Riding a Bike Can Help You Hit Your Goals! Cycling can be a big benefit when it comes to chiseling your legs and firming your glutes. Cycling is one of the best ways to burn calories, and burn them rather quickly. There are so many benefits that cycling can bring to your body and brain, which is what is important to truly having a healthy lifestyle. True health is having a healthy body and being healthy mentally and emotionally.
So strap on your helmet and pull on your padded bike shorts so Riding a Bike Can Help You Hit Your Goals!
Riding a Bike Can Help You Hit Your Goals
When we talk about riding a bike, we are talking about getting outside. Getting back in the saddle, and pushing yourself out on the road. Yes, bike classes are great but you don’t burn as many calories as you could. Why not put on your headphones and get your music is cranking and hit the same RPE (rate of perceived exertion) in the great outdoors. You will burn more calories, get some good vitamin D, and fresh air.
Research has also shown people are more apt to add and keep cycling in their fitness regimen than indoor cycling. They believe this is due to the cooling effects of wind, the fact you can choose to coast back down a hill after climbing one, and that we are simply being distracted by the sights of being outdoors.
Whether you decide to ride on a trail or the open road biking is something you will want to add to your fitness regimen. Besides hitting your fitness goals, there are many other benefits cycling has on your body.
Increased Bone Density: Running has been touted as a bone-building cardio workout due to the impact your body has on the pavement. But recent research has shown that mountain biking also aids in building a stronger skeleton. The European Journal of Sport Science found that mountain bikers had stronger, larger, and denser radial bones than both road bikers and non-cyclists. Scientists believe the differences in terrain and the constant need for self-stabilization is what leads to this improved bone density.
Greater Flexibility: Flexibility isn’t something that one would think would be a benefit of Cycling, but riding on two wheels may help to lengthen your hamstrings (muscles on the back of the upper legs). The forward position that one has when riding stretches the back of the legs. In fact, a recent study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine found that road cyclists did better in the sit and reach flexibility test non-cyclists.
Unlock Mental Brain Power: Cycling may help you unlock your mental superpowers. A recent Scandinavian Research Study, found that kids who biked to school had an easier time doing math and other analytical thinking. It was also found that those who cycled for 30 minutes or more had more saturation of the pre-frontal cortex with oxygen, which improved cognitive performance and quicker brain function.
Lower Your BMI: Most exercise can be effective for weight loss, but cycling 5-6 rides per week with purpose can really enhance your progress. With purpose means you are riding at 13 mph or faster for a minimum of 30 minutes. One way to add cycling with a purpose could be commuting to work, as this is an easy way to build exercise into your day.
Riding a Bike Can Help You Hit Your Goals
Of course adding biking isn’t going to automatically change your ability to hit your goals. One of the most important concepts for weight loss and maintenance is sustaining a behavioral change (New Habit). Reverting to old behaviors brings back the weight. If you add cycling or any other fitness concept to your daily life it needs to be a life habit and behavioral change that you keep as a part of your healthy lifestyle.
Riding a Bike Can Help You Hit Hour Goals, and might inspire you to spend more time exercising overall. So put on your helmet and bike shorts, and hop on the saddle!
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