During the COVID-19 pandemic, people began to follow the trend of exercising, especially cycling. The reason this sport was chosen is because it is quite easy to do. In addition, the benefits of cycling for health are also many.
Cycling is done because there is an urge to maintain health during a pandemic. If the body is healthy, the immune system will increase and you will not get sick easily. Furthermore, cycling can also be a fun recreational activity.
Cycling activity can indeed make the body healthier. However, have these benefits been proven by science? GGL has prepared everything in this article.
5 Benefits of Cycling That Have Been Proven by Science
1. Helps Lose Weight
Cycling regularly has the potential to lose weight. This exercise can help increase calorie burning, improve metabolism, and increase muscle mass when accompanied by a protein-rich diet.
If we want to get rid of stubborn belly fat, cycling with moderate intensity can be done for 30-60 minutes. This is on par with other aerobic sports such as hikingswimming, and jogging.
Moderate intensity cycling It can also reduce insulin resistance. Because when exercising, glucose in the blood will be used (reduced). So, diabetics can also receive the benefits of cycling.
2. Strengthens Leg Muscles
Some people believe that cycling can increase the size of the feet. Especially on the thighs and calves. But apparently, regular cycling can not increase the size of the leg muscles. This is because cycling lacks resistance activity to enlarge our leg muscles.
The way to use cycling to train and strengthen your leg muscles is to increase the resistance weight. For example, we can adjust the use of gear when cycling, by using a lower gear, or going uphill for example.
3. Lower Total Cholesterol
Based on reviews from several studies that discuss the effect indoor cycling (benefits of indoor cycling) on the body, this exercise was able to improve body fat profile.
Of the 51 studies, 50% of the results found levels of HDL (good cholesterol) increased, while total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides decreased.
Reviews the same also emphasized that this reduction in cholesterol was not solely due to indoor cycling. There is also dietary intervention (diet) in it.
4. Reducing the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Based on systematic reviews and meta-analysis of 21 studies that have been conducted. Data obtained that doing aerobic exercise such as cycling can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
This study involved 1,069,034 participants of various ages and genders. The results of the study also show a reduced risk of mortality or death for a person.
The results of this study suggest that cycling is one of the physical activities that we can do every day. Especially for those of us who are obese or have a family history of cardiovascular disease.
5. Improve Body Balance
A study was conducted to observe the effects of exercise on a static bicycle on body balance and gait.
This study was conducted on 24 elderly women aged 65 years (or older) who were asked to ride a stationary bicycle 3 times a week for 20 minutes.
The study was conducted for 8 weeks to find out how to walk, stride length, and time. As a result, routine static cycling has the potential to improve body balance. Not only that, the risk of falling while walking is also reduced.
There are many benefits of cycling, from losing weight to preventing disease. However, the benefits of cycling should also be balanced with a healthy diet.
Make meal plans every day and keeping track of what we eat and drink, can be done using the GGL application, so that nutritional needs are met.
