Get fitter with cycling
The first thing that comes to mind when you think of cycling is health. The benefits for body and soul are undisputed - but the environment and even society as a whole also benefit. What many people don't realise: It is not necessary to cross the Alps on two wheels, complete a cycling marathon or conquer Mont Ventoux like a Tour de France pro.
So you don't have to ride until you fall out of the saddle. According to studies, even short distances are enough to have an effect. But do it as regularly as possible and not just as a fair-weather cyclist.
In view of rising petrol prices and congested city centres, it makes sense to cycle to work every day. This not only has a positive effect on fitness and health, but also reduces stress and mental pressure in the mind, if done well and at a relaxed pace.
Endurance sport number one
As a means of transport, cycling is the perfect way to combine pleasure with utility like no other everyday sport. However, such political or pragmatic reasons are not even necessary when you consider the health benefits alone. Cycling is regarded as the ultimate endurance sport - usually mentioned in the same breath as (Nordic) walking, swimming, jogging, dancing or training on aerobic equipment in the gym, such as cross-steppers.
Anyone who suffers from orthopaedic impairments such as joint wear in the knees or hips has even more arguments in favour of muscle-powered two-wheeled sports: because a large part of the weight rests in the saddle and does not have to be moved up and down with every step, as is the case with jogging, for example, the strain on the joints is significantly lower.
The guided circular movement of the legs is also easy on the joints. The load is even lighter if you choose easy gears and don't cycle up steep hills - or if you have electric assistance. And you don't have to invest a lot of time for this either: After just ten minutes of cycling, the metabolism of the joints, for example in the knees, gets going and the cartilage is better supplied with nutrients.
In just ten minutes, the heart and circulation are also noticeably revitalised. Considering that cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, calcification of the coronary arteries and various consequences of these are the most common causes of death in industrialised countries, accounting for around 40 percent, the argument of good endurance training weighs all the more heavily. But why is cycling so good for endurance? And what else does it do for health and fitness?
Cycling is cardio sport
The cyclist's engine is - quite clearly - the heart. Even at a more moderate pace of 15 to 20 kilometres per hour, the heart rate often exceeds the training-relevant threshold of around one hundred beats per minute, depending on the level of training. Regular cycling makes the heart muscle work more efficiently, it becomes stronger and the cardiac output increases - in other words, more blood is pumped through the body per minute.
The World Health Organisation considers the ideal amount of moderate exercise to be at least 150 to 300 minutes per week, which would mean, for example, half an hour to an hour at least five days a week. Or half the time with intensive exercise. In this respect, pedalling to work or the shops should be the ideal way to combine the pleasant with the useful.
Especially good for the heart when cycling: By choosing the right gear and terrain, the load can be controlled quite well. Or perhaps with the help of the additional power on the e-bike: it even makes it possible for heart patients who have had a heart attack or an operation to cycle in groups with healthy people without fear of overexertion and stress, or to gradually venture out on longer tours. If they also measure wattage and pulse values, they can adjust even more precisely how much strain is being placed on the heart. It is even possible to do proper rehabilitation sport on the (e-)bike, for example, where certain heart rates are not exceeded.
Get fitter with cycling - train your breathing and lungs
The second most important ingredient for endurance rolling is air - whether in the lungs or in the tyre: take a deep breath, pedal hard, feel how the air reaches every alveolus, exhale. This trains the respiratory muscles, floods the entire body with oxygen and can even help combat asthma. As well as increasing heart volume, cycling also increases lung capacity and the efficiency of oxygen transport.
This works even better if you breathe evenly: at low loads, breathe through your nose for as long as possible - because of the filter effect - otherwise breathe through your mouth.
>> TipThe more upright your position on the bike and the wider your grip on the handlebars, the more freely you can breathe.
Fat burning & muscle building
For many, the most compelling argument for exercising at all: Weight loss. Cycling is not one of the best ways to burn calories. However, compared to more calorie-killing sports such as jogging, cycling has the advantage that even less trained people can keep going for longer. This is because it is not as strenuous overall, and the variety on the route does the rest.
So if you want to lose weight while having fun, you shouldn't count kilometres and calories so much as try to sit in the saddle for as long as possible. It's also easier if you cycle moderately in the heart rate range with the highest (relative) fat-burning rate - around 60 to 70 per cent of the maximum heart rate is generally considered to be favourable. Cycling also promotes muscle development, especially in the legs. This not only contributes to a more attractive figure and better body composition, but more muscles also increase the basal metabolic rate at rest - another contribution to losing or maintaining weight.
The pounds don't go straight back on because the entire metabolism benefits: The body's cells respond better to insulin, making cycling a good measure for preventing type 2 diabetes (diabetes acquired over the course of a lifetime). Duration plays a role here: the longer you cycle, the better. At least half an hour is favourable.
Get fitter with cycling - even more benefits
But endurance and metabolism are not the only things that improve with regular cycling: it also trains coordination and responsiveness - even if it is not at the top of the list of sports in this discipline either. Sometimes it's a tight uphill, sometimes a winding downhill, first on gravel paths, then on the road. All of this keeps the mind busy and trains the coordination of movement sequences.
The immune system also benefits from the emotional and mental relaxation that gliding through - preferably green - landscapes offers. Who hasn't had new thoughts or new ideas and been able to process stress while rolling along at a steady pace? It's much better than being stuck in a traffic jam or looking for a parking space ...
ConclusionCyclists have more stamina, are more relaxed and fitter in all situations. They are also less likely to develop cancer, heart attacks, diabetes or other common diseases. What's more, they not only do something good for themselves, but also for the environment and society. What other reasons would you need to start cycling to work or into the countryside straight away?
Get fitter with cycling - the bike as a fat killer
One hour of cycling at a rather relaxed pace of 15 to 20 km/h can burn around 300 to 400 kilocalories - depending on your weight, age or level of training.
