All the wonders cycling can do to your overall health

With global warming becoming a hotter and hotter issue day by day, people have been looking for ways of reducing their carbon footprint. For this reason, cycling as a mode of transportation in cities and rural areas alike has boomed to popularity. 

Cycling using electric bikes may sound new to your ears but it is actually one of the most trending forms of workout or leisure these days. Aside from its apparent environmental benefits, cycling with e-bikes also offers health benefits.

An hour of cycling can already burn enough calories, 300-400 calories, to be exact. But cycling offers more than such temporary health benefits. In fact, all its benefits converge together to boost your overall health.

So, if you really want to dig into specific details, then this article is perfect for you. Here are the health benefits that make cycling improve your overall health and well-being.

Heart Benefits

First of all, cycling helps you improve your heart health. Cycling is a low-impact aerobic exercise. So, it helps improve your cardiovascular health by increasing your heart rate. The more you cycle, the better you can exercise your cardiac muscles. 

Besides, you can also increase or decrease the intensity of this cardio exercise. You can go for a relaxing morning ride to warm up. Then, you can climb hills to exercise your heart a little bit more. With constant training, what made you catch your breath before will simply feel like a breezy stroll in the park. 

Especially with an electric bike’s pedal-assist feature, you will more likely sustain a steady pace of continuous cycling. Plus, the probability of experiencing overfatigue is low.

Additionally, cycling improves blood circulation. It can even lower blood pressure, helping those with an increased risk of hypertension. 

In the long run, cycling can thus help you avoid chronic cardiovascular diseases. Numerous studies and articles even back this up. 

Respiratory Benefits

Now, you may think that you can only get health benefits from cycling if you continue to push your limits. But what if we tell you that regular and rhythmic cycling can still give you extra points in the health department? 

With the rhythmic nature of cycling, you can improve your breathing and allow better circulation of oxygen in your body. 

And if you really want to push your cycling abilities, just like in regular cycling, you also need to apply proper breathing techniques. You can pace each breath in such a way that it can match several pedal strokes. 

Aside from that, your posture on the bike would allow you to really exercise your diaphragm with breathing. 

By breathing in and out with your diaphragm you can avoid shallow and inefficient chest breaths. You'll even strengthen your diaphragm muscles and decrease your shortness of breath at the same time. Diaphragmatic breathing can also be especially helpful with people with COPD, stress, and even GI conditions. 

And you should know, diaphragmatic breathing is much more efficient. This only means that you'll be able to increase the percentage of oxygen your body actually uses to the amount of oxygen you breathe in. 

Musculoskeletal Benefits

Sure, you can acquire the cardiovascular and respiratory benefits of cycling from other aerobic exercises like running. But unlike running, cycling doesn't put excessive stress on your joints. 

For every step you make when you're running, your joints receive stress due to the impact of the ground on your foot. But when you cycle, every pedal only allows your joints to work without any additional stresses due to impact. 

Cycling can thus be a good alternative for previous runners who have developed arthritis, bone-thinning disease, and other bone and joint diseases. Cycling is especially beneficial because it provides an alternative exercise regime that can then prevent joint stiffness. This simple prevention can then prevent any further causes of joint pain.

Additionally, cycling aids your musculoskeletal health as it tones your core, glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves. 

Mental Health Benefits

To top it all off, cycling provides you with mental health benefits. Cycling can give you time to relax your mind away from the frantic routines of everyday life. Thus, it can relieve feelings and thoughts of stress, anxiety, and depression. 

Additionally, frequent cycling can help you develop better awareness and concentration skills. You'll have to be present enough to know when to turn right or left, when to stop and yield, and when to speed up. Your decision-making skills will also be tested as you'll be making quick and necessary decisions when you're on the road. 

When you're on the road on your bike, you have to be observant and reactive fast enough to get out of harm's way. This way, you can train yourself and your mind to handle different things accordingly.

Lastly, you should know that cycling as an exercise literally results in happiness. This is because even just a few minutes of cycling can already result in the release of endorphins, your body's stress- and pain-reducing happy hormone. 

Summary

To summarize, cycling offers various health benefits. It can strengthen your heart, improve your breathing patterns, exercise your bones and joints, tone muscles, and boost your mental health. It can also improve overall circulation. 

All of these cycling benefits then translate to improved overall health. The best thing is that the effects are not just temporary. Health benefits from cycling can last long enough to prevent any chronic conditions in the future. 

Using electric bikes, especially, help you achieve these benefits more easily. With its pedal-assist feature, you’ll be more motivated to cycle longer routes and harder trails.

So, if you're still having second doubts about starting your cycling journey, just remember all the health benefits you can get. Let cycling with an e-bike be a solution to temporary and chronic health issues.

Now you’re probably curious about the wonders electric bikes can do for you, here are 10 Reasons Why You Should Get an Electric Bike and don’t forget to browse our Best-Selling Electric Bikes for this year.