Cycling: Health and Fitness Guide
When it comes to convincing people to try cycling, some often ask, “Why ride a bike when you can burn calories at the gym?” While it’s true that working out in the gym can help you lose weight and tone muscles, cycling outdoors has its own merits.
Cycling is a low-impact exercise, which means it doesn’t put too much pressure on our joints, unlike running or high-impact aerobics and weight training at the gym. Our muscles can get a really good workout, as cycling uses all the major muscle groups as we pedal through bike paths, roads, and hills. In addition, as an aerobic exercise, cycling is an ideal cardiovascular exercise since this activity makes us breathe more deeply, experience an increase in body temperature causing us to perspire, an indicator of calorie burning and a way to eliminate some toxins in the body such as body fat. Cycling is an exercise that does not pressure us since we can do it at our own pace. It is also fun because we can do it with our friends or family and unlike the gym where we are just confined training with various equipment inside the walls, outdoor cycling gives us a sense of fun and adventure while we travel pedaling our bike. .
According to research, constant cycling can burn up to 1,200 kilojoules or around 300 calories per hour. Studies also show evidence that a half-hour bike ride every day will burn almost five kilograms of fat for a year. Do the math and see how much fat can be burned when we bike for an hour or more every day. We use our bikes not only as a form of leisure exercise, but we can also use them as our means of transportation, especially when we have gained that confidence on the road.
Of course, like any other exercise, we can get the most benefit from cycling when we combine this activity with a proper diet and proper eating habits. It would be beneficial for us to devise an eating plan so that exercise is complemented by a proper diet.
Experts suggest that we increase protein in our diet, eat a nutritious breakfast at least an hour before travel, and have a high-protein food for lunch or dinner. A light and healthy snack can be taken during long wrinkles.