Gal’s Note – My wife and I are starting to bike together so this guest post submission caught me at just the right time. Enjoy!
The Olympic banners have been rolled up and ready to move on to their next host country, Rio. No sport in the Olympics has been as such as a success for Britain as the cycling events. Bradley Wiggins struck gold in his time trial as did Victoria Pendleton and Sir Chris Hoy signalling a very successful Olympic games.
The impact that these cycling events have had on the country has been immediate. Cycling retailer Evans Cycles have reported an increase of 35 per cent of bike sales and has seen an astronomical amount of traffic to its website since the Olympics.
Paired with the Governments bike to work scheme (a scheme which you can get a bike through your employers without paying tax on it) cycling is on the rise and its popularity can be seen in most big cities and country roads. But what benefits does cycling have – especially when dealing with weight loss?
Cycling is a great way to keep in shape and has many benefits. Not only is it cheap it works by improving all round fitness; you will lose fat and burn calories by increasing your heart rate as well as working and toning your core areas such as the stomach and lower back and also legs. Also by cycling you do run less risk of injuring yourself with an impact injury – because you are pedalling there is no pressure on the joints like when you are running.
Depending on your start weight and the level of exertion, anywhere between 250 and 760 calories can be burnt in just a half hour session. When trying to lose weight cycling provides the perfect platform as you can maintain a very good level of tempo without feeling too exerted. The heart and lungs both get a great workout and the workout goes such a long way to improving cardiovascular fitness.
As the heart and lungs get stronger oxygen will be transferred around the body more efficiently, this is important to maintaining peak fitness levels. Your resting pulse rate will also decrease and this in turn helps a person burn calories even hours later whilst enjoying (a healthy) snack on the couch.
As your cycling plan progresses the body will start to become more toned. The thighs will become more defined as well as the calves. The stomach and hip areas will become tighter and stronger and the difference will be like night and day.
Cycling carries many great benefits and none more so that maintaining a healthy weight which will not only improve how a person looks but also how they feel. Confidence will increase as well as having more energy to do things; so to sum up you will look great, feel good and hopefully have developed a new hobby!
BIO
Jennifer Jones writes on behalf of Health-on-Line and writes extensively about health and fitness in the UK.