We all know that regular exercise will help us to build lean muscle. But unless you’ve got amazing will power and the dedication of a young Schwarzenegger, it’s pretty much impossible to get to a gym every day. It’s just not fun. Most people would agree that in order to stick to an exercise plan, the trick is to find a way of exercising that you can do for many hours per week, month after month. For that, it needs to be as much fun as possible. You need to want to do it.
I can ride a bike outdoors for hours, but on an indoor stationary bike, five minutes feels like five hours, because it’s just so BORING. Cycling outdoors, your entire body and brain are engaged all the time, so it’s not boring at all. Whether you’re dodging traffic or enjoying the scenery, it’s all engaging and definitely NOT boring.
Plenty of cycling will build lean muscle, especially in your legs and core. As we all know, more lean muscle means we look better, perform better in all aspects of life, and feel better.
And there’s an added bonus to having more muscle. The more lean muscle you have, the more efficiently your body will burn calories. Muscle tissue burns more calories – even when you’re at rest – than body fat. Scientists are still arguing about how MUCH more it burns, but it seems reasonable to assert that muscle tissue burns at least three times as many calories as fat tissue
Cycling burns a very large number of calories, and this will help you lose weight. And it’s a FUN way to burn a large number of calories. You could also burn about 500 calories an hour by climbing up the side of a cliff, but why would you want to do THAT?
Plus, you keep burning more calories even after you get off your bike, because you have raised your metabolic rate.
“Even after cycling for 30 minutes you could be burning a higher amount of total calories for a few hours after you stop.”
Regular exercise from cycling protects against the major causes of death, which include cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer, and high blood pressure. For example, Purdue University researchers have proven that regular cycling can reduce your risk of a heart attack by up to 50%
People who bike to work usually have a fitness level of a person ten years younger. It is reasonable to conclude that cycling more will give you many more years of living. Not only that, but they will be quality years of life, because you will be fit and healthy.
The health benefits of cycling are so huge that cycling is TWENTY TIMES less dangerous than not cycling!
For many people, exercise is at least as effective as drugs for fighting depression. And of course, exercise has only positive side-effects (unlike drugs, which often have extremely negative side-effects).Cycling gives you an endorphin rush that can keep you in a good mood for hours. Also, the more time we spend in natural light, the better we feel. Natural light boosts your levels of the feel-good hormone, serotonin.
“Exercising outside exposes you to daylight. This helps get your circadian rhythm back in sync and rids your body of cortisol, the stress hormone that can prevent deep, regenerative sleep.”