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Cycling makes staying fit easy, fun
Cycling is an enjoyable way to stay healthy and in touch with the world around you. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Riding your bicycle regularly is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of health problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
Living in these modern times has its perks, one of which is motorised transport. Unless one lives in the deep countryside where walking on foot is still the dominant way to get around, the majority of us in and around urban centres move from one place to another by use of motorcar or motorcycle every day, even for relatively short distances.
Gone are the days when we walked to school, church, to the market or to work. The increase of boda bodas has made it even easier to not walk anywhere. It is, therefore, safe to say that we spend our lives seated not just at work or on the commute to work, but in every other aspect of life.
The effects of our sedentary lives have never been higher in history than they are today. Strokes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity and all the other lifestyle illnesses are a result of this lack of activity and something needs to be done to encourage us to move more. One easy option is cycling.
Easier than jogging
According to betterhealth.vic.gov.au, riding a bicycle regularly is comparatively easier than jogging. While they are both great cardiovascular exercises that work on multiple muscle groups and exercise the lungs and the heart, one is tedious while the other is enjoyable.
Jogging is tedious because you can only jog with the aim of staying fit while you can ride a bicycle for endless reasons while also staying fit.
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You can ride your bicycle to the hair salon, to the neighbourhood shop or your local bar in the evenings. You can ride your bicycle to the market just so you can choose the right bunch of matooke or sack of charcoal before riding back home having handed your groceries to your boda boda man. All these applications are some of the reasons riding a bicycle makes it easier to stay fit.
Fun for all ages
Riding a bicycle is not only healthy, but also a fun and low-impact form of staying fit for all ages. Most importantly, it is a lot easier for the majority of people to fit it into their daily routine because it is the perfect excuse to not drive to the shops, village meetings or friendly neighbours’ home. It is also a perfect way to get to the gym.
If riding was not fun, children would not love doing it. On top of keeping mother and father in tiptop shape, it is a great way to keep childhood obesity at bay.
Health benefits
Cycling not only improves our physical health, it also positively impacts on our mental health as is the case with all forms of exercises. It increases cardiovascular fitness, prevents arthritis, improves joint mobility, posture and coordination, decreases stress and depression and builds bone density and muscle strength. It is one of the ways to prevent and manage some diseases but most notably, it can be instrumental in cutting weight.
Cycling against obesity
Studies have shown that cycling can reduce weight because it raises the metabolic rate and burns body fat.
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Combined with a healthy eating plan, losing weight gets easier. It is a comfortable form of exercise that burns about 300 calories per hour according to studies.
Cycling against cardiovascular diseases
Healthline.com states that cycling has been found to fight against cardiovascular diseases like stroke, high blood pressure and heart attack. This is because cycling heavily tasks your heart, lungs and blood circulation. It has been found to strengthen the heart muscles and burn blood fat. Research also shows that people who cycle have two to three times less exposure to pollution than car commuters. A Danish study conducted with 30,000 people aged 20 to 93 years found that regular cycling protected people from heart disease.
Cycling against cancer
Many studies have shown that if you cycle, the chance of catching colon cancer and breast cancer is reduced.
Cycling against mental illness
Riding a bicycle, compared to most other exercises (jogging), is super enjoyable. Because of this, the sting of mental health conditions such as depression, stress and anxiety can be reduced by regular bike riding.
Cycling against diabetes
Because of our sedentary lifestyle, the rate of type 2 diabetes is increasing across the world, Uganda inclusive. To ensure that you do not develop diabetes in the future, one of the most fun ways to prevent the inevitable is to bike regularly. Large-scale research in Finland found that people who cycled for more than 30 minutes per day had a 40 percent lower risk of developing diabetes.
Takeaway
● Cycling can help to protect you from serious diseases such as stroke, heart attack, some cancers, depression, diabetes, obesity and arthritis.
● Riding a bike is healthy, fun and a low-impact form of exercise for all ages.
● Cycling is easy to fit into your daily routine by riding to the shops, park, school or work.
