Cycling health benefits: Cycling is an aerobic exercise that can help you lose weight

Cycling is a great form of cardiovascular exercise. It is an effective exercise to tone your thighs, burn calories and lose weight. What’s more is that cycling has emerged as a raving trend during lockdown. Early morning and evening hours are now characterised by a number of cyclists on the city road, paving their way to fitness, while also enjoying the mesmerising cityscapes. Some examples of people taking up cycling, especially during COVID-19 outbreak are nutritionist Pooja Makhija, celeb fitnress trainer Yasmin Karachiwala, Ranbir Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurana, Sara Ali Khan and Ibrahim Ali Khan amongst many others.

Here are some benefits of taking up cycling

As mentioned above, cycling is a great exercise to lose weight, tone your lower body and also boost your stamina. Here are more benefits of the exercise:

1. Cycling is an aerobic exercise that can help you burn calories. Even half an hour of cycling can make up for your day’s cardio routine. If you ride faster, you will burn more calories as the body uses more energy.

2. If you want to improve your endurance, you can opt for long rides of approximately 60 minutes. To burn more calories, you can opt to ride in a hilly area for around 30 to 60 minutes.

3. If you want to improve your stamina, the cycling at a fast pace is recommended.

Cycle at a fast pace if you want to burn calories and improve stamina
Photo Credit: iStock

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Point to note

To reap maximum benefits from cycling, it is important to focus on your posture.

• Make sure that your body is in a neutral position from head to toe.
• Your shoulders should be down in a relaxing position, and not stiff.
• Your hands, from the elbows to your fingers should be in a straight line.
• Your back should be neutral while your spine should be straight.
• Slouching while cycling is not advised as it may cause backache.
• Do not incline your knees about the foot or pedal as it may cause leg strain.

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Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.