Health Fitness

Cycling: health and fitness guide

When it comes to convincing people to give cycling a try, some often ask, “Why ride a bike when you can burn calories in the gym?” While it’s true that working out at the gym can help us lose weight and tone our muscles, cycling outdoors has its own merits.

Cycling is a low-impact exercise, which means it doesn’t put too much pressure to stress our joints unlike running or high-impact aerobics and weight training at the gym. Our muscles can be exercised really well, as cycling uses all the major muscle groups while pedaling on 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 indication of burning calories and a way to eliminate some toxins from 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 to do because we can do it with our friends or family and, unlike the gym where we are only training confined with various equipment within the walls, cycling outdoors gives us a sense of fun and adventure as we travel pedaling in 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 nearly five kilograms of fat for a year. Do the math and see how much fat you can burn when you ride your 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 out of cycling when we combine this activity with a proper diet and eating habits. It would be beneficial for us to develop an eating plan so that exercise is complemented with the right diet.

Experts suggest that we increase protein in our diet, eat a nutritious breakfast at least an hour before the trip, and have a high-protein meal for lunch or dinner. You can have a light and healthy snack during long trips.

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