Keeping the body healthy should never be last out of the things that we choose to prioritize. After all, everything that we do depends on how strong our bodies are. Now, when talking about the body, good diet and regular exercise almost immediately come to mind. And rightfully so; these two are indeed the pillars of great physical health.
Practically speaking, maintaining a healthful diet is a lot easier to accomplish than exercising. All you have to do is get the right food items, and you’re good to go. Exercising, for its part, takes time and a whole lot of dedication. But not everyone has hours to spare, especially those of us who are juggling work and family responsibilities.
Good thing there are exercises that don’t really require a person to be pulled away from their daily routine. Biking is a good example. It’s easy to integrate this in your daily schedule because aside from being a form of exercise, it’s also a means of transportation. So you can just bike your way to stores and other destinations instead of using the car or public transit. In this article we present some of the many reasons biking is great exercise.
It lowers the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases
A longitudinal study done by researchers from the University of Glasgow has uncovered that biking or cycling has significant associations with the reduced incidence of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. It is not clear just yet as to how exactly this type of physical activity does this, but this should be of less importance right now. What’s significant is that we can easily do it, leading to benefits that are surely real and lasting.
It is important to note here, however, that while biking is really beneficial, it has its own share of risks especially when you go out and share the road with cars and other vehicles. Even if you are careful, sometimes you just cannot predict, let alone stop, the carelessness of others. If ever you are involved in an accident because of this, you can always get the help of highly rated bicycle injury attorneys to protect your interests.
It helps you lose weight and avoid obesity
Although it puts far more pressure on the thighs and legs, biking can also be considered full body exercise because it also engages your core and back muscles. When all these muscles are at work, they burn fat to produce the energy needed to fuel activity. This fat-burning mechanism is obviously the one that contributes not only to weight loss but also to keeping the body in shape. One way to track your weight loss progress is by attaching a power meter to your bicycle. This device measures the power you exert when pedaling. Knowing the force you exert when cycling is a helpful way to monitor progress and determine if you are on track with your fitness goals.
It doesn’t put a lot of stress on the joints
Although exercising at the gym is great, some women shy away from it because of the amount of pressure that it usually puts on their joints. In fact, for those individuals who have weaker joints than others, the usual gym exercises can actually worsen rather than help their situation. Fortunately, cycling or biking gives you the right amount of physical stimulation that your body needs to function well. Plus this activity is surely not that stressful for the joints.
Injecting exercise into your daily routine shouldn’t be that difficult, especially now that you can bike more easily. There are now many communities that are adding bike lanes, making this activity a lot more accessible and safe. There really is no reason now not to exercise.