Health and Exercise Cycling as Exercise

There is a statistic that goes around that shows how little of exercise Americans and much of the Western world gets: Less than 5% of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day; only one in three adults receive the recommended amount of physical activity per week.

Research has shown that a person’s daily schedule has a great deal to do with this. Many Americans have responsibilities that result in them staying sedentary for a great deal of the day. Many also have responsibilities that extend beyond just the workplace; taking care of children for instance may require less physical activity by way of exercise.

Still, the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association, and the Surgeon General have all stated how important exercise is to a well-functioning body. Whether it is the cardiovascular system, the bone system, or the muscles, Americans need more exercise and fortunately now there’s a system and activity to do it in.

Research shows that cycling 30 minutes per day will burn nearly 11 pounds of fat over the course of the year. Cycling at a speed of 10 miles per hour can burn 260 calories in an hour. And the benefits go far beyond the simple weight loss and looking attractive to the opposite sex.

A daily exercise routine can help control blood glucose levels so that they do not spike, allowing for a decreased ability to have diabetic symptoms and general blood sugar issues. In fact, research conducted in Finland revealed that people who cycled for more than 30 minutes each day had a 40% lower risk of developing diabetes.

A daily exercise routine can help prevent many forms of obesity related illnesses. This include lowering general high blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, lowering general risk factors relating to heart disease and causing preventative medicine for any number of diseases.

Many researchers would suggest that for significant medical benefits of exercise, a person needs to put their heart rate in a certain range, usually within their target heart range for exercising. This is possible through consistent moderate to strenuous activity in the form of cardiovascular exercise.

Cardiovascular exercise is simply any exercise that gets someone’s heart rate up for a long period of time. Generally, they are associated with aerobic activities, which include activities where the individual is in constant motion. Some examples are biking, cycling, swimming, running, walking, the elliptical, the stairmaster, and more.

Cardiovascular exercise is beneficial from the standpoint that it gives a person’s heart and lungs a tremendous workout. The heart rate may get up to 160 beats per minute but that person’s heart will become more and more able to withstand general physical activity, meaning the resting heart rate (an indicator of health) will go down.

Cycling provides this kind of workout. It exercises the upper body (if upper body movements are required) and the lower body, in terms of the legs (hips, abductors, thighs, hamstrings, and calves). The general value of a cycling exercise routine is that it challenges all those muscles, increases blood flow to them, and makes them stronger.

Cycling is often done through group fitness classes. There is sometimes a completely separate room for cycling classes, where the bikes (which are different than the stationary bikes that are not used for cycling) are displayed. An instructor generally gets up in front of the class and leads the class.

Classes can be great for fitness, as the group camaraderie allows individuals to cheer each other on or push each other harder in terms of their workout. Classes enable a person who is starting to exercise (or possibly even a person that has exercised for a long time) to be supported in what they might consider to be their fitness journey.

This is what’s referred to an “indoor cycling.” Indoor cycling generally takes place in a gym with a group of people. Outdoor cycling can generally take place with a group of people but it’s outdoors, in the elements. Indoor cycling has many advantages, in that a person does not need to own a cycling bike.

There are many ways to look into indoor cycling. A person can use the following search terms:

• Spin classes
• Indoor cycling studio
• Indoor cycling franchise
• Spin class workout
• Types of spin classes

Cardiovascular activity is beneficial. To learn more, read this.