Every sport has its own advantages but even though each of these activities have their own differences, all are known to have health and fitness benefits. If you are an athlete or just a regular hobbyist, playing sports is still one of the best pastime ever created.
So what are your motivations when playing your favorite sport? Do you do it for fun or for losing weight? There are certain sports that have physical requirements so if you are either too thin or obese, you better pick the best ideal game that is suitable for your physique.
I wrote dozens of articles pertaining on some of the best and popular sports that could help you lose weight. This includes swimming, ultimate frisbee, boxing, dancing and many others. If you view exercise routines to be a boring activity, maybe sports can encourage you to get in shape.
To start the week right, I will give you different information about cycling. This activity is known to be a sociable sport, challenging and a great workout. Can it help you lose weight?
Why Cycling to Lose Weight
In today’s high gas prices, more and more people are choosing fuel efficient cars than luxury vehicles to save money from their transportation expenses. This also makes bicycles as an in-demand necessity. If you are one of those people who use a bike, then you are doing the right thing especially with regards to getting fit.
For cyclists, bicycles means a lot and is quite valuable than cars. First, it’s economical and very useful. Second and the most important reasons are its health benefits. Pedaling your way to fitness would give you enjoyment and financial flexibility while improving your over all health.
So how does this activity boost your body’s ability to lose weight? Similar with other sports, riding a bicycle for about an hour can help burn calories while increasing your metabolic rate. Burning more calories is an effective method for losing weight and cycling is one option that you can depend on.
Cycling Weight Loss Benefits
So before I tell you the health benefits, let me inform you about the advantages of cycling with regards to weight loss. Bicycling.com is one of the most comprehensive information site in the world of cycling, including of course its health and fitness benefits. This includes the following.
- Joint-Safe Activity
Cycling won’t damage or injure your joints compared to those intense exercises or extreme sports like boxing, wrestling or mixed martial arts. Joint protector gears will ensure that you avoid any jarring on your joints so it is perfectly safe from either a beginner to seasoned cyclist. The more you enjoy an activity that offers less health risk, the more you pedal for effective weight loss program.
- Improve your Muscle Groups
Want to improve your muscles? Cycling effectively work your quads, legs, hip, glutes and hamstring muscles. It can build lean strong muscle tissues in your lower body parts due to intense pedaling action. When you workout your muscles, you also burn fat that will effectively reduce your weight.
- Provides More Ways to Eliminate Fat
Cycling can improve your endurance which helps increase your levels of fatty-acid binding proteins and fat-carrying enzymes. When this occurs, your body will be more capable of transporting fatty acids into your muscle groups. This makes your muscles to be more leaner and stronger, leading to a more fat burning process.
- Burn More Calories
If you want to burn more than a hundred of calories a day, then cycling can definitely give you that leverage. A 15 mile ride will help you burn up to 600 calories in just 1 hour. You do it for one week and you will burn more than a pound of your weight.
So if you are jogging or running just to lose weight, it is better if you try cycling for a change. You can lose more calories and will better improve your muscles than any other types of sports or exercise programs. The result? More weight loss!
Health Benefits of Cycling
The first thing that pop-ups to my mind with regards to cycling is that, it’s a pollution free and of course less expensive activity. It requires no training or special skills unlike other sports. So aside from these advantages, what are its health benefits?
Since biking is an endurance activity, you can easily improve your stamina, strength, endurance, flexibility and will help tone every muscle groups in your body. Regular cycling program will improve your lungs and heart, perfect for cardiovascular training. It will lessen your risk of hypertension, stroke, heart diseases and many other conditions.
Riding a bike also reduces your bad cholesterol levels, blood sugar and helps detoxify your body naturally. It also strengthens your immune system while increasing your metabolism for more fat burning action, even when you are done riding your bike. It will also deal with stress, depression and anxiety while boosting your confidence and brings out your sociable side.
As you become a seasoned cyclist, you will develop good posture, stronger back and legs with toned abdominal core. So you don’t have to work like a monster in a gym just to tone your body into your desired shape.
How to Enjoy Your Cycling Experience
To enjoy any activities such as cycling, you must be motivated enough to fully appreciate this endeavor. You need to love every aspect of it, including your bicycle of course. Maintain your bike as much as possible and make sure that it’s always in good condition to ride.
You can ride with your friends and build good relationships, creating friendship and comradeship. You may even plan to try difficult or long distance cycling to give you some physical challenge. An off-road mountain bike adventure is one of the best physical fitness you will ever experience. Win or lose, your health will definitely benefit from it.
If you don’t want a full-time cycling career, you can still benefit from riding your bike. Basically, riding your bike will save you more time with regards to transportation as you can avoid traffic jam and all other road hassles. It will also save you money while helping you lose weight.
In addition to training, it is just as important to feed your body later. If you are looking for a fat burner, check out the Instant Knockout review. It is a high quality fat burner that will help you boost your metabolism and thus lose weight faster. It has also been shown to increase energy levels.
