unlike other sports such as running, cycling does not impact the joints. Almost 80% of the body weight falls on the saddle, releasing the rest of the load joints and, therefore, improving their operation thanks to a continuous and controlled movement.
Increases lung capacity in addition to the cardiovascular system, the lungs are another of the organs greatly benefited by the practice of cycling. Thanks to the bicycle, lung capacity and the level of oxygen in the blood are increased, which translates into better breathing in all kinds of circumstances, with less feeling of suffocation in moments of great effort or even in specific stages of disease.
Reduces back pain: back pain is one of the most frequent in thousands and thousands of people who do not find a solution to their problem in medicine. Riding at a light intensity helps to exercise small muscles in the back vertebrae by constantly working them during pedaling action. These muscles are very difficult to exercise in any other sport.
Improves sexual function: people’s sexuality goes far beyond being a taboo subject or related to pornographic issues and the like. It is the only means for human beings to reproduce and, therefore, to prevail on the planet, as well as one of the most pleasant functions for the body. The bicycle promotes blood circulation in the reproductive organs and stimulates the sexual appetite in both men and women, without distinction.
Helps you sleep better: there is nothing more pleasant after a day of work than lying in bed and sleeping soundly. On the opposite side of the scale, sleeping poorly only brings more problems and an accumulation of fatigue that, as the days go by, can end up favoring the appearance of both physical and mental problems. Cycling regularly stabilizes the body’s biological rhythm, reduces blood cortisol levels (the hormone responsible for stress) and improves sleep quality.
Prevents Covid-19 infections: although the bicycle itself is not a protection system against the current Covid-19 pandemic, it can help reduce the number of infections. Moving around the city by bicycle or commuting to work by pressing the pedals avoids having to use public transport and, with it, the crowds of people at rush hour. And thanks to electric bicycles, long distances or very uneven distances are no longer an excuse.
PRODUCES HAPPINESS: Finding happiness is something perfectly plausible that has a lot to do with the secretion of endorphins, better known as the hormones of happiness. Endorphins can be up to 20 times more powerful than any drug present in pharmacies, and riding a bicycle produces an increase in their level accompanied by a reduction in pain in nerve fibers, a reduction in blood pressure and a wonderful feeling of calm and happiness, among other factors.
