Looking for a great activity that you can perform outdoors this summer? Why not consider joining the global cycling world? The benefits of cycling are almost as endless as the country roads or rocky trails you could soon be exploring. If you are considering taking up cycling, or starting again after a long lay-off, here are several reasons you should head to your local bike shop to purchase one or pull out that old bicycle this summer.
1. Cycling combines physical exercise with being outdoors. You can ride alone, allowing you to decompress and process worries or concerns, or you can ride with a group and enjoy the social aspects of being part of a larger cohort.
2. Much like walking, cycling is a more environmentally friendly way to get around than the car or even public transport. Consider riding to work a few days per week.
3. Cycling can improve your immune system by increasing production of essential germ-fighting proteins and activating disease fighting white blood cells. Cycling is a great aerobic exercise that gets the heart pumping and blood flowing. It can lower blood pressure and build muscles to make you feel energized.
4. Cycling builds the muscles of the glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves and core and therefore leads to an increase in your metabolism.
5. Contrary to running, cycling is a low impact activity, so the wear and tear on the joints will be significantly less. However, this lack of weight bearing also means that cycling does not help to increase bone density as well as impact activities, so it is a good idea to add a little strength training into your training plan.
6. Cycling can help improve and maintain balance. Technical elements such as climbing, descending and cornering on a road, or riding over obstacles on a mountain bike trail all teach you to use and manipulate your body weight to get the bike to go where you want it to go. It is also a great confidence boost when you see your abilities improving with each ride.
7. Cycling improves your mental health. Studies have shown that people who had a physically active lifestyle scored themselves higher than inactive individuals on their self-perceived wellbeing. The burst of feel-good endorphins that comes with exercise has such a positive effect on people who suffer from anxiety and depression that they may even come to rely on exercise to boost their mood. The exercise you get from cycling relieves stress and can help improve sleep.
So what are you waiting for? Do you need more reasons to jump on your bike and hit the roads or trails this summer? Your body, your mind and the environment will thank you when you do!
Janice Keown, BSc. Kin, CSEP-CPT, ACSM EP-C, Fitness & Sports Instructor, PSP CFB Kingston