Various forms of exercise are highly recommended for health and wellbeing, as exercise helps in putting the body in great shape. Generally, people have adopted a bunch of routines that they use to exercise to ensure that they stay fit and healthy. This means that your exercise routine does not necessarily have to tally with that of others. The most important thing is that you are exercising and you are consistent with it. There are indeed a lot of activities people can engage in to exercise; however, for this article, emphasis is on cycling and specifically how it benefits women.
It is worthy of note that cycling as physical activity can be enjoyed by different categories of people, from the old to the middle-aged down to the young. Cycling is good for people of all categories! From many studies and research, it has been discovered that cycling is one of the essential ways of preventing health problems that typically stem from a sedentary lifestyle. Regular cycling can help on your weight loss journey, reduce stress and contribute positively to your overall fitness levels. Your heart, lungs, nerves, and blood vessels are not also left out of the benefits cycling offers; Cycling ensures that they are given a good workout.
Another important thing to note about cycling is that it can easily be incorporated into your daily routine. For instance, as you go to work or the grocery store, you can take your electric bike along and exercise while going about the day’s business. Not many modes of exercising offer this opportunity.
Considering what cycling entails and what it has to offer generally, the focus will be tilted towards women and the benefits they stand to derive from cycling. This is not to say that this article is for only women; there is still a lot of insight that people who are not women can gain from this piece. You can equally gain insight from this piece and use the knowledge you gain to influence the women in your life to pick upcycling.
Without further ado, let’s consider the health benefits women stand to gain from cycling
This is one of the major benefits cyclings offers, not just to women but everyone who engages in the activity. With cycling comes improved lung capacity, fat burning, cholesterol reduction, and overall improved blood circulation. Furthermore, cycling helps reduce the risk of heart diseases in women; with the increase in heart rate due to the activity of cycling, your cardiovascular system is positively affected and functions efficiently. It is also important to note that cycling lowers the body’s cholesterol in women.
Naturally, women are faced with a triple threat of risk factors when we are talking about arthritis; these risk factors include genetic predisposition, biology, and hormones. Unfortunately, a fourth risk factor has been added to the mix, which is obesity. A study conducted in England showed that above ¾ of the women aged 45 and above are obese. The study further concluded that generally, women have osteoarthritis, which is the predominant form of arthritis, and they have it at a higher rate when compared to men.
Where does cycling come in? Cycling has a major part to play in reducing osteoarthritis by helping reduce weight. Approximately 300 calories per hour are burnt with consistent cycling. Interestingly, it is an activity that does not require bearing a load of any kind, and many people can do it despite age, infirmity, or any kind of condition. It is important to note that the effect of cycling on your joint is a very gentle one, and it helps to preserve your cartilages. This gives a lot of advantages to women who suffer from foot problems, muscle strain, knee problems, back pain, or injuries caused by impact during activities like running and jogging. It has been proven that one of the major reasons why the body stops moving is when a person stops moving. The body system functions more effectively when body parts are involved in activities.
Studies have shown that women are more likely to have a common mental health problem than men; the probability of women being diagnosed with anxiety disorders is twice as high as that of men.
Cycling might not necessarily be the cure to mental health conditions, but it sure has its role in ensuring mental wellbeing. Cycling allows breathing fresh air, feeling the wind against one’s hair, to experience mindfulness and other things that take your mind off the traffic on social media and the stress that comes with technological gadgets. The internet, no doubt, has a major role to play in mental health issues. The internet is bad in itself; it houses many people who might not be the best for one’s mental health. Cycling allows you to take your mind off all of that mental stress and focus on more healthy things as you ride. Nowadays, younger women are under so much pressure to feel good about themselves because of their looks or what they think people feel about their looks, and that in no way can affect mental health positively. Activities like cycling are easily accessible and can reignite your sense of self-worth in the fact that you can use your body to achieve something tangible rather than the ephemeral admiration of people you hardly know.
Cycling also affords women the opportunity to have some quality personal time away from all the stress attached to being a woman. Cycling helps to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression as the endorphins and adrenaline generated in cycling provide a natural high, even if it is temporary.
A study conducted at the University of California in 2015 pointed out that across the 48 nations surveyed, women were generally discovered to have less confidence than men. It is important to note that trying out new challenges like going on a long-distance biking tour or hopping on a commuter bike after many years goes a long way to boost the confidence of women of all ages. There exist stories upon stories pointing to the fact that picking up cycling again after a long time or picking it up for the first time plays a major role in building confidence and self-worth in women and ultimately changing their lives. The feeling of being on top of the world and without limits as the wind rushes against you while riding your bike can be equated to the child-like feeling of freedom and abandonment that everyone should experience from time to time. Also, the role cycling has to play in weight loss and fitness cannot be overlooked. There is this confidence that builds up when you see your body change due to the effort you are putting in ensuring it changes. You will agree that the feeling is one of a woman’s best feelings. The fact that cycling is very instrumental in helping you face your fears cannot be overemphasized. You would ordinarily not take paths and routes if you are not biking. At first, taking such paths could be scary and challenging, but as you continually take them, you discover that you are no longer scared of them. This shift from fear to confidence and boldness can spill over into other life situations and give you a better approach to life.
If you haven’t noticed, cycling exercises all your four limbs, which means most of your body is involved in the activity. Cycling works on your hips and thighs as it works on your calves, and it is a good way to get into shape if you so desire. Keeping your hands on the handlebars at all times also has its place in strengthening your muscles, no matter how subtle. Your arms are also involved in the workout while placing your hands on the handlebars. As you ride your bike and cover the distance, your body builds endurance without necessarily putting it through rigorous activities. You might not notice initially, but as time goes on, you begin to realize that you can do things you were not able to do before without feeling tired and worn out. This is because your lung capacity has improved and your heart strengthened.
The list of benefits that cycling has for women cannot be exhausted; other benefits include
It is important to note that you need to understand your body and know your strength and weaknesses as you engage in cycling. Do not put yourself under unnecessary pressure and set unrealistic goals. Enjoy the moments of cycling and see yourself get better as your overall health and wellbeing improve.
