Cycling is a type of activity that falls under the moderate to light intensity workout category as it entirely depends on how much you do it. This basically means that even if you are cycling for 15 minutes per day you won’t feel too exhausted or tired and at the same time you will be burning calories. This is the biggest advantage of cycling over other exercises.
Alongside people loves cycling, be it on the streets or use it as a mode of transport cycling actually provides us with some great health benefits. So, in this article, we will be knowing the several health benefits of cycling 15 minutes a day on a regular basis. Let’s begin.
1. Helps in losing weight and building muscles
This is the biggest benefit that cycling has to offer us. Cycling is a cardio and low resistance workout that helps you to burn 150-200 calories per 15 minutes. Cycling being a low resistance workout helps in building the lean muscle mass of the lower body. Even after completing your daily cycling regime, you will still lose more calories which is also known as the afterburn effect. This effect is generally seen post cycling as your muscles slowly repair after an intense workout causing calorie burn.
2. Keeps your leg muscles fit
There is a myth about cycling that too much cycling can have an adverse effect on your joints and knees. This is wrong as cycling in the correct position can never exert pressure on your joint or knees. Rather the pressure that you feel while cycling affects your leg muscles and makes them strong. Cycling for just 15 minutes on a regular basis will help you to keep your calves, glutes, quads and hamstrings fit and healthy.
3. Stay fit and live longer
Cycling makes you stay fit and helps you to live longer. Various researches prove that cycling on a regular basis ( be it 15 minutes or an hour ) reduces the chances of early death by 40%. Another study proves cycling also helps in reducing the chances of developing cancer by 45%.
4. Provides healthy mental health
Cycling not only helps in exercising your muscles but also exercises your brain. This is because while cycling, your brain receives greater oxygen which ultimately increases your thinking speed, brain functioning and reflexes. In addition to this, cycling provides you with a cheerful and happy mood. This is because cycling regularly helps in releasing endorphins ( happy hormone). This helps you to keep your mood boosted throughout the day and decreases the chances of developing anxiety and depression. Regular cycling for 15 minutes also decreases your cortisol levels and helps you to achieve a good-night sleep.
5. You are never bored
Be it in the morning or in the evening, be it alone or with a group of friends cycling helps you kill boredom. Everybody needs time to chill especially in this busy scheduled lifestyle. Cycling helps you achieve this. You can take a cycle and travel anywhere and explore city life. This provides you with a sense of refreshment especially to give yourself a break.
6. Keeps your heart healthy
Cycling on a regular basis keeps your heart healthy and is considered a great cardiovascular activity. A study proves this statement. The study included 1500 people who did cycling on a regular basis. This study took place for about 5 years and results proved the risk of developing blood pressure was lessened by 30% if compared to people who are not into cycling. As a result, cycling is also recommended by doctors for people suffering from heart problems. Cycling increases your heartbeat rate and maintains your blood pressure levels.
7. Cycling slows down the aging process
Yes, this is true. Cycling for even 15 minutes a day regularly slows down the natural aging process. Be it fast cycling or slow cycling, both help you to stay fit. We know various medical conditions start developing with growing age and this generally happens due to an unhealthy lifestyle and lack of fitness. A moderate-intensity exercise delays the aging process by maintaining your fitness levels. Studies prove that people who are into regular cycling have more mitochondrial volume density in the body. The more mitochondria in the body the more you stay fit in the coming years.
8. Helps in maintaining a good posture
Our backbone encloses our spinal cord and maintains a straight posture. The posture you achieve while cycling is regarded as the ideal posture one should be in. Regular cycling helps you to develop this habit of sitting straight ultimately making your backbone stronger. This habit can later save you from developing hunchbacks and backpains in the near future.
Conclusion
As you can see cycling not only have several physical health benefits but also takes care of your mental health. You don’t need to buy a very expensive cycle to show off. You just need to buy a cost-efficient cycle or exercising cycle/air bikes and practice it on a regular basis for 15minutes, 30 minutes or even an hour. We, at HealthAndHealthier always recommend people to stay fit and healthy to be disease-free in the near future.
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