The benefits of cycling for your health 

Health: The benefits of cycling!

In general, it is well known that sport has many beneficial effects on our health. But what about the bike? Can amateurs enjoy its benefits? Let's look together at the impacts of this economical and ecological practice, which is suitable for all ages!

1 – Physical impact

Improve your cardiovascular health

Cycling is a practical and useful sport, which allows you to exercise without necessarily having the feeling of providing an intensive effort.

Even at a moderate pace, cycling allows the heart to work in optimal conditions. Your heart becomes stronger and more enduring: you recover faster, you can exercise longer and you greatly limit the risk of cardiovascular accident. In addition, by strengthening your cardiac endurance, you improve the irrigation, and therefore the oxygenation, of your muscles and your organs. You promote the uptake of glucose into the cells, which limits your blood sugar level, and so lowers your blood sugar, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Cycling should not be restrictive, especially for amateurs. Work gently, at your own pace, without forcing yourself. If you're out of breath on flat ground, you're overworking yourself.

Lose weight and shape your muscles

A 2016 study conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with more than 150 men and women has demonstrated that cycling is very effective for losing weight and maintaining your ideal build and health. However, to take advantage of these beneficial effects, it is necessary to practice at least 30 minutes of cycling per day, 5 days per week. These recommendations are relatively easy to follow and integrate into your daily life, for example preferring the bicycle to the car or public transport, or taking a short bike ride every day on the way home from work.

In addition to its action on weight loss, cyclists also benefit from better defined muscles, especially in the legs.

Strengthen your breathing

Regular cycling helps develop breathing skills : you can breathe in more air, you deepen your breathing, you resist effort better and therefore, as a result, you improve your sports performance.

2 – Moral impact

The bicycle is an excellent tool for fight stress and anxieties, and even to fight against depression. It allows to:

• produce endorphins, which are calming and euphoric substances resulting in a feeling of well-being
• Cut yourself off from day-to-day concerns through an outdoor outing
• Facilitate restful sleep due to physical fatigue
• Refine your silhouette and strengthen your tone, which makes you feel better about yourself

Once again, these benefits are felt following regular cycling, for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

3 – Practice in the right conditions

If done incorrectly, cycling can lead to pain, even among amateurs. The most common case is that lower back pain. If poorly positioned or poorly adapted, cycling can accentuate back pain or even cause it in people otherwise spared from lower back pain. Fortunately, there are solutions to reduce or eliminate this pain:

• Choose the bike that best suits your body type. A bike that is too small or too big will force you to position yourself badly, which can cause pain. It is therefore necessary to be well informed before buying your bike and, if possible, test it for about thirty minutes.
• Adjust saddle height and angle. Test what suits you best and, if in doubt, do not hesitate to seek the advice of a professional or a connoisseur. Once set, you should not touch it again, unless you lend your bike to someone!
• Adjust your handlebar position. If your handlebar is not adjustable, be aware that there are many accessories to improve your comfort: handlebar extender, riser, extensions, etc. You will be able to tilt it and adjust its height, which will relieve your muscular tensions and the pain associated with bad postures.