Benefits of Cycling: body and mind working together

If you want to get out of a sedentary lifestyle and adapt to a sport, you need to know the benefits of cycling for your body and mind.

The positive points of this exercise go beyond weight loss and increased physical conditioning. You must, then, be wondering: after all, what benefits are these?

Benefits of cycling for the body

1. Weight Loss

Of course, like most exercises, cycling also helps you lose weight.

This is because cycling increases the metabolic rate, helping to eliminate those extra pounds.

An important tip is to take turns between a fast pace and slower pedals, otherwise, that is, by keeping a constant pace, fat burning ends up being slower.

And take care of your diet: this can help a lot if one of your goals is to lose weight.

2. It's good for the heart

By doing 30 minutes of cycling every day, you reduce your risk of heart problems by 50%.

This is because pedaling helps control diabetes by lowering blood sugar.

In addition, it reduces cholesterol by helping with fat loss. This all significantly decreases the chance of heart attack and even stroke.

3. Improves breathing and blood circulation

By practicing any type of exercise, you improve your physical conditioning. Cycling would be no different.

Over time, your body gets used to the practice of activities, improving your rhythm and constancy in breathing. And this is very good for helping to pump blood throughout your body, regulating your blood flow and getting rid of many circulation problems.

4. Boosts immunity

Regular activity, such as cycling, strengthens the immune system as it stimulates the creation of white blood cells, protecting your body against infections and systemic diseases.

5. Strengthens the muscles

There are benefits of cycling for your muscles, too. Cycling will help develop your musculature, particularly around your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves.

This makes all these regions more toned, providing resistance to avoid injuries in other types of physical activity, such as running.

Benefits for the mind

A cyclist does not only live on benefits for the body: exercise comes to add the mind to the physique.

That pedaling improves heart and respiratory health , we already know. But did you know that this improvement also interferes with our brain?

With regular blood circulation, cycling also helps to create new brain cells in the hippocampus, the region responsible for memory, which begins to weaken after the age of 30.

Another important detail is the relief of stress and anxiety. The hectic life has left a lot of psychological problems as a sequel and this is where cycling comes in.

Cycling is able to release endorphin, the substance responsible for well-being, and exercising also helps in the production of serotonin, reducing anxiety.

Call your friends to have a good laugh and have fun, through a healthy practice that, in addition to improving your relationship with them, makes you forget about any problems, influencing the improvement of everyone's emotional state.

To start now!

There is no age to start cycling: if you already know how to ride a bike, you can schedule some time to enjoy all the health benefits of cycling.

But, don't forget: just like any other physical activity, you need to know how to dose it.

Start little by little, gradually increasing the intensity and frequency of training, always paying attention to the signs that the body gives, so as not to suffer injuries or extreme fatigue, and end up giving up.

An important tip is not to forget protective equipment such as lights, headlamp (for those who pedal at night), helmet, gloves, appropriate clothing and plenty of hydration.